Lawmakers are working to hammer out a compromise on an education bill that could avoid the governor’s veto. Gov. Mike Dunleavy convened the group, which includes members of his staff as well as the House and Senate’s multiparty majority caucuses and Republican minorities.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said he’s “hopeful” that lawmakers will work out a deal.
"I feel like this morning was a productive conversation," he said. "We talked, kind of, in broader pictures about what we want education in Alaska to look like, and we'll continue the discussion and see where it goes."
Wielechowski and Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, are representing the Senate’s bipartisan majority in the working group. Tobin, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, has held a series of listening sessions while developing an education bill.
Increasing state funding for public education is a major priority for the Democrat-heavy majorities in the House and Senate. They’re looking to avoid a repeat of last year, when Dunleavy vetoed an omnibus education bill that would have boosted state funding but left out some of the governor’s legislative priorities.
Legislative leaders are pursuing bills that would significantly boost funding to districts under the traditional formula. Dunleavy, meanwhile, has proposed modifying the formula to emphasize correspondence and technical education, along with other reforms.
Leaders in the state House have backed House Bill 69, which would add roughly $326 million to general-purpose state education funding next year. Lawmakers would have to add at least $175 million in funding to keep funding levels similar to this year, since the Legislature added one-time funding last year after Dunleavy vetoed the omnibus bill.
Dunleavy proposed a bill on Friday that would add $117 million in state education funding. Most of it would be targeted at specific policy goals, including a $450 incentive paid to districts for each student reading at grade level.
Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, one of the negotiators for the multiparty House majority along with Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said it’s too soon to say whether lawmakers and the governor will find common ground, but she said everyone’s negotiating in good faith.
"We're really early on in trying to find common ground," she said. "But I will say that it's a room full of really good intentions, so ... that's an optimistic start."
Lawmakers say they’re hesitant to describe specifics — Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said the governor asked that the meetings be held behind closed doors.
"The meetings are moving forward in a thoughtful and bipartisan manner," Dunleavy's communications director, Jeff Turner, said in a statement.
But for now, Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, one of the Senate minority’s representatives along with Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, said negotiations so far have focused on where things stand in public schools and the various caucuses’ goals. Senate Minority Leader Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, said the early signs are positive.
"We were all wondering, will we have any confrontation up front, where everybody’s too far apart? It sounds like there was none of that," Shower said. "There's a money side and a policy side, and everybody was willing to discuss, so this is a good first step."
Dunleavy and legislative leaders have each said they hope to work through negotiations quickly in order to allow school districts time to plan their budgets for the next school year.
