{"id":67,"date":"2026-05-14T17:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=67"},"modified":"2026-05-14T17:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:09:18","slug":"alaska-senate-committee-floats-mini-bus-education-bill-aimed-at-one-time-funding-policy-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtoalaskausa.com\/?p=67","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Senate committee floats \u2018mini-bus\u2019 education bill aimed at one-time funding, policy changes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While many school districts across Alaska are facing <\/span>severe budget shortfalls<\/span>, several bills to provide a sustained increase to education funding appear to have stalled in the Legislature. But a bill to add nearly $82 million one-time funding and education policy changes is moving forward with bipartisan support.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Lawmakers take aim at Alaska\u2019s chronic problems with abandoned and loose dogs<\/a><\/p>\n

On Monday, the Senate Education Committee introduced a revised version of <\/span>House Bill 28<\/span>, that adds one-time funds for energy relief, transportation, reading and vocational training, to a bill that would establish a loan forgiveness program for Alaska teachers. It also includes a variety of policy changes related to home school programs and others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chair Sen. L\u00f6ki Tobin, D-Anchorage, described it as a \u201cmini-bus\u201d bill on Wednesday, saying the new omnibus bill includes specific education funding to areas sought by the governor and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard that there is a deep concern about education reform still being left on the table, and so in those discussions we focused the new version of House Bill 28 on codifying some of the best practices that we know are going to improve education outcomes across the state,\u201d Tobin said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The underlying bill establishes a new three-year student loan forgiveness program to incentivize teachers to stay in Alaska. It\u2019s focused on teachers specializing in special education, English as a second language, science, technology, engineering and math. It would provide up to $15,000 to pay off student loans for those who go out of state and return to work in Alaska. The House <\/span>passed the bill<\/span> last May.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to incentivize teachers to stay here,\u201d said Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau, who sponsored the bill. \u201cWe\u2019ve had such tremendous turnover, and we\u2019ve got this tremendous shortage. And so I think the bill will help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill moved to the Senate this year, and education committee members tagged on a variety of items on Apr. 21. According to data provided by Tobin\u2019s office, it contains an additional $21.8 million for reading proficiency grants, $9.7 million for career and technical education, $7.3 million for transportation, and $43 million to offset rising energy costs for school districts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not want to divert operating costs, dollars that should be in the classroom, to just keeping the lights on and buildings warm,\u201d Tobin said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile many Alaska school districts are in the midst of budget negotiations and grappling with cuts to staff and programs to address large budget shortfalls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Districts have announced at least eleven potential school closures to date in <\/span>Anchorage<\/span>, the <\/span>Matanuska-Susitna Borough<\/span>, the <\/span>Kenai Peninsula Borough<\/span> and <\/span>Ketchikan<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tobin said at a Senate Majority caucus <\/span>news conference<\/span> on Wednesday the goal of the education policy bill is to garner enough support on both sides of the aisle to be able to override a potential veto by the governor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is obviously the hope for all of us that we will continue to increase stable and predictable funding for our schools and ensure that they have the resources they need,\u201d she said. \u201cHowever, at the end of the day, our goal is to get dollars into the classroom and to get support into our schools, and I will work diligently to do that with the number of people that I can guarantee will be there to get that bill across the finish line.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Legislature approves extra legal help for Alaskans who can\u2019t afford attorneys<\/a><\/p>\n

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has been a staunch opponent of increasing funding for schools, saying that education policy changes are needed to improve student outcomes. Last year, he issued three vetoes of additional funding for K-12 schools sustained through the state\u2019s funding formula, the base student allocation, and the last was <\/span>narrowly overridden<\/span> by the Legislature last summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, legislators introduced bills to again provide a sustained increase per student funding statewide. Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, <\/span>introduced a bill<\/span> to add $158 million to boost the per student formula, but so far it hasn\u2019t moved out of the House Education Committee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier in the session, Tobin introduced <\/span>a bill<\/span> that would add nearly $100 million in education funding. A portion of that money would go to per student funding through the BSA, and additional reading proficiency grants and transportation funding. But her bill proposed policy changes to enact reporting and testing requirements for homeschool programs that <\/span>drew public criticism<\/span> from homeschool proponents, so the Senate Education Committee stripped the <\/span>provision<\/span> and held the bill.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The new draft Senate bill also institutes more reporting requirements from school districts to the state on their homeschool programs, including how many students are enrolled by grade, where they live across the state and how their annual allotment is spent, among others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The draft bill would commission a state audit to evaluate Alaska\u2019s funding for schools, and make recommendations for changes or for alternative methods of education funding. There is no cost estimate yet for the study, or the entire bill.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tobin said the funding adequacy study is a top priority of the joint Task Force on Education Funding. \u201cWe know that our foundation formula needs some reform, and it also needs some additional attention on particular components that have changed significantly in the last few years, the pandemic really showcased that,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Story said she supports the changes to the bill. \u201cThere\u2019s some really good things that got put in there,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the end of the session, lots of things are happening, so we\u2019ll just see. But I\u2019m hoping good things happen for teachers and families and for our kids to get more attention next year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The draft \u201cmini-bus\u201d bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee and now moves to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, senators are debating<\/span> the draft operating budget<\/span> for next year that includes up to $100 million in additional funding for schools, but only if oil prices remain high. The House passed <\/span>a draft operating budget<\/span> with nearly $158 million in one-time funding for K-12 schools earlier this month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A select group of lawmakers from both chambers will negotiate and reconcile a compromise between the two budget bills \u2014 and a final allocation for Alaska schools next year \u2014\u00a0 in a conference committee in the last days of the legislative session, by May 20.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Alaska Beacon state and legislative daybook for the week of May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

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