Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz requested that legislators approve an increase in the base allocation for students during the House Finance Committee meeting Thursday.
Ortiz informed the committee that in the past few years, the state increased its spending on the Permanent Fund Dividend than on the base allocation of students, or BSA which is the amount that district that has students from the state.
“I think that that ought to say something to the majority of people,” he said.
This year the governor. Mike Dunleavy has proposed spending $2.5 billion on the PFD.
The BSA hasn’t grown since 2017. The previous year Governor. Mike Dunleavy approved a $30 increase to the BSA that will take effect in July 2023. This was in the Alaska Reads Act. However, many school administrators and teachers believe that’s insufficient to keep pace with the rate of inflation that has pushed up the cost of heating, transportation and benefits for employees.
Legislators are looking at a bigger boost. Ortiz stated that without it, districts could have to reduce positions in the classroom and close schools in order to fill their budget deficits.
Schools across the state are preparing their budgets for the coming year. Ketchikan School District is one of them. Ketchikan School District is considering the elimination of 57 positions, or 15percent of their employees. In addition, the Anchorage School District is planning to shut down two elementary schools, and also increase the size of classes. Also, the Juneau School District’s budget depends on an increase in the BSA by at least $400.
Ortiz initially suggested a $1250 increase in order to catch up with inflation. The bill that was approved by on the House Education Committee last week included an increase of $680 for this year, and another $120 for next year.
Ortiz claimed that this isn’t enough for the requirements of the majority of school districts particularly those located in remote Alaska.
“As this bill goes through the legislative process in the committee I’d like to see an amendment that would raise the BSA by $800 instead of the 680 dollars,” he told the committee.
A few conservatives have suggested that budgets for schools should not increase until test scores improve.. The test results for the state of Alaska last year indicated that more than half Alaska students were below the grade level for mathematics and reading.
Anchorage Republican Rep. Julie Coulombe stated that she wanted “to ensure that herconstituents have the right expectations” regarding her planned BSA rise.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”There’s no assurance that the school will improve test scores or student progress,” she said. “This is an urgent need to keep the temperature warm, drinking water and the other things necessary to run the school .”
Ortiz said that giving districts more money could assist them to comply with the Alaska Reads Act this autumn.
“Not taking care of the demands that exist due to the heavy high inflation has been seen over the last several years…that’s unlikely to improve our results,” he said.
The Senate Education Committee has proposed the possibility of a $1,000 increase in the next fiscal year. The committee submitted its bill for consideration by the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month.
The House Finance Committee will likely be able to revisit the bill in the middle of April. The legislative session of 2023 is scheduled to conclude in the middle of May.
