Gov. Mike Dunleavy is dropping a longtime priority ahead of next year’s legislative session. At his annual holiday open house on Dec. 9, the Republican governor told reporters he isn’t planning to revive his push to reform the state’s schools.
"I've always said this, for year after year after year, that once the issue of money is settled, nobody wants to talk about policy," Dunleavy said. "So, unfortunately for us, I think we're going to skip over that this year — not from my perspective, but I don't think the Legislature enough for the people in the Legislature really have a desire to fix the outcomes."
Improving the state’s public schools was the top issue in the last two legislative sessions. Dunleavy vetoed a series of bills seeking to boost public school funding, saying they didn’t do enough to improve student performance. He instead called for a variety of reforms that he said would help Alaska’s low test scores, in part by boosting charter schools and correspondence homeschool.
But lawmakers overcame Dunleavy’s vetoes to break the stalemate earlier this year.
Sitka independent Rep. Rebecca Himschoot co-chairs the state House Education Committee. She said lawmakers will continue to look at ways to boost students’ test scores — even with budgets expected to be tight this year.
"We need to ensure the best value for the dollar. Obviously, accountability is very important," Himschoot said. "At the same time, we need to make sure that our kids have opportunities. And if we look to other states, there's a lot going on in other states that we could be doing here in Alaska."
She said she’d also like to see a smaller boost to public school funding this year to keep up with inflation.
Rep. Andi Story, a Juneau Democrat who also co-chairs the House Education Committee, said she wants lawmakers to override Dunleavy’s veto of a corporate tax bill tied to education funding.
"Those dollars are scheduled to go for reading intervention and career-tech, and that would just, to me, be a game changer," Story said.
Backers pitched the tax bill as a way to extract more state money from Outside tech companies who sell to Alaskans. Dunleavy said he couldn’t support it without a larger fiscal plan.
The Senate Education Committee chair, Democratic Anchorage Sen. Loki Tobin, said she planned to introduce a constitutional amendment that would "codify the right for every child in Alaska to learn about Indigenous peoples and cultures."
"With the largest Indigenous population in the United States, it is high time Alaska guarantee a robust public education rooted in Indigenous knowledge," she said via email.
Dunleavy said he hoped lawmakers would pass a bill that would launch a pilot program for schools run by Alaska Native tribes. But Dunleavy told reporters his main goals for his final year are largely in other areas, including a forthcoming fiscal plan and preparation for a possible North Slope gas pipeline.
Lawmakers reconvene in Juneau on Jan. 20.
