FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Despite disappointment with a veto in 2023 from Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the legislator voted against overriding a cut to education funding.
A joint session of the Alaska legislature on Thursday voted against overriding Gov. Dunleavy’s veto of increased funding for K-12 education. The vote against an override failed 33 to 26, just 12 votes short of the needed 45 to undo the veto. In the senate, a 14 to 5 vote with one senator absent ended in favor of the veto. Meanwhile, the house voted 19 to 21 in opposition to an override.
If the effort had passed, it would have restored the second half of a funding boost of $175 million, which made it through the legislature last year. The veto from the governor cut the figure roughly in half to $87 million.
Some legislators expressed discontent after the vote. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get a majority of the state house,” said Sen. Forrest Dunbar, a democratic senator for Anchorage. “If folks want to fund education, they need to flip some of those house seats in the coming year and get people to actually support funding our schools,” Dunbar said speaking to the upcoming election.
Rep. Craig Johnson, a republican representative of Anchorage spoke about some potential solutions that will address the issue after the failed override, including H.B. 140. “That is a more longer term solution to the education funding,” Johnson said. He said the one time increase that was vetoed last year wasn’t worth saving because long-term solutions are more important. “We’re tired of the band aid solutions and want to go in and try to fix it,” said Johnson.
What remains uncertain, however, is what or whether or not any sort of solution to the issue will be passed and whether or not it will be a meaningful amount. While it does receive praise, many educators and administrators in the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District consider the Alaska Reads Act insufficient and across Alaska, school districts, boards, educators and more are calling for a substantial increase to the BSA that would be permanent.
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