How much money Alaska’s public schools will get from the state is up in the air. That’s after lawmakers fell one vote short of overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a funding boost and reform package.
One that’s drawing some attention is one called House Bill 392, backed by House Resources chair Rep. Tom McKay. He’s an Anchorage Republican who voted against the override. Those two items, state-authorized charter schools and teacher bonuses, are what the governor called on lawmakers to pass when he issued his veto threat. And it puts them on a collision course with the Senate.Well, it’s safe to say that the senators who wanted to override the veto are not happy. Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, a Nikiski Republican, says funding outside the formula — that one-time funding that’s been common in recent years — is inefficient.
“Twenty majority legislators in the House were able to kill the overriding of the governor’s veto. That’s only one third of the Legislature. The onus is now on them, I believe, on the House, to send us meaningful legislation,” Stevens said at a Tuesday news conference.But the Senate’s lead negotiator — that’s Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat — is saying there’s not much room left for compromise, especially on the charter school issue.
But he says the governor’s proposal could allow a school district to be forced to fund and operate a charter school it doesn’t approve of. For Wielechowski and most of the Senate, that’s non-negotiable.