Ketchikan Rep. Dan Ortiz asked legislators to support an increase to the base student allocation at a House Finance Committee meeting Thursday.
Ortiz told the committee that, in recent years, the state has spent more money on the Permanent Fund Dividend than on the base student allocation, or BSA — the amount of money per student school districts get from the state.
“I think that should say something to most people,” he said.
This year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed spending $2.5 billion on the PFD.
The BSA hasn’t increased since 2017. Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy approved a $30 increase to the BSA starting in July 2023 as part of the Alaska Reads Act. But many school administrators and teachers say that’s not enough to keep up with inflation, which has driven up costs of transportation, heating and employee benefits.
Legislators are now considering a bigger boost. Ortiz said without it, districts may have to cut teaching positions and close schools to deal with their budget gaps.
School districts throughout the state are tentatively planning their budgets for next year. The Ketchikan School District has considered cutting 57 positions, or 15% of its staff. The Anchorage School District plans to close two elementary schools and increase class sizes. And the Juneau School District’s proposed budget relies on an increase to the BSA of at least $400.
Ortiz originally suggested a $1,250 increase to catch up with inflation. The version of the bill that passed the House Education Committee last week included an increase of $680 this year and another $120 next year.
Ortiz said that’s not enough to meet the needs of most school districts, especially those in rural Alaska.
“As this bill moves through the process in this committee, I would welcome an amendment that would increase the BSA [by] $800 rather than the $680,” he told the committee.
Some conservatives have argued that state funding for public education shouldn’t increase until test scores do. Last year’s statewide test scores showed more than half of Alaska students tested below grade level in reading and math.
Anchorage Republican Rep. Julie Coulombe said she wanted “to be sure that [her] constituents have appropriate expectations” about the proposed BSA increase.
“There’s no promise to increase test scores or student improvement,” she said. “This is a dire need of keeping it warm, water, and all the things that go into running a school.”
Ortiz said giving districts more money would help them implement requirements of the Alaska Reads Act this fall.
“Not addressing the needs out there due to heavy, heavy inflation that we’ve seen in the last number of years…that’s not going to help our outcomes,” he said.
The Senate Education Committee has proposed a $1,000 increase next year. The committee referred its bill to the Senate Finance Committee earlier this month.
The House Finance Committee will likely take up the bill again in mid-April. The 2023 legislative session is expected to end in mid-May.
