JUNEAU – Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) has filed legislation to raise education funding to account for inflation since last year’s education budget. The bill sets the base student allocation at $5,979 in FY 2016. That’s an increase of $149, which is the amount the non-partisan Legislative Research Division says is needed to inflation proof education funding from last year.
The legislative session is starting to pick up pace now that there are only 16 days left in the 90-day session. The operating budget was voted on by the Senate today and soon the House and Senate will choose their conference committee members to work out the differences. One of those differences is the funding of education, which is discussed below along with some important information regarding the Anchorage Municipal elections.
The countdown is on to the end of session. The budget remains the largest issue for the Legislature this session. In this newsletter, I have included the final results from our constituent survey. Thank you to all who responded! I hope everyone has a great Passover and Easter weekend. And please be sure to vote in our local election!
ANCHORAGE – Today Rep. Les Gara (D-Anch), a lead sponsor of legislation to start reversing the last three years of over 600 layoffs to teachers and educators across the state, called the “three-year” education bill that passed “two, and likely three more years of layoffs on top of the more than 600 teachers staff Parnell and the GOP have cut since 2011.” Since 2011 Alaska schools have lost over 600 teachers and staff due to flat funding.
JUNEAU – Today, Representative Les Gara (D-Anchorage) responded to a recent study that found Alaska ranks near the bottom of state rankings in high school graduation rates. Gara, who joined other Democratic lawmakers in pushing to reverse Alaska’s course of educator cuts, tied Alaska’s slow progress on improving graduation rates to three years of teacher and staff layoffs, a problem the Legislature failed to address this session.
JUNEAU – Today, on the ninety-fifth and final day of the 28th Alaska Legislature, House Democratic Leader Chris Tuck released the following statement on behalf of the House Democratic Caucus.
The Legislature adjourned today, five days after the 90-day statutory limit. We went into overtime to try and get it right on education. The omnibus education bill passed and I am extremely disappointed that the final bill will result in cuts for the Anchorage School District.
Today on the fifth day of a regrettable and unnecessary extended session the Legislature adjourned sine die. Although state law requires the legislature to conclude legislative sessions within 90 days, the Alaska Constitution allows them to extend for up to 120 days. After that, the legislature must go into special session if there are remaining issues that must be resolved.
