By Jasz Garrett
Juneau, Alaska (KINY) – On Saturday morning at the State Capitol, public testimony was taken on Senate Bill 140, the Internet for Schools bill. A large majority were in support of the base student allocation, or the BSA.
After several hours of public testimony, the Alaska House Rules Committee unanimously passed an education proposal to a full House floor vote which will take place this upcoming week.
The funding per student increase included in SB 140 is a $300 increase, down from the $680 that passed in House Finance, in addition to other education policy changes.
The public testimony opportunity came two days after the Alaska Legislature failed 33-26 to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of $87 million in bonus public school funding last year. Forty-five votes were needed to override.
It also comes the same month the Juneau School District is confronted with an approximate $8 million deficit, originally projected at $9.5 million.
On Saturday, Juneau residents overflowed from the room into the hallway. They spoke in favor of a BSA increase at $1,413 to be current with levels of inflation. Teachers and parents around the state waited for hours to give their comments.
Over 100 Alaska residents testified in total.
Three middle schoolers from Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School could be found practicing their testimony over and over in the hall.
Bela Pyare, Josie Elfers, and Nayeli Hood gave their public testimony together in the two-minute timeframe.
Pyare said it was important to her to support an increase because she has been noticing how budget cuts impact her learning experience.
“It’s important to us because our schools and like I know personally for me, I’ve had up to 45 kids in my classroom, which is a lot of kids. And it’s a lot harder to learn when you have that many kids in your classroom,” she said. “And then there’s also stuff like the money where there have been like projects that we haven’t been able to do because of the funding issues. Field trips, or like science projects that we should be doing, but we don’t have enough funding to do it.”
She added that her older brother was able to go on a school camping trip last year, but she won’t be able to due to funding. She believes that with an increased BSA, school projects that require additional resources could be available to all students.
Hood and Elfers agreed with Pyare, citing their missed chances to participate in maker space and art classes. All three students also advocated in their testimony on the importance of internet access for rural students.
The new bill version of SB 140 also included new authority to the State Board to establish charter schools by removing authority from the local school board, which Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (DEED) Commissioner Dr. Deena Bishop spoke in favor of in a prepared statement.
Speaker of the House Cathy Tilton R-Wasilla, Rep. Jamie Allard R-Eagle River, and Rep. Calvin Schrage I-Anchorage questioned the true equity of Alaska’s charter schools. While charter schools are public schools, the question was raised if charter schools are accessible to all when transportation is not provided. Low-income families were discussed as having barriers to attending charter schools.
Dr. Bishop said that there are many families of different backgrounds who attend charter schools and it’s a general assumption that they are not open to everyone.
“Certainly, transportation is a concern, and school districts have addressed that in different manners. It is a choice of a school district to address that, and some do provide transportation and others do not,” Bishop said in response to transportation questions.
She added that allowing the state Board of Education authority over charter schools would be a strategic investment as opposed to raising the BSA.
“I’ve worked through issues with the BSA, but as I said, it doesn’t always land in the classroom where the value is added in public education,” she said.
Executive Director of the Alaska Council of School Administrators Dr. Lisa Skiles Parody represents all school administrators in Alaska. She spoke in support of an increased BSA and spoke against charter schools moving under state authority.
“We know, at the local level, what is best for our students and to take that responsibility and to give it to the state board really doesn’t make any sense,” Dr. Parody said. “The vast majority of students go to their neighborhood schools so the focus on the small number of students who don’t in this bill is disproportionate.”
Juneau resident and mother Emily Ferry is against granting state control over charter schools. She asked in her testimony, “why fix something that’s not broken?” She then pointed out the need to build Alaska’s future workforce which begins with funding its students.
The bill amends the foundation formula to include correspondence programs in the special needs and secondary school vocational technical instruction factor, retains the existing tax structure for education tax credits that began in 2021, creates new mandates on schools to provide information to students who may be deaf or hard of hearing and creates a new law that provides lump sum payments to teachers for 3 years.
Madame Mayor for the City & Borough of Juneau Beth Weldon spoke in favor of raising the BSA, while at the same time noting that the Juneau School District’s deficit is not the fault of the legislature. She said raising the BSA will help retain teachers and strengthen Alaska’s workforce.
“As more school districts fail, not only are we hurting the students and our future leaders, but we also send a message that Alaska is not open to business or family friendly as families will not want to come and live in a state that has a failing school system,” Mayor Weldon testified. “So today, I ask for an increase in the BSA, but I also ask that we continue to work on education reform so the schools can not only survive but thrive.”
