Alaska Education Update

This blog contains highlights from the Alaska Education Update. The update is issued daily during session and contains detailed summaries of education issues under consideration by the Alaska State Legislature. If there is a hearing on a Monday, a report will, with few exceptions, be released by Tuesday morning. There is also a weekly edition of the update. During interim, reports are issued only when there has been action. Interim action may include hearings, bill signings, the release of the Governor's proposed budget for the next fiscal year, and other items that may be of interest to the education community.

To subscribe to full reports, contact Shana Crondahl at (907) 500-7069 or akedupdate@gci.net. To subscribe to blog posts, submit your email:

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Governor Parnell's Budget Vetoes Imminent; Possible Special Session on Coastal Zone Management

Governor Parnell's budget vetoes are due by Friday, July 1, and his goal is to cut about $400 million from the capital budget, decreasing it from $3.2 billion down to $2.8 billion. I predict he will wait until the deadline to release his vetoes because there is still talk of a last-minute deal and special session on coastal zone management. If he releases his vetoes while the legislature is in special session, they could vote to override the vetoes.

Here's an update of all the education-related legislation that passed:

HB 15 - Student Athlete Concussions: Signed by the governor on Friday, May 27; effective date 8/25/11 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20%2015&session=27

HB 108 - Operating Budget: Transmitted to the governor on Wednesday, June 8; vetoes due back on Friday, July 1 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20108&session=27

HB 109 - Mental Health Budget: Transmitted to the governor on Wednesday, June 8; vetoes due back on Friday, July 1 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20109&session=27

HB 155 - Public Construction Contracts, awaiting transmittal to the governor (raises the threshold for public works projects from $2,000 to $25,000 for before projects have to pay wages under Alaska's Little Davis-Bacon Act) http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20155&session=27

SB 1 - Board of Education & Early Development Report/Legislative Task Force, Signed by the governor on Friday, May 27; effective date 8/25/11 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%20%201&session=27

SB 46 - Capital Budget: Transmitted to the governor on Wednesday, June 8; vetoes due back on Friday, July 1 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?session=27&bill=SB46

SB 76 - Supplemental Budget, Signed by the governor on Tuesday, May 17; see bill for effective dates
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2076&session=27

SB 84 - Vocational Education/Tax Credits/Pilot, awaiting transmittal to the governor
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2084&session=27

Friday, June 3, 2011

An Update on Education-Related Legislation Passed by the Alaska State Legislature

HB 15 - Student Athlete Concussions: Signed by the governor on Friday, May 27; effective date 8/25/11 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20%2015&session=27

HB 108 - Operating Budget, awaiting transmittal to the governor http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20108&session=27

HB 109 - Mental Health Budget, awaiting transmittal to the governor http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20109&session=27

HB 155 - Public Construction Contracts, awaiting transmittal to the governor (raises the threshold for public works projects from $2,000 to $25,000 for before projects have to pay wages under Alaska's Little Davis-Bacon Act) http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20155&session=27

SB 1 - Board of Education & Early Development Report/Legislative Task Force, Signed by the governor on Friday, May 27; effective date 8/25/11 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%20%201&session=27

SB 46 - Capital Budget, awaiting transmittal to the governor http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?session=27&bill=SB46

SB 76 - Supplemental Budget, Signed by the governor on Tuesday, May 17; see bill for effective dates http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2076&session=27

SB 84 - Vocational Education/Tax Credits/Pilot, awaiting transmittal to the governor http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2084&session=27

Monday, May 16, 2011

SB 76 - FY 11 Supplemental Budget Transmitted to Governor Parnell

The FY 11 supplemental budget was transmitted to Governor Parnell on Monday, May 16, 2011. The governor has 20 days, not including Sundays, to review the bill and make any line-item vetoes he wishes to make. His vetoes are due by Wednesday, June 8. Education-related items in SB 76 are.....

No News/Nothing New

Okay, I have pretty much stopped posting since the end of the regular session. Sorry. Lost my momentum. I really can't tell you if special session is going to wrap up by sometime next week (best case scenario), or will go thirty days with no resolution (worst case scenario). However, I find it almost unimaginable that they wouldn't reach consensus within the special session. I just can't imagine that occuring. That would be some sort of a major breakdown of government.

According to the House Minority, one thing there may not be resolution on during the special session is long-term funding for merit scholarships, since there are so many differing positions on HB 104, the bill establishing a funding mechansim for the scholarship program (http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20104&session=27).

It is always interesting to watch the process. Sen. Paskvan brought up an interesting point on the floor Thursday, and that was that Alaska is a young state, and there is not yet a lot of legal precedent. At some point earlier in the special session, someone referred to the governor as having a big stick. So I imagine the governor with his big stick, 20 senators with 20 smaller sticks, and 40 house members with yet 40 smaller sticks, and that the total mass of each group's sticks was equal to the mass of the next group's sticks, even though they weren't equal in number. And the supreme court has a ruler, a saw, and bits of wood and glue, and when asked, can measure the different sticks, and add to or take away from them.

Okay, my imagination is getting the best of me. I liked Steve Haycox's recent editorial in the Anchorage Daily News explaining the process better than my visualization: http://www.adn.com/2011/04/28/1834699/juneau-struggle-an-excellent-civics.html

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

SB 42 - AEA Susitna Hydro Project is now being heard in the House Finance Committee

Hanging out waiting for House Finance to start....

Holmes & Watson (Holmes is the pretty one)

In the time it took to upload this picture, taken today during a lunch break, the House Finance Committee began hearing SB 42: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2042&session=27

Monday, April 18, 2011

SB 84 Passes the Legislature on Monday, April 18, 2011

SB 84 – Vocational Education/Basic Funding/Tax Credits
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2084&session=27

The senate concurred with the changes made by the house by a vote of 19 yeas, 1 absent. SB 84 is awaiting transmittal to the governor.

SB 84 includes:
• $500,000 per year for three years for a theme-based pilot program development for the Iditarod School District
• A doubling of the residential boarding home stipends for FY 12 and FY 13 for the Nenana, Galena, and Lower Kuskokwim School Districts
• A vocational education factor of 1.01 (estimated to be $11,731,500 for FY 12) in the foundation formula to assist districts in providing vocational and technical instruction for students enrolled in 9th – 12th grade
• A sunset extension for certain corporate tax credits for educational contributions

SB 84 does not include a BSA increase.

Sen. French said he is a reluctant “yes” vote. He thinks the senate did a great job on the version of SB 84 that they passed. The bill came back from the house with just the vocational education component. That’s disappointing, given the strong financial situation of the state. He hopes next year they are a little more bold in funding education.

Sen. Huggins said it pleases him that they have come to a compromise on the bill. He hopes they can continue that.

Special Session Agenda

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Recent Legislative Action (and Inaction) on SB 1, SB 46, SB 84, and SB 97

There wasn't much education action on Saturday. Senate Finance is hearing a lot of bills, but they are not moving very many bills out of committee this morning. There are a lot of bills on today's Senate Calendar.

Education Action Saturday:
The senate concurred with the house changes to SB 1 (DEED report to the legislature; task force on theme-based education), and it goes next to the governor (http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%20%201&session=27).

The house passed SB 84 (vocational education funding factor; the BSA increase was removed from the bill) by a vote of 40 yeas. SB 84 was returned to the senate. The senate has not yet concurred with the changes made by the house (http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2084&session=27).

That was the only education-related action that occured on Saturday.

Education Action for today, Sunday:
There is no education-related legislation on the House or Senate Calendar today, however, it is the time of session when they may have supplemental calendars later in the day.

There is no education-related legislation scheduled for committee hearings. House Finance has SB 46 - Capital Budget, on their schedule, pending referral (http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2046&session=27). However, it will have to move from Senate Finance and pass the senate before they hear it. Budget negotiations between the house, the senate, and the governor remain ongoing.

Most members of the house majority seem opposed to any increase to the BSA this year, but there may yet be some sort of an increase outside the BSA, perhaps through SB 97 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%2097&session=27

Saturday, April 16, 2011

House is going in to session at 1:00 p.m.

The House Finance Committee just recessed, and the House is now scheduled to go in to session at 1:00 p.m. SB 84 - Vocational Education Funding/Educational Tax Credits is the second item on the calendar.

Legislative Action, Friday, April 15

The house passed two bills:
HB 104 – Alaska Performance Scholarships - Passed by a vote of 40 yeas
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20104&session=27

SB 1 – Board of Education & Early Development Annual Report - Passed by a vote of 39 yeas, 1 nay
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=SB%20%20%201&session=27

The Senate Passed:
HB 15 – Student Athlete Concussions - Passed by a vote of 20 yeas
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20%2015&session=27

The House Education Committee heard a presentation from the Bristol Bay Borough School District and heard and held:
HB 143 – Adjust Base Student Allocation: Inflation
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20143&session=27

There is still a bottleneck right now with the senate and the house negotiating on a few issues. It appears they've got Coastal Zone Managment taken care of just now. The house was in session until late Friday night with their first supplemental calendar, passing a coastal zone management bill: HB 106 http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20106&session=27 . I know that's an important issue to a lot of people.

I have been told by several legislators that there is still hope for some sort of funding increase for education. Carl Rose said in the House Education Committee Friday morning that since 1978, the money spent on education has lost 65 percent of it's value due to inflation. That's an astonishing amount of value, and it's no wonder schools are struggling. When I think back to my kindergarten days in the early 70's in Juneau, there were perhaps 14 children in my class, with both a teacher and a teacher's aide. I know kindergarten classes are up in the low 20's in many areas now.

It is up in the air when SB 46 - the capital budget and SB 97 - aid for municipalities and school districts might be heard. SB 97 has been noticed in House Finance, so they could, if they choose, bring it up at any time. SB 46 has been noticed in both the Senate and House Finance Committees, so it could be brought up at any time as well.

I have no idea whether the legislature will adjourn by Sunday evening or not. They would have to reach agreement very quickly, and suspend a Uniform Rule, so it looks unlikely.