Dunleavy vetoes $1,000 increase to school funding
Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill today that would have increased the per-student base funding formula by $1,000, about 17 percent, instead submitting a bill which proposes a $560 increase along with significant policy provisions.
In a press conference in the Capitol, Dunleavy explained his reasoning for the veto, citing a deterioration in state revenues and the lack of his favored education policy revisions in House Bill 69, which the Legislature passed last Friday.
The governor’s new proposal includes policies that would make it easier to create and disband charter schools, increase funding for homeschool students and give districts $450 for every student from kindergarten through sixth grade that demonstrates improvement in reading assessments.
Dunleavy said if the Legislature passes his new bill, he’d sign it into law “tomorrow” because it “will have policies that will help kids, and it will have the funding that is also being requested as well.”
Districts across the state advocated for the $1,000 formula increase, arguing that a decade of essentially flat state funding has whittled down districts’ abilities to fund essential school programs.
The Bering Strait School District is facing a $11 million deficit next year without any increase in state aid. If the Legislature and governor fund a $680 boost in the base per-student formula as it did last year, the district would still have a deficit of over $6 million.
The Nome Public School District is covering their draft FY26 budget by drawing on savings and assuming a $680 increase in the base formula.
Superintendent Jamie Burgess said the $560 increase would not be enough to maintain current operations in the district and last minute cuts would need to be made to balance the budget. The proposed increases for homeschool students and the reading growth bonus wouldn’t make up for the difference.
A joint session with the House and Senate is scheduled for next Tuesday, where they will vote whether to override the governor’s veto. A vote of 40 out of 60 legislators is required for an override, but many legislators have said they don’t think they have the votes required.
Rep. Neal Foster (D-Nome) said in a statement to the Nugget he intends to vote to overturn the veto. If the Legislature can’t override it, they’ll try again to increase school funding using the Governor’s proposed bill or another bill, Foster said.
“The Governor’s school funding vetoes over the past few years, minimal increases over the past 10 years and inflation have all taken a major toll on our children’s education,” Foster wrote.
Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage), who chairs the Senate Education Committee, responded via Facebook to the veto.
“I appreciate that the administration recognizes the urgent need for increased school funding; however, the bill he just vetoed did just that,” Tobin wrote. “Holding education funding hostage in favor of unnecessary policies is a serious mistake.”
Dunleavy said Thursday he’s ready to work with legislators to pass an education bill.
“We have 34 days. A lot of work has been done on education, and I still remain optimistic that we can get something done,” Dunleavy said.
This reporting from the State Capitol by Nugget reporter Anna Lionas is made possible by the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism’s Legislative Reporter Exchange.