Alaska educators voice support for proposed $1,000 funding increase per student

Educators, students and parents rallied outside the Alaska State Capitol on Jan. 23, 2023 to call for an increase to the base student allocation. (Photo by Katie Anastas/KTOO)

Teachers, school administrators and elected officials spoke in favor of increased education funding at a Senate Education Committee meeting Wednesday.

The committee has introduced Senate Bill 52 to raise the base student allocation, or BSA — that’s the amount of money per student that school districts get from the state — by $1,000.

Teachers from around the state spoke in favor of a funding increase, saying it would help reduce turnover.

“The morale of the young teachers, a lot of them that are single wage earners just getting started, are so low,” said Fairbanks teacher Thomas Kennedy. “They’re the lowest that I’ve seen in all my years of teaching.”

Juneau music teacher Mike Bucy said it would help reduce outmigration from the state.

“Underfunded schools are a major factor driving away young, skilled and professional families,” he said. “Families who would love to contribute to the growth of our state’s economy, but are not willing to sacrifice their children in a subpar education system.”

Some speakers opposed a funding increase, saying changes to curriculum or expanded access to private schools would be better ways to improve student outcomes. More than half of Alaska students tested below grade level in reading and math last year.

But Danielle Specht, a teacher from Kodiak, said inadequate funding hurts student performance by leading to high turnover rates among teachers and support staff, including those who help with reading instruction.

“If we want to improve student outcomes, we need to not have staff turnover like we do,” she said.

School districts across the state have received more than $500 million in COVID relief funds from the federal government, starting with the CARES Act in March 2020.

Anchorage School Board member Kelly Lessens said, ideally, that money would fund the extra math and reading support many students needed after online learning. Instead, she said, the Anchorage School District has used some of it to close budget gaps and avoid increasing class sizes.

Jessica Paris, a parent and former teacher in Juneau, said keeping class sizes low should be a priority. She said when extra funding allowed her class to drop from 30 to 25 students, her relationship with the students improved.

“Each got more talking time, more performance time, more comfort with their peers, more chance to shine,” she said. “I also knew them better, so I was able to pick up when I had a freshman who was initiating marijuana use and another who was abusing alcohol.”

That was 20 years ago. Now, she says her own kids’ classes are much larger.

“My children have had 30 students in their elementary class, 43 in their middle school English class, 40 students in their high school history and English classes, 50 in their PE,” Paris said.

Last year’s Alaska Reads Act included a $30 increase starting in fiscal year 2024. But many district leaders say it’s not enough to keep up with rising costs. 

A $1,000 increase — the highest one-year increase ever — would make the BSA $6,960 and, according to legislative finance division Director Alexei Painter, add $257 million in state education funding. But even that might not keep pace with inflation. Painter said that matching the buying power of the 2017 BSA would require an increase of $1,195.

The committee will hear additional public comment about the proposed increase to the BSA on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

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