JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy urged lawmakers late Tuesday to pass his pilot program that would pay teachers bonuses of up to $15,000 a year, pitching it as an investment in the classroom, even as education leaders say a more significant investment in the state’s K-12 public school system is needed.
The Republican, in his State of the State speech, also discussed the need for greater opportunity in Alaska, an oil-dependent state experiencing a long-standing trend of more people leaving than moving to it, and efforts to make Alaska more attractive for businesses and families.
But education has been a dominant topic of the legislative session that began about two weeks ago, with supporters of a large increase in state aid rallying on the steps of the Capitol Monday. Dunleavy’s speech was originally scheduled for Monday but high winds in Juneau disrupted flights carrying guests and Cabinet members, delaying the speech until Tuesday.
School leaders are seeking a $1,413 increase in the current $5,960 per-student funding allotment that districts receive, saying that is needed to offset years of inflation — and warning of additional cuts to programs and positions without a significant boost. Such an increase would boost state funding by about $360 million. But even lawmakers sympathetic to their pleas question if that amount is politically realistic in a state that has struggled with recurring budget deficits and relied heavily on revenue from oil and earnings from its oil-wealth nest-egg fund.