The Legislature was just one vote short of overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bill that would have significantly funding for public schools.
Lawmakers vote on overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of a bipartisan education bill on Monday, March 18, 2024.
Legislators had overwhelmingly passed the wide-ranging $246 million bipartisan education bill last month. The bill included a $680 increase to the state’s $5,960 per-student funding formula, the first substantial increase since 2016. It also would have boosted internet speeds at some rural schools and provided additional funding for students struggling to read.
Inside, Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, spoke in support of the compromise bill and urged her colleagues to override the veto. On Friday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy repeatedly underscored his authority to reduce or eliminate budget items, including education funding, with a line-item veto at the end of the session.“The governor has a constitutional right to veto appropriations and, or shrink them. But we’ll cross that bridge, and he will cross that bridge, when they get there,” Stedman said.
Though the bill would not have directly set aside money for public schools, Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, pointed out that it would have set in state law the amount of money that lawmakers should appropriate and the governor should spend. He drew a comparison to Dunleavy’s many calls to follow a state statute setting the amount of the Permanent Fund dividend.
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