The Alaska Legislature overrode the governor’s education veto on Tuesday morning, 46-14. In the past two years, three attempts to override vetoes on bills increasing education funding have failed.
Senate Majority leaders called Tuesday’s override a moment of necessary courage.
“Public service also requires humility, and I think that’s what many legislators began to recognize, the humility to listen to the people,” Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage) said. “The people of Alaska have been asking for education funding for their kids. People heard that and responded today with the courage to do the right thing.”
State lawmakers began negotiating an increase in the $5,960 Base Student Allocation (BSA) in January. Their goal was to find a resolution by March 15 so school districts had time to factor the additional funding into their annual budget before July 1. House Bill 57, which passed 48-11 in late April, includes policy changes and raises the BSA by $700.
“It is a little bit bittersweet that we have to go through all this struggle and all this effort for years just to get an increase that is 39% of what we need,” Sen. Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) said. “It’s clear that this is a good start. It’s really important for the school districts to have this in the formula, so that they can base their budgets going forward.”
Rep. Sarah Vance (R-Homer), who voted in favor of HB 57, opposed the veto override.
“Not only the governor, but as Republicans, we’ve given a lot, and the policy that we’ve got was super tiny,” she said. “Can’t we just have a little bit more for charter schools and open enrollment? It’s what the governor is asking for. That’s what I’ve supported as well. It wouldn’t harm brick-and-mortar. It wouldn’t cost any more money, although the (reading) grants would have been really nice. We want to get that to the schools. They weren’t willing to do it, and they had time.”
Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) held a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska) vetoed the bill on Monday, pushing for policy measures supporting open enrollment and reading proficiency. In a press conference, he said legislators did not negotiate in good faith and “once the discussion on money is done, all discussions end. There’s no longer a discussion on policy.” In a social media post Tuesday, he wrote, “Out of an $11 billion budget, the legislature could not find $22 million to support reading grants. We are 51st in the nation and we do have a moral imperative to do better. This veto override does not end the conversation. It raises the stakes.”
Following the veto override, Sen. Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) said they plan to continue implementing additional policies next year.
“I’m looking forward to one in particular that’s a classroom size, so we’ll get a report,” he said. “We can get a good view of all our school districts, because they’re all different, and they’re all different, frankly, in the funding that they need. Seven hundred will be a little high for some, but it’s going to be low for others. It’s not a perfect number for everybody. But in my district, they were more concerned about stabilizing the BSA dollars than moving the policy forward, if I had to prioritize one over the other. And that’s for Southeast, which is different than the Railbelt area where they can move from school to school. We need kids to fill our schools.”
Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser said the $700 increase does not fully keep pace with inflation or the rising costs of delivering quality public education across Alaska, but “it represents the most substantial investment in our students and schools in many years and introduces new, bipartisan-supported policies.”
Meeting in joint session, the Legislature did not debate the issue before the vote. Senate President Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) said the decision must have been easy for those who have been pro-education for a long time.
Senate Education Committee chair, Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage), said Tuesday’s override was possible because of House Bill 57’s bipartisan nature.
“There were several policies that many legislators had advocated for and had worked through the public process, and that made it a very strong piece of legislation,” she said. “We all recognize that our schools are in crisis, and we found a pathway forward to help get them the resources they desperately need.”
But Dunleavy has also threatened to use a line-item veto on the funds when he signs next year’s state budget, which would require 45 votes to overturn. Stevens said this is unlikely to occur until the Legislature reconvenes next January. Senate majority leaders said no governor has vetoed the underlying appropriation for school funding before.
“That would be unprecedented, and I believe it would create immeasurable chaos in our public school system,” Tobin said.
But she said Tuesday’s vote shows they would have the support to override if it happens. If Dunleavy vetoes the underlying appropriation, Tobin said the state could try to increase the funding through the annual school count.
Stevens said an education work group will be formed during the interim. The legislative session’s mandatory adjournment deadline is the end of Wednesday.
“This is not over, not over by a long shot, but there are some issues that we need to work with the governor, see if we can find common ground, and just move things ahead,” he said. “As I speak to teachers and students and school board members, this is absolutely needed, and I think we did the right thing today.”
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.
The Alaska Legislature votes 46-14 to override Governor Dunleavy’s veto of education bill House Bill 57. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
