On the eve of a special legislative session, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a pointed statement criticizing the leadership of the Alaska Legislature for its priorities, saying some lawmakers appear more interested in overriding his vetoes than addressing what he describes as a crisis in public education.
“The Alaska Legislature will gather in Juneau tomorrow for a special session focused on public education reform and increasing Alaska’s food production and security,” Dunleavy said in a statement released Friday. “There are reports that legislative leadership plans to hold at least two veto override votes before gaveling out and departing the capitol building for the airport.”
Dunleavy lamented what he sees as a lack of action on substantial reforms.
“No hearings on bills to improve Alaska’s dismal student test scores, no effort to lift the public school system from 51st in the nation, no tribal compacting to improve educational opportunities for our rural and Native students, and no apparent desire to prevent high school seniors from being unprepared because they don’t have the skills needed to compete for good jobs in the increasingly competitive 21st century economy,” he said. “That is a shame.”
The governor, who has made education reform a central plank of his administration, pointed to the Alaska Reads Act — passed in 2022 by a single vote, as evidence that policy changes can lead to measurable improvements. He said the results since then have validated his position.
“Three years later, reading test scores prove that policy improvements make all the difference,” Dunleavy said. “The problem is some lawmakers don’t seem to care. If they do, they wouldn’t squander every opportunity they’ve had to continue that improvement in other core areas like mathematics and writing.”
Instead, Dunleavy said, the focus remains on funding, not outcomes.
“Public discourse is all about money. They say if we only spent more of it the scores would improve. That is the same excuse that has been made for decades,” he said. “As soon as more money is approved, the special interest groups and unions get very quiet.”
Alaska has among the highest per-student education spending in the country, the governor noted. He emphasized that since 2019, state funding for public K-12 education has increased by over $1.5 billion, and that even after his vetoes, the most recent budget includes the largest increase to the Base Student Allocation in state history.
“The budget I signed this summer contained a BSA increase of $500 per student,” Dunleavy said. “Even with my partial veto, that’s still the largest BSA increase in state history.”
He closed his statement by calling on lawmakers to take responsibility and work with him during the special session.
“Here is the question I have for lawmakers who have resisted any meaningful education reforms,” he said. “If the legislature is not responsible for public schools — who is? I encourage Alaskans to ask their representatives and senator the same question.”
“We know what is needed to improve educational outcomes for students. The policies have been vetted and discussed for years. I am ready to work the next 30 days with senators and representatives, school board members, superintendents, teachers, anyone who wants to make our school better.”
The special session begins Saturday in Juneau. It’s unclear if the Legislature has the votes to override the governor’s veto of a portion of the increases to education that was passed during the regular session. Dunleavy said such increases should be accompanied by policy changes that could lead to better performance, such as more charter schools, tribal compacting, and other reforms.
Dunleavy has finally gone too far with his dismantling of our public education system and is headed for a major embarrassing defeat tomorrow. We know how much Trump hates losers, Dunleavy is done in politics
“…….Dunleavy is done in politics……..”
Frank, sometimes you’re downright funny! Watch 2028 when Lisa Murkowski runs for the last time…………
Honestly, murkowski needs to just retire.
Frank never had kids in any Alaska public schools. Let that sink in and take his comments accordingly.
There is no correlation between dollars spent and educational outcomes . Our public education system is one of countless examples of this fact. By all the chatter, one is led to believe that nobody ever learned anything without a defined-benefit-retirement-plan union teacher shoveling pap into a vacant young mind. The system needs dismantling.
Dismantling? I do not think that word means what you think it means. The system is so bloated and focused on everything except student outcomes, it needs to be fixed so students benefit, rather than be used as pawns in a battle over increasing already generous salaries and benefits.
There’s a good rebuttal of mccabe’s recent ADN opinion about education funding in the Alaska constitution in today’s ADN. The author specifically shreds the claim of a”bloated system”.
The Education Cartels have been running a grift since the late 70s.
Yeah! Those Houghton Mifflin bastards. They’re always printing books and pretending like we can’t see it’s a DEI scam.
I’d be fine with a veto override for HB 70, authorizing Alaska emergency medical services (EMS), the ability to provide point of injury care and transport to our operational K9s from law enforcement and search & rescue. Ridiculous veto that was just retribution for the education veto override….. EMS and OpK9s were just collateral damage of politics….
It was a bad bill. There was no guarantee EMS, many of which are volunteers in rural Alaska, would ever get the appropriate training to appropriately treat canines in an emergency. Your bill sponsor actually claimed that meds were the same for canines as children, seriously? No. Look no further than common painkillers. Rural EMS would never have the time or funds to get properly trained, certified and recertified. For the 1 in 100 chance a wounded service canine came in contact with a rural first responder, there would be a 1 in 100 chance that person would be certified to work on the dog, and another 1 in 100 chance there was a tablet with internet to actually guide the person effectively. Put pressure on wounds and use tourniquets. There’s a 1 in 100,000 chance a first responder doing this would ever get sued for offering “veterinary” care without a license. New laws need to be better thought out.
Let them take the money from their own salaries or their own pet projects if they want to cover education. We are tired of throwing money at something and getting piss poor results. Dunleavy is right we need reform now.
The real shame is some so-called republicans ( think Benedict Arnold Gary Stevens) is more interested in taking one last tax prayer funded junket to Boston’s before he retired instead of doing the heavy lifting of public policy….shame on you Gary. The only person you’re serving is yourself! Your an embarrassment to Alaska and we can only hope you will slyhrt off to obscurity.like the snake you are
This SS was doomed from the start. Democrats and sadly many republicans are sacks of sht, not working for the people.
They would never be this bold and they’d never get away with this crap if our capitol were in Anchorage and people could actually show up at the capital building without spending $$$ on travel!
CHANGE THE CAPITOL TO ANCHORAGE
(Can the Governor do that, Bernadette?)
The idea of public education, promoted by Horace Mann in the 19th century, and accepted as gospel in the state constitution, has run its course. The reasons vary, but removing the spiritual element from education might be the most important. It ignores the simple Truth than mankind is composed of body, mind and SPIRIT. When public schools made at least perfunctory recognition of Natural Law and God, visible until the 1960s, the system seemed to work. Now, it is a hollow shell.
What could rescue it? Allow religious education courses into the curriculum. Five days a week, like all the other disciplines. God is REAL, He is the Creator of science, languages, planets, galaxies. Let each denomination send its own tutors. Make Philosophy a requirement for those who desire no religious element. Germany used to do this, and it worked. Literally, to HELL with godless, secular education. Man is starved for truth. Let the kids seek it, and make up their own minds.
Spirit, prove it, and if you can, that would mean every living life form has a spirit.
Every loser who ever peddled crazy sh// on a pamphlet has wanted to just, “go in a classroom and let kids make up their own mind.”
You’re not special. You’re certainly not America itself. It’s not happening jack, stay away from schools.
Dunleavy is RIGHT! I moved to Alaska in 2008. In my first round of observing the legislative budget cycle, ASD had an “unimaginable” $25m shortfall in their projected budget. And the legislature fixed it. Every year since then the number gets bigger, the panic gets bigger, and the fix gets even more heroic from the legislature. This year was the first year I recall Anchorage School Board using emotional blackmail against folks: “if the budget gap doesn’t get filled, there will be NO middle school sports.” Even my homeschooling mom friends (most conservative women I know) melted down with “not that! Oh no… legislature fix the budget.” It’s the same pattern every year and everyone misses it year after year.
I don’t appreciate being emotionally blackmailed by my school board. Abusive husbands make similar threats. Yet the very women I would expect to be able to recognize abuse from a spouse or boyfriend don’t recognize abuse from their elected government.
Enlightening, thank you for being vigilant and calling out this reality from the state’s largest district. They wanted to ditch middle school sports, but keep mental health professionals in every elementary school.
The education bureaucracy is not fixable. It needs to be entirely eliminated and replaced with a small office that distributes unrestricted education vouchers directly to parents. Dunleavy sees the problem is not lack of money; but rather failure to deliver results. He realizes throwing more money is not the solution but legislators are owned by the NEA. Dunleavy is right; his critics are wrong.
Under a voucher system, local governments could lease out their school buildings to numerous private education providers selling their services directly to parents. Service providers could rent one or more classrooms each; much like separate tenants in an office building. The leases could include time allotments to the gymasiums to each education provider (tenant). The key element for success: competition. The current monopoly is a socialist failure (soviet style).
Dunleavy sees the problem. He realizes throwing more money is not the solution. The legislature is willing to toss more money; it helps them get re-elected.
So, if the governor’s veto is overridden, then the K12 Education Cartel will be back next year demanding more money to fix the K12 system. The Joint Education Task Force on K12 Funding is ONLY looking at funding, nothing else to actually improve education. Surely, its report is already done and awaiting printing.
Children lose, the NEA wins big time because it will be back year after year using funding from the State and local communities (aka dues) to ask for even more money. If the NEA can use the State’s and local communities’ money indirectly, then why can’t a parent use the State’s money INDIRECTLY, through Education Savings Accounts to get the best education for their kids?
Remember, ONLY DIRECT funding of non-public K12 is prohibited by the AK Constitution.
Op- Ed : Alaska’s Children and the PFD Deserve the Same Fierce Protection
I grew up in Trapper Creek, Alaska, in a two-room schoolhouse that served every grade from first through twelfth. We didn’t have fancy buildings, technology labs, or endless money flowing in from Juneau. What we did have, were dedicated teachers (one teacher), strong community ties, and the belief that every child deserved the tools to succeed.
I graduated in 1973 as president of my class at the brand-new Susitna Valley High School, with a 3.8 GPA, serving as Student Council president and already married with our daughter on the way. That wasn’t unusual back then; life was hard, and education was meant to prepare you for it. Our small school and close-knit community proved that with dedication and accountability, excellence could flourish even without lavish spending.
Today, Alaska spends more per student than any state in the nation, yet our children rank dead last in academic achievement. That isn’t a funding problem, it’s a leadership problem. It’s proof that money without accountability will not produce results which has led to the highest dropout rate in our nation.
The Constitutional Obligation
Article VII, Section 1 of Alaska’s Constitution commands the Legislature to establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children. That’s not a suggestion. It’s a binding obligation to ensure every child from Anchorage to Trapper Creek to the most remote village has access to an education that equips them for life, work, and citizenship. But here’s the reality: education has become a bargaining chip in the annual budget fight, just like our Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD). Both have been used as political weapons instead of being honored as public trusts.
The Permanent Fund Connection
In 1982, Alaska established the statutory formula for the PFD, a law that ensures every citizen shares directly in our resource wealth. In 1999, Alaskans reaffirmed that promise in an advisory vote, with nearly 84% saying do not touch our PFD for government spending. Since 2016, that law has been ignored. Billions have been withheld from Alaskans without their consent. Meanwhile, we were told there’s no money for schools. That is false. Alaska has over $80 billion in the Permanent Fund the largest sovereign wealth fund in the United States. The truth is this: the Legislature could pay the full PFD first as the law and the people require and still use surplus earnings to create a constitutionally protected Education Stability Trust. That would guarantee predictable funding for schools without raising taxes, raiding the principal, or breaking the people’s trust.
The Real Crisis
The crisis in Alaska’s education isn’t about the amount of money, it’s about the will to lead. We have seen decades of governors and legislators avoid hard reforms, while the Department of Education swallows dollars before they ever reach the classroom. We have seen unions and bureaucracies resist change, while rural communities suffer under one-size-fits-all policies.
Governor Dunleavy now calls for reform while vetoing education funds and holding special sessions that produce more theater than solutions. But true reform begins with honoring the law, respecting the will of the people, and protecting both our children’s education and our citizens’ dividends with equal commitment.
The Solution
1. Pay the full PFD first, exactly as the 1982 law and 1999 vote require.
2. Inflation-proof the Permanent Fund principle, safeguarding it for future generations.
3. Dedicate surplus earnings to a constitutionally protected Education Stability Trust.
4. Demand accountability and measurable results from every district receiving funds.
This approach ends the false choice between the PFD and education. It honors the law, strengthens our schools, and protects the legacy of resource wealth that belongs to all Alaskans.
Our children deserve the same fierce protection we give the PFD.
Strong schools, and a full dividend, are not competing goals, they are twin pillars of Alaska’s future.
The question is whether our leaders have the courage to stop the political games and keep both promises.
By Edward D. Martin Jr.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corinthians 3:17
Ed, the financial utopia you describe cannot happen if we keep the PFD. Time to eliminate it.
Manny,
Original Intent… the Permanent Fund was created to limit the size of Government.
It was to keep a portion of Oil Wealth away from the Parasites, which inhabit Government and hold this wealth for the People. The Fund was never intended to fund Government.
I think the entire curriculum needs a redo. Get back to basics and what kids will need once out of the education system. The bloat is undeniable.
Vetoes overriden. 🙂 Good job legislators.
If Dunleavy expected anything different, he’s even dumber than I thought.
It’s a very low bar and somehow he crawled under it.
I just want to say:
God Bless you Governor. Thank you for standing with your principles. You gave these cowardly legislators the chance to confront their duty. Their obligation to help the children in their districts. At great political danger, you faced down the odds and did the right thing. Be proud, as we are proud of your for seeing this through. Trying to improve public education even though those who claim to be on the side of the chilld abandon them. You are the hero of this hour.
For the legislators who allow the continued failure of this dismal public education system. Shame.
May you revel in your ‘gain’. May you glory in your accomplishment on behalf of the ‘system’. May your NEA masters tell you what a champion you are for public education.
We are a failing State because of you. You are the cause of our demise. You are the racist and biggoted cause of use remaining at the bottom of human accomplishment.
I would ask you what you have done? What have you done to improve our education outcomes? Money? Look in your heart. Look deeper. You know that it isn’t money that keeps a good teacher in the bush. It is good outcomes. Since you torture our good educators with failure, you drive them away. They aren’t chasing a paycheck. They aren’t chasing a pay increase. They are trying to find peace in the face of vast failure of a well funded system.
At some point in your sad and decrepit life, you will wake in the middle of the night. You will wake to the realization that you are a failure. That you listened to the union wormwood whisperers who told you to fund a failing system fully and it would serve children. You should wake in terror for the failure you have wrought for the union running the school system serves only teachers, and not students. You failed students and you needed to serve BOTH. BOTH, do you hear me. You sicken me as you will upset the stomachs of thousands of ill-served students and failed teachers who will hate you for the rest of their lives. Never sleep well. You have taken the east and wide path. The teacher’s union is running the asylum and you are the warden watching as the students suffer day by day. Day by day. Year by year. Take your blood money and feel your victory. Know that the path you have take is the easy and sure path to reelection. But also know that the path you have take in paved in the stones of the failed students you have promised to save.