By REP. KEVIN MCCABE
There is a new education funding bill on the table from the House Democrats — HB 69. This bill proposes a permanent increase to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) over the next three years. Here’s the financial breakdown:
Cost Increase for HB 69:
• FY26: $326.3 million
• FY27: $501.3 million
• FY28: $645.7 million
This is a total cost over three years: $1.47 billion on top of the current BSA.
If passed, this would push the Department of Education & Early Development’s (DEED) FY26 budget to $1.58 billion — a massive jump from the Governor’s proposed $1.25 billion.
Let’s be clear: Republicans absolutely support funding education. We all believe Alaska’s students deserve every tool possible to succeed, and that strong, viable schools are essential for the future of our state. However, given Alaska’s current fiscal situation, we must ask some tough questions about how to reach that goal. We MUST ensure that school district administrators spend every dollar they receive responsibly.
Here’s the deal: any increase in education funding won’t come out of thin air. It will be directly tied to the funds designated for your Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). Are Alaskans ready to sacrifice their PFDs (possibly permanently) for this ongoing spending increase? Are we prepared for income or sales taxes? Can we sustain this funding increase responsibly without jeopardizing other critical areas of the budget, such as roads, Medicaid, seniors, the Alaska Marine Highway, and other essential programs?
We must ask: Who pays? Which program will fund the significant increase in another program? What’s the investment from district administrators, and what’s the return on that investment? Are we talking about new trucks, snowplows, or additional non-teacher staff, or is the funding going directly into classrooms? An honest conversation is essential. We need to move beyond emotional manipulation and flashy red slogans and have open, candid discussions backed by accurate, up-to-date data.
Most Alaskans agree—we want to fund education, but we also demand accountability. It’s not enough to simply increase funding without ensuring that money actually reaches the classroom and improves outcomes for our kids. The focus must be on students, not bureaucracy. Every dollar spent should be directed toward enhancing the learning experience in the classroom.
Last session, House Republicans supported the largest one-time education funding boost in state history — $322 million — on top of the fully funded the BSA, plus a one time increase. That was a big step forward, but let’s not forget: this isn’t just about throwing more money at the problem. It’s about making sure every dollar we spend delivers results for our children – the results parents want for their children.
Alaska’s kids deserve the best education we can provide, but we owe it to them, their parents, and all Alaskans to fund education in a way that is both effective and fiscally responsible. We must demand full transparency from school districts—not only to the legislature but to parents as well. Let’s focus on reforms that truly make a difference for our students and be honest about the trade-offs we’re facing. We must have an honest conversation, with correct and factual data and we must ask “who pays” and what is the return on investment. An investment in our kids always provides the greatest return. But if we cut DOT funding to invest in school districts and the kids can’t get to school, that would be an issue.
The conversation is far from over. I’m committed to ensuring that Alaska’s future remains bright—for our students and for all Alaskans.
Rep. Kevin McCabe is a legislator from Big Lake, Alaska.
So, now we see the potential costs of this public education “Donnybrook!” When are we going to see the ‘guarantee’ of a better outcome in education???
No more money without an audit and public input. The teacher unions control the money and the corrupt Republicans have joined the corrupt union democrats.
In the words of the wise Tom Homan, “The more money, the better I’m going to do.”
Stop throwing money at a problem that is not a money problem, you idiots! My spouse has been a teacher for 39 years, and tells me that the garbage quality of our education system is not a money problem.
I totally believe that Natural. Can this be fixed getting back to the 3 Rs and history. ?? Tired of flushing money. I’ve complained about this before but it’s my experience high school kids can’t even count back change in stores. Clueless about history. I want something for my hard earned taxes. My money didn’t come free I bust my a– for it. I want intelligent kids turned out of our schools. The country’s future depends on it.
We have teachers in our family that say the same thing.
They also have plenty to say about the administration staff.
This deep state spending department needs to be audited and broken up.
I am a firm believer in quality education but question how money designated to our schools is spent. Why are there so many vice principals, “experts”, etc. Why are graduation requirements constantly being changed? Why are benefits to superintendents so extensive? Before any additional funds are given to schools I would like to see forensic audits of all school districts in the state. Money for education should go to the classrooms not the bureaucracy.
Thank you, Rep. McCabe for starting the conversation. Who pays? This doesn’t even take into account the retirement benefit bill that the democrats will also be pushing. If it all passes, the PFD will be gone and new taxes will have to be implemented. Does Alaska have the population to cover it all? No. Where’s the common sense? It’s a sad day.
The state population is essentially static. There is no increased student body. And it doesn’t even include the absolutely obscene University of Alaska mining the annual general budget to the tune of 17% to 20% of the budget. This is doubling costs in three years. Can we expect a doubling of successful results in three years?
Yeah, right……………
We need to stop this runaway spending now!
Dunleavy- Veto this garbage! Holy cr-p thats a lot of money we don’t have! Should sell and move before they come for our income. Juneau has forgot its responsibility to people- and it sure isn’t doubling the education budget without education accountability. The dumb screwing the people in Alaska! Ouch
Great Education is what makes America Great & Competive. We Need GREAT education ..No more H1B VISAS!
All working Alaskans could sign over 50% of their paychecks directly to their school districts today. I wouldn’t give them 2 years, and they’d be screaming for a higher percentage, and we’d STILL have high school seniors who are unable to complete a grammatically correct sentence or solve a basic equation. As so many have mentioned, it’s not a money problem.
Representative McCabe, thanks for the excellent explanation of the effects of the huge proposed increase in K12 funding with NO accountability for increases in student achievement.
The Education Industry will even pay for students, using state funds, to go to Juneau to lobby for this increased funding. School boards, teachers and others in the Ed Industry will use the state funds to lobby for even more state funding.
This is a revolving door of funding: Ed industry goes to legislature to ask for more money, it gets more money, then next year it takes that new money to go to the legislature to ask for more money!
The school districts/boards approve new teacher contracts without having the funds. They then count on the legislature to fund these new contracts. Thus, the legislature should be represented at the negotiating table.
Fund the students, not the industry!
The garbage called “education” in Alaska is very expensive. The children who are deprived of a functioning education are used as pawns to cover the greed of the unions and incompetent administrators.
The strings must be removed from the allocated funds allowing parents to shop from a competitive field of educational options. We are told this is not an option.
Many pretend we are a free enterprise based, with a largely freedom loving population state, which is such a joke, that it makes one laugh until it hurts.
Alaska is a state with its’ population concentrated in a few urban centers, with dozens of scattered micro ghettos, that were once villages up to a few decades ago. As socially decayed as California or Washington.
The federal and state governments operate a socialist, grant based, top down failed governance, and the population goes right along with it.
As our resources become increasingly inaccessible to maintain a viable economy due to regulatory strangulation, the permanent fund will be looted until its’ gone to maintain the bureaucratic class by our politicians.
I personally think, economically speaking, this state is done for a minimum of 10–15 years. That’s assuming we start to shrink government 50-60% starting with 10% year over year right now, today. This means Alaska is on the edge, if not already seeing the beginnings of a rather large exodus, which will be the forced beginning of the course correction. How sad that it has come to this. Currently 4-6 out of 10 I speak to have plans to leave.
The worst part about an exodus is not how many will leave, but who will leave. It will resemble the great brain drain of Britain: the most productive, conservative, and educated individuals will go first. Most migration throughout history has been driven by natural disaster, war, or ECONOMICS.
The school spending issue is just a symptom of the larger problems in Alaska: JUNEAU and FEDERALCONTROL. We can’t go on like this much longer, no matter what boondoggles they dream up next. The state is now on a moderate but inevitable decline which is picking up speed. The correction will happen one way or another, less we fall deeper into federal control. Last year 57.4% of the state budget was FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS or the remaining 42.6% 55-60 percent of that was from savings YIKES in the private sector your company is basically bankrupt.
Perhaps we’ll become an Article 1 federal enclave again or a vassal state under total federal control. Zero representatives want that to happen while they’re in office. It’s sad that the correction has to be forced instead of voluntary. The citizens can not only see it but feel it.
The good news is that the smaller the state government becomes, the faster and easier it will be to recover. As it shrinks, all the NGOs and grifters will leave as the money stream dries up of course the PFD will be gone by then thats how far they will push. In 10–15 years, most hard-working parents will begin to realize their kids will be out of college and entering the workforce. Knowing that opportunities in Alaska will be slim to nonexistent means, well, you know…
That amount of money is just stupid. The uniparty are doing the best they can to begin taxation that will never go away; everyone knows socialists cannot stand the idea of a free society, it’s anathema to the socialists. No increases.
Agreed, and well said, Representative McCabe.
We are closing schools and losing students, but the bureaucrats and the teachers unions want more money. I do not know what kind of math they are using, but it does not add up. No more money until we have true educational reform in this state.
I have been advocating for years that government is going to get our PFD.
It looks like it’s gonna happen and taxes on top of that because like most of these blogs, they just want more more and more.
Our only hope is when they take more they tax the crap out of us so these people will get out and vote.
Most people only get involved when it affects their paycheck so until it affects their paycheck, they don’t give a hoot
Conservatives have never been able to acknowledge the public education requirements in our State Constitution costs $$$$$$
The teachers/educators union, comprised of teachers, doesn’t need a conference at Captain Cook. Lower the dues. Get rid of administrative overhead positions, and all the extraneous things that don’t help your ability to get a job, or be independent and financially successful in life, like DEI, WOKE, showing how to emotionally blackmail parents and exploit children for personal financial gain, whining, throwing public tantrums to manipulate and get more money from taxpayers and the state, etc.
How much are you willing pay?
Let’s start with 75% of your income Frank.
Then it will go up every year.
“An investment in our kids always provides the greatest return.” – facts don’t bear that out.
“Can we sustain this funding increase responsibly without jeopardizing other critical areas of the budget, such as roads, Medicaid, seniors, the Alaska Marine Highway, and other essential programs?” – General pandering statement. Medicaid has always been rife with waste, fraud, and abuse, but hey, let’s do another audit. If the AMH is so “critical” and “essential” why doesn’t anybody use it, especially at a 60% ticket subsidy? Publish weekly passenger tallys and prove me wrong. That would certainly qualify as “accurate, up-to-date data”.
You won’t reform education spending any more than you will reform any other area of State spending. This is just another “The cupboard is bare” rant.
The entire education system in Alaska, from top to bottom, needs to be DOGE’d. In fact, the entire state bureaucracy should be DOGE’d.
Thank You Rep. McCabe. I think that the Alaska State Legislators need to have DOGE to clean the sewer in Juneau Legislators. The education system is way out of control.