JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy late Tuesday gave teachers up to $15,000 a year, even though education leaders say they have more significant policies in place. He urged lawmakers to pass a pilot program that would pay bonuses and pitched it as an investment in classrooms. We need to invest in our state's K-12 public school system.
In their State of the State address, Republicans talked about the need for greater opportunity in Alaska, an oil-dependent state that has experienced a long-standing trend of more people moving in than moving in, and how they want Alaska to be a good place for businesses to move. We also discussed efforts to make it more attractive. And family.
But education has been a major topic of discussion since the legislative session began about two weeks ago, with supporters of a big increase in state aid gathering on the steps of the Capitol on Monday. Dunleavy's speech was originally scheduled for Monday, but strong winds in Juneau disrupted the plane carrying guests and ministers. postpone the speech until Tuesday.
School leaders are seeking a $1,413 increase from the current $5,960 in per-pupil funding the district receives, which they say is needed to offset years of inflation and significantly The government has warned that without significant funding increases, programs and positions will be further cut. These increases would increase state funding by approximately $360 million. But even legislators sympathetic to their pleas are concerned that the amount is politically politically sensitive in a state that suffers from a running budget deficit and relies heavily on oil revenues and revenue from oil-rich nest funds. I have doubts about whether it is realistic.
Dunleavy, a former teacher, vetoed half of the $175 million in additional school funding passed by Congress last year, but it did not include increased appropriations. In his latest budget proposal He said he would not support a bill that simply increases the amount.
He hasn't publicly said how much new funding he might support, but after a highly rated report on Alaska charter schools, teachers in classrooms are being offered as a way to retain teachers. He is pushing for a broader approach, including paying bonuses of $5,000 to $15,000 to students and promoting charter schools. Nationally. Under her proposed three-year incentive program, bonuses would range from $5,000 for urban teachers to $15,000 for rural teachers.
House Republican leaders are proposing a package that would include charter provisions, teacher bonuses and a $300 increase in per-student funding. But for more moderate lawmakers, this funding increase is not a starting point.
In his speech, Dunleavy said that to be a leader, “we need to break the cycle of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
“That means focusing on outcomes like reading. It means investing in the teachers in the classroom, not just the formula,” he said.
State Education Commissioner Deena Bishop, who was appointed with Dunleavy's support, said: In a recent opinion article He said per-student funding “does not guarantee that funding will flow directly into the classroom to support better academic performance.” Mr. Bishop advocated targeted investments, such as funding to implement reading activities and programs that connect students with career interests, which Mr. Dunleavy supported.
Republican Senate President Gary Stevens, who leads the bipartisan majority, said in a statement: The Governor is asking Alaskans to find common ground on these issues facing them. ”
Dunleavy, who was re-elected to a second term in 2022, also spoke in his speech about the importance of food security, given the state's dependence on transported products. Efforts to improve public safety. It also includes energy-related initiatives, such as proposals to upgrade power lines in the state's most populous region.
