Alaska House lawmakers tweak education bill ahead of final vote expected Wednesday

Alaska House lawmakers made a few changes to a high-priority education bill Monday and Tuesday ahead of a final House vote expected Wednesday.

House Bill 69 would boost basic per-student funding in the state’s public school formula — the base student allocation — by $1,000. Teachers, parents and students have been pleading with lawmakers to boost school funding for years. They almost got it last year, when the Legislature passed a smaller long-term school funding boost, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed the bill.

Along with the funding, the new bill would create an incentive program for school districts, paying districts $450 for each young student who reads at grade level or demonstrates improvement. Supporters say the incentive program would help districts achieve the goals of the landmark Alaska Reads Act, which Dunleavy proposed.

After negotiations with Dunleavy’s staff, House leaders added a variety of other policy changes to the bill in hopes of avoiding a repeat of last year’s veto.

House minority Republicans spent Monday and Tuesday trying to modify the bill further, submitting dozens of amendments. Four ended up passing.

One, from Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, would place a greater emphasis on students’ academic progress when evaluating schools across the state.

“When we go forward with our ratings of our Alaskan schools and say whether or not our schools are succeeding or failing, we should ask the question, ‘Are the students that are there growing at the end of every year?’” Ruffridge said.

Another, from House Minority Leader Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, would require the governor to introduce a separate fast-track education funding bill at the beginning of each legislative session. School districts’ budget deadlines typically fall in the middle of the legislative session, and public school funding often isn’t finalized until lawmakers’ final days in Juneau.

The amendment would also require the Legislature to pass a school funding bill by March 15, but lawmakers could still essentially ignore that requirement by a majority vote.

House lawmakers approved two other changes.

One removed nonbinding language saying nothing in the bill or the state Constitution should be seen as allowing an education voucher system.

The other would allow charter schools to appeal to the state Board of Education when local school boards terminate their contracts. It would also create a charter school coordinator position within the state education department. That was part of last year’s compromise bill that was ultimately vetoed.

But the House majority, made up of 14 Democrats, five independents and two Republicans, rejected dozens of other amendments, everything from boosting funding for correspondence education to capping class sizes and bolstering vocational training.

It’s a mixed bag, Costello said after walking off the House floor on Tuesday.

“Certainly, we were happy with the ones that were supported,” she said. “We’re concerned about a few that weren’t able to get across the finish line. For example, … reducing class sizes was one that we really hope to get passed.”

Members of the majority said they supported reducing class sizes but were concerned the amendment offered by Rep. Julie Coulombe, R-Anchorage, could set unattainable standards for school districts, given current funding levels.

House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said Monday that some of the amendments were good ideas, but the education funding bill wasn’t the place for all of them.

“There are many ideas in terms of education policy as there always has been. Some are controversial, some are not controversial,” he said. “Some are complicated and really require the scrutiny that only a committee process can do with, involving maximum stakeholder involvement.”

A final House vote on the education bill is expected Wednesday. If it passes, it will head to the state Senate, where it will likely continue to change significantly. Senate leaders say they plan to act quickly to evaluate and modify the bill before taking a final vote in the coming weeks.