Legislature overrides governor’s veto of education funding bill

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - In a joint legislative session Tuesday morning, state lawmakers voted to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 57.

Forty-six lawmakers voted in favor of overriding the veto, while 14 lawmakers went against. Only 40 lawmakers were needed to override the veto.

The governor vetoed the bill Monday, not long before a midnight deadline for vetoing the bill or signing it into law.

Dunleavy shared a prepared statement reacting to the vote Tuesday morning, noting he believes the bill “fundamentally missed the mark for Alaska’s students.”

“Let me be clear: I support investing in public education,” he wrote. “I have consistently supported increased funding when it is paired with real, meaningful reforms that improve outcomes for students. This bill did not meet that standard.

“I vetoed this bill because we cannot keep rewarding a system that resists accountability, innovation, and choice,” he added. “Adding money without demanding results does a disservice to students, teachers, and Alaska’s future. Our kids deserve a system that ensures they can read by third grade, attend high-quality charter schools, benefit from open enrollment, and graduate ready for careers or college.”

The veto override isn’t an end to the conversation, according to Dunleavy; instead, “[i]t raises the stakes.”

Other groups commended lawmakers on the decision to override.

“I want to thank the legislators who came together to override the governor’s veto of HB 57,” Tom Klaameyer, President of National Education Association-Alaska, said in a statement shortly after the vote. “Parents, students, teachers, and education support professionals are exhausted by the back and forth and uncertainty around education funding.

“I hope Governor Dunleavy heard the legislature’s message and will respect the override,” he added. “It is time to stop playing politics with our kid’s future.”

The Anchorage School District — which is the state’s largest — also released a prepared statement shortly after the vote on Tuesday, applauding the override and calling the bill a “major bipartisan achievement,” but expressing concern that Dunleavy could veto all or part of the additional appropriations for public education.

“If that happens — and the Legislature does not reconvene to respond — every school district in Alaska might be forced to wait until January, after half of the school year is complete,“ the district wrote, ”to find out next year’s level of education funding.

“That scenario would be devastating.”

ASD said districts across Alaska could, in that case, be forced to reopen budgets for reconsideration, make deeper cuts to programming and even tap into “emergency cost-saving measures.”

“The consequences would be immediate and far-reaching,” it said, “disrupting classrooms, destabilizing schools, and eroding public trust in the state’s commitment to education.

“Schools cannot operate on uncertainty,” the district added, “and students cannot learn in crisis.”

In a recorded video statement posted to social media, Dunleavy said in part that the bill “lacked sufficient education policy reform necessary to improve student outcomes.”

As written, HB 57 provides a $700 boost to the Base Student Allocation, bringing that per-student funding amount to a total of $6,660.

The last day of the regular legislative session is May 21.

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