Sitka’s legislators were among the 39 lawmakers who voted to override the governor’s veto of a major education funding bill on Tuesday (3-18-24).
The override attempt failed by one vote (39-20), leaving legislators deeply concerned over the future of school funding.
Note: Sitka School Board members and administrators will join KCAW News for a one-hour forum on school funding in the aftermath of the veto, beginning 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20. Please email your questions in advance to news@kcaw.org.
Back in February Senate Bill 140 passed the legislature by a near-unanimous vote (56-3) the first significant bipartisan legislation to pass in recent memory.
Rep. Rebecca Himschoot is an independent. She’s still reeling from Gov. Dunleavy’s veto.
“My heart is just breaking in this situation because there was so much good and so much effort that went into SB 140,” said Himschoot. “It really kind of represented the best of what we can do in Juneau. And to have that unilaterally crushed is hard.”
Himschoot is a career educator who spent many years teaching at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary in Sitka. Senate Bill 140 would have increased per-pupil funding for public schools – the base student allocation – for the first time in eight years. She’s not sure why Republicans who voted for the education bill the first time, then defected on the override vote. Himschoot doesn’t think the legislature will go back to the drawing board.
“And I’m going to be fairly blunt with you right now,” she said, “it is very hard to rally energy to dive back into a conversation on education. And I’m passionate about education. I think folks who know me know that it’s kind of the center of my universe, and I’m struggling to find energy to have more conversations about it. So all of that to say, there are still options out there. There are still things we can do.”
One of those options is a one-time allocation similar to last year, however there’s little certainty in it. Last year, the legislature agreed to give school districts an additional $680 per pupil, but the governor vetoed half of it. Himschoot says Senate Bill 140 “really was our best option.”
Sen. Bert Stedman of Sitka also voted to override. Stedman, like the governor, is a Republican, but he’s never been a fan of the brinkmanship that takes place in the capitol. He said that SB 140 started as a way to bring better internet to Alaska’s rural schools. Now that – plus all other elements of the bill – have been shot down with the veto. He called it “collateral damage.” He told the Alaska Beacon, “I find it distasteful, extremely distasteful, that the rural children of our state are virtually held hostage over our squabbling with the base student allocation.”
Rep. Rebecca Himschoot says there is an upside: It’s not happening in a last-minute rush, or in a special session when legislators are heading for the door. “If there’s any good news in this situation,” she said, “It’s the fact that we do still have half of this session to go.”
