Alaska lawmakers on Tuesday voted to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a high-profile education bill that will increase long-term funding for public schools. A joint session of the Alaska Legislature voted 46-14 in support of House Bill 57 a day after Dunleavy announced he had vetoed the bill, lawmakers’ top priority for this session.
It’s the third time in two years that lawmakers have passed a bill increasing the base student allocation, but until Tuesday, they failed to overcome vetoes from Dunleavy.
The bill increases basic per-student state funding for public schools, the so-called base student allocation, by $700. It’s a key part of the formula that determines state funding for school districts, and increasing the figure was a key issue in lawmakers’ election campaigns last fall.
It’s the first substantial increase to the education funding formula since 2017, aside from a 0.5% increase that came alongside the Alaska Reads Act in 2021.
The bill also includes a number of education policy reforms, including limits on student cellphone use, changes to state laws surrounding charter schools and a grant program that would offer performance incentives to school districts based on student reading proficiency. The bill also creates a task force to study additional reforms, including an open enrollment system that would allow students to attend schools outside of their home districts.
Whether the funding ultimately flows to school districts, though, is uncertain. Alaska’s Constitution gives the governor the power to unilaterally reduce or eliminate line items from the budget. Dunleavy said Monday he’s considering whether to veto a portion of school funding from the budget but has not made a final decision.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
