Two week ago, my colleague from Ketchikan, Rep. Dan Ortiz, pointed out on the House floor that over the course of the governor’s past five budgets, the amount of money allocated to the Department of Corrections has increased by 40%. In that same period from 2019 to 2024, the amount allocated for education has gone down by 2%. If the Base Student Allocation (the main way Alaska funds its public schools) were increased by 40%, we would be advocating for an additional $2,384 per student.