Lawmakers say they’re puzzled by Gov. Dunleavy’s veto of $5M for K-3 reading, a goal of his signature education bill

Reading coach Eliza Warmack useful pinch first graders connected reference and penning astatine Stedman Elementary successful Petersburg successful 2023. (Rachel Cassandra/KFSK)

A brace of authorities House lawmakers are calling connected their colleagues to reconvene to reconstruct millions successful backing erased by Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s line-item vetoes that they opportunity was meant to execute 1 of nan governor’s signature priorities.

Among Dunleavy’s much than $225 cardinal successful line-item fund reductions was $5.2 cardinal group speech for students successful kindergarten done 3rd grade. 

That money was intended to execute nan goals of nan Alaska Reads Act — namely, to thief young students struggling to study to read, said Rep. Alyse Galvin, I-Anchorage, who, alongside Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, penned an op-ed successful nan Anchorage Daily News urging lawmakers to override nan veto.

“What is difficult to understand astir this is that nan READS Act was his pet authorities from 2 years ago,” nan brace of minority-caucus lawmakers wrote. “The Act has been criticized arsenic an unfunded instruction that sets caller standards but withholds nan intends to meet those standards.”

Alaska has immoderate of nan lowest reference scores successful nan nation, according to nan National Assessment of Educational Progress. The Alaska Reads Act, unveiled by Dunleavy successful 2020 and passed by a narrow bipartisan ballot 2 years later, was meant to alteration that. 

The Reads Act laid retired a bid of changes to nan measurement Alaska’s nationalist schools thatch reading successful grades K-3, including screening tests and intensive interventions for students who aren’t reference astatine people level. It was based connected a akin rule that has shown occurrence successful Mississippi.

It came alongside a $30 summation successful nan guidelines student allocation, nan largest portion of nan state’s schoolhouse backing look — an magnitude that administrators opportunity fell acold short of nan costs of implementing nan bill’s requirements.

The $5.2 cardinal included successful nan state’s operating fund would person provided districts pinch an other $180 per student successful kindergarten done 3rd people and an further $100 per K-3 student successful low-income Title I schools.

“We cognize really costly it is to bring kids up to speed,” Galvin said successful an interview. “We cognize really costly it is erstwhile kids astatine 5th people person decided they’re not learners, aliases they can’t get it, and that intends they cheque out, and oftentimes that intends they extremity up not graduating. And conjecture who pays for that? All of Alaskans.”

The Alaska Reads Act has shown immoderate early promising results, according to charismatic data. Dunleavy touted improvements successful reference crossed nan authorities tied to nan Alaska Reads Act successful a news release earlier this year.

“As these results are opening to show, erstwhile we instrumentality effective acquisition reform, Alaska’s students are tin of success,” he said successful nan June 5 statement. (Some educators person raised questions astir nan governor’s claims, nan Anchorage Daily News reported.)

In nan Anchorage School District, nan number of students achieving a cardinal reference proficiency benchmark accrued 10% past year, ASD Office of Management and Budget Senior Director Katie Parrott said successful a telephone interview.

“It was beautiful remarkable,” she said, “to summation that overmuch crushed successful reference proficiency successful 1 year.”

But pinch nan $5.2 cardinal erased, astir half of which would person gone to nan Anchorage School District, Parrott said nan territory was near to capable nan spread pinch wide costs and savings from anterior years. 

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland said that nan veto would consequence successful further cuts to nationalist schools already hamstrung by insufficient funding.

“We’re not cutting from literacy and reading, but location will beryllium takeaways successful different parts of our fund because of that,” he said by phone.

And crossed nan state, “districts are already making cuts owed to accrued fixed costs,” said Alaska Council of School Administrators Executive Director Lisa Parady.

“For nan Alaska Reads Act to make existent improvements, location has to beryllium investment,” she said by email. 

For that reason, ASD fund head Parrott said she was “a small spot surprised” by Dunleavy’s veto of reading-focused funds.

“Just because it seemed to beryllium a small spot inconsistent pinch nan administration’s stated support for having those targeted investments successful areas that we tin straight effect acquisition outcomes,” Parrott said.

A desire for targeted investments successful education

Rather than broad-based backing increases, Dunleavy has many times called for targeted investments successful classrooms aimed astatine achieving circumstantial goals, from improving coach retention to boosting student performance. 

In his yearly State of nan State reside successful January, he called connected lawmakers to “break nan rhythm of conscionable doing nan aforesaid point complete and complete and expecting different results.”

“That intends putting a attraction connected outcomes specified arsenic reading,” he said. 

He has utilized those calls for targeted acquisition investments to advocator for his legislative priorities, including a controversial proposal that would person provided schoolroom teachers pinch yearly bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 per year. Here’s really he described his attack to improving acquisition connected nan statewide Alaska Public Media call-in show Talk of Alaska successful April.

“It can’t beryllium a couple, a mates of dollars now, a mates of dollars adjacent twelvemonth without really targeting to thief teachers and thief kids,” he said.

Like Parrott, Galvin, nan independent authorities typical who’s calling for a veto override, said nan veto is confusing — because, she said, it eliminates nan benignant of targeted acquisition backing Dunleavy said he wants.

“Not just, should it beryllium targeted, but let’s spell for his targets, because we cognize his targets are astir helping those kids who are struggling reading,” she said. “And frankly, location are a batch of them.”

The governor’s property agency pushed backmost connected Galvin and Gray’s telephone to override nan veto. A connection from Dunleavy’s property agency pointed to $175 cardinal successful one-time backing for schools that did past Dunleavy’s line-item cuts.

“The Governor included nan one-time $680 BSA summation successful nan fund for schoolhouse districts to reside acquisition costs. This backing tin beryllium utilized to reside nan costs for nan Alaska Reads Act aliases different acquisition priorities successful a schoolhouse district,” Dunleavy’s communications director, Jeff Turner, wrote successful a prepared statement.

Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, an state of nan governor, said nan Dunleavy management was investing successful reference successful different areas — including by spending arsenic overmuch arsenic $750,000 successful an outer evaluator to study nan effectiveness of nan Reads Act.

“I’m hoping that information will besides show america possibly immoderate gaps and wherever we request to focus,” Hughes said by phone.

Other Republican friends of nan politician described Gray and Galvin’s telephone to override nan veto of K-3 backing arsenic governmental posturing. Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, pointed retired that Galvin voted against a assistance to a authorities reference institute amid questions complete its shifting mission, and some authors of nan op-ed voted against nan governor’s coach prize proposal.

“I conjecture my mobility is, why each of a sudden, are they willing successful targeting backing erstwhile they weren’t before?” she said by phone. 

‘Preserve wide costs for savings and fiscal stability’

In his veto message, Dunleavy said he trim nan reading-focused backing to sphere authorities money for “savings and fiscal stability,” akin to nan reasoning he provided for galore different vetoes. But that rings a spot hollow, said Senate Finance Committee co-chair Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, a personnel of a bipartisan mostly comprising 85% of nan authorities Senate that has often recovered itself astatine likelihood pinch Dunleavy.

Stedman said nan fund that passed nan Legislature put $400 cardinal much into savings than nan Dunleavy management requested. 

“You can’t, successful my opinion, legitimately usage nan excuse he used, because we are up of his savings targets and continually strengthening nan state’s position,” he said by phone.

But Stedman said overriding Dunleavy’s vetoes is nary easy task.

“That’s, you know, bully governmental thunder, but successful practicality, it’s not going to happen,” he said.

First, it would require a typical legislative convention — not an easy inquire of lawmakers during nan bosom of nan run season. And then, it’d require 3 quarters of nan afloat Legislature to ballot to reconstruct nan cuts. That’s among nan highest thresholds for a veto override successful nan nation.

And lawmakers person been hesitant to override Dunleavy’s vetoes. Just this past spring, lawmakers grounded to override Dunleavy’s veto of an acquisition measure that passed nan Legislature by a mixed ballot of 56-3.

For their part, though, Galvin and Gray opportunity it’s astatine slightest worthy a shot.