Alaska Lawmakers Introduce Bill for Major Boost in School Funding
After the governor鈥檚 veto last year, House lawmakers鈥 new proposal aims to increase school funding based on inflation rates.

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Education funding is back on the docket for the Alaska Legislature. On Friday, Independent Rep. Rebecca Himschoot of Sitka introduced legislation, , to substantially increase the amount of funding per student.
The two-page bill would increase the base student allocation, the core of the state鈥檚 school funding formula.
The base student allocation is currently $5,960 for .
If passed, the new legislation would boost the BSA by $1,000 next school year, as well as two increases of $404 each in the following two years.
In addition, the bill would adjust for inflation each year, based on the average consumer price index over the previous three years.
For next school year, the BSA would total $7,249, a 22% increase. By the 2027-2028 school year, it would reach an estimated $8,510, for a total increase of roughly 43% over three years.
Lawmakers say the boost will help address a major historical shortfall in funding. School costs rose by nearly 40% since 2011, while the BSA increased by only 10%, Himschoot filed along with the bill.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge gap there,鈥 Himschoot said in a news conference Friday. 鈥淎ll of us have noticed, and have heard from parents, from families, from school districts, that that gap is there. And it鈥檚 causing huge, huge problems and taking opportunity away from our students. So this bill looks to correct that.鈥
House lawmakers also hope to address the state鈥檚 teacher shortage. Vacancies have more than doubled since 2021, from 260 to 598 full-time certified teaching positions vacant this year, by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. This year鈥檚 state budget increased school funding by an amount equal to a $680 BSA increase, but did not make a permanent change to the formula.
鈥淥ne-time funding is not effective,鈥 said Democratic Rep. Andi Story of Juneau, who is co-chair of the House Education Committee with Himschoot. 鈥淢any families 鈥 have seen too big of a churn by teaching staff, and a lot of that has to do with only one-time funding coming. So we know we need to make it permanent and this bill addresses that.鈥
Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill to increase per-pupil spending, what he said was the need to address education policy issues, including teacher retention and provisions to support charter schools.
鈥淲ithout a comprehensive plan to address the education issues of the state, simply increasing funding to the current system does nothing to increase the educational outcomes and potential of our youth,鈥 Dunleavy
Legislators sought to override the veto, but the effort , resulting in the state enacting the one-time funding increase.
This year, lawmakers acknowledged there are major issues to address with rising district costs, particularly for transportation, heating and insurance costs, as well as declining school enrollment. Proponents of the bill aim to boost the base student allocation tied to inflation, on a continuous basis so school districts can address those deficits and plan for the future.
鈥淚t shifts the risk,鈥 Rep. Himschoot said. 鈥淭he risks of inflation fall on districts right now, and it shifts that risk to the state.鈥
On Monday, the House education committee heard impassioned testimony from school officials, parents, and business, municipal and tribal leaders from around the state, in support of the funding boost.
鈥淲e have no health, no social-emotional learning, and no physical education curriculum. We have no in-person music, art or foreign language programs,鈥 said Madeline Aguillard, superintendent of the Kuspuk School District in the middle Kuskokwim River region, detailing extensive budget cuts already made.
鈥淲e have extremely reduced academic programs. We have no in-person career and technical education courses. We have no advanced courses for students pushing to pursue higher education or technical fields. We haven鈥檛 been able to adopt a social studies curriculum in the last decade,鈥 she said.
鈥淪ome of these things can be provided online, and we do rely on a lot of online vendors,鈥 she added. 鈥淗owever, we lack the adequate technology to be able to even provide devices for all of our students.鈥
The legislation comes at a time when school districts across the state are facing major deficits and considering school consolidation and closures, including in , , , the and .
Steve Rowe, an Anchorage parent of three and owner of a general contracting company, testified to the committee that the cost of school funding is essential.
鈥淚 promise you, I scream 鈥榖udget鈥 every day to about 50 different people, and to stay within it,鈥 Rowe said. 鈥淏ut I also can stand back and recognize at certain points, it doesn鈥檛 matter what the budget is in certain sectors, we have to fund those no matter what the cost is, and if that means making it painful somewhere else, then so be it. That鈥檚 just what we have to do. I believe education has to be one of those.鈥
Jenna Wright, president of the Anchorage Economic Development Corp., highlighted the economic costs of Alaska鈥檚 current school issues.
鈥淚 have heard from more than one employer over the last year that has said they鈥檝e lost a candidate because of perceptions about a lack of education system,鈥 Wright said. 鈥淪o by underfunding education, we鈥檙e losing families, workers and taxpayers to other states with better-funded schools. This is eroding our economic base and undermining our efforts to grow a robust economy.鈥
Increasing the BSA is one part of the school funding formula
Alaska has a complicated public schools for its approximately
The base student allocation is just one part of the formula, which takes into account several factors, including the number of students enrolled, number of correspondence students, school sizes, location in urban or rural areas called district cost factor, career technical education and special needs students.
The state contributes about 62% of funding to school districts, along with municipal, federal and some grant funding. But how far that funding goes also depends on the district.
Alaska has 53 school districts across the state, and 34 of those are located in municipalities with tax revenue to contribute to schools.
There are 19 districts that are Regional Education Attendance Areas with no municipal government and no taxing power. 鈥淪o their only source of funding is the state or federal government,鈥 said Alexei Painter, director of the Alaska Legislative Finance Division, which analyzes the budget for lawmakers. Painter provided an overview of the school funding formula to the House Education Committee on Jan. 24.
The path for school funding legislation
Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have said that school funding is one of their main priorities this year.
Dunleavy has also said he plans to introduce legislation to increase school funding. His in December reduced education funding by $213 million, since it did not continue with the one-time funding.
He said in school funding could be added, if lawmakers can agree to certain changes in education policy.
Sen. L枚ki Tobin of Anchorage, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said she is planning to introduce school funding legislation in the Senate. This week, the House Education Committee is holding public testimony on the proposed BSA increase legislation on Wednesday, Jan. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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