Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s line-item veto of more than $50 million in state funding for schools will cut millions from the Anchorage School District budget for next year.
The Anchorage School Board held a special meeting Thursday, opting not to make additional budget cuts hours after Dunleavy announced his veto. The board instead voted to implement a hiring freeze and direct the administration to identify $4.3 million in budget cuts by mid-December. Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt called the governor’s action “outrageous.”
“Certainly emergency school closures are on the table for districts, as are reductions that will result in increased class sizes, poorer learning environments, and will continue to result in the decaying infrastructure that we see all across the state in our schools,” Bryantt said. “If you haven't captured it already, this is an education emergency, and we need action from our community as quickly as possible.”
The school board built their budget assuming a $560 increase to the state’s per-student funding formula known as the Base Student Allocation. Dunleavy’s veto means the district has a $500 per student allocation to work with, a reduction from last year’s one-time $680 funding increase. Board Member Carl Jacobs said the veto was an example of how poorly government can be run.
“Pulling the rug out from students, families and educators just a few weeks from the start of the fiscal year seems especially cruel,” Jacobs said.
Superintendent Bryantt suggested the district consider suing the governor for failing to uphold the state’s constitutional obligation to adequately fund schools.
