Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz speaks to the House Finance Committee on Thursday, March 30.
Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz asked legislators to support an increase to the base student allocation at a House Finance Committee meeting Thursday. Ortiz told the committee that, in recent years, the state has spent more money on the Permanent Fund Dividend than on the base student allocation, or BSA — the amount of money per student school districts get from the state.proposed spending $2.5 billionThe BSA hasn’t increased since 2017. Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy approved a $30 increase to the BSA starting in July 2023 as part of the Alaska Reads Act.
Legislators are now considering a bigger boost. Ortiz said without it, districts may have to cut teaching positions and close schools to deal with their budget gaps. School districts throughout the state are tentatively planning their budgets for next year. The Ketchikan School District has