Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters during a news conference on topics including education on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Still, lawmakers said they'd had discussions with Dunleavy following his veto threat aimed at trying to reach an agreement. The Republican-led House Education Committee even introduced a bill Thursday that would allow for board authorization of charters. But no agreement was reached.
Lawmakers were planning a veto override session for Monday. To be successful, 40 of the Legislature's 60 members must vote in favor of an override. House Speaker Cathy Tilton, a Republican, said earlier Thursday that if there is a veto override session, members would "have to vote their conscience and whatever they feel is best for their district."
House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage, an independent, said members of his coalition — which includes largely Democrats but also independents and a Republican — "stand ready to override this veto."
The education package, which passed last month 38-2 in the House and 18-1 in the Senate, was billed as a compromise, reached after an at-times bitter fight in the House. The measure included a $175-million increase in aid to districts through a school funding formula; language encouraging districts to use some of the extra funding for teacher salary and retention bonuses; a state education department position dedicated to supporting charter schools and additional funding for K-3 students who need reading help.
The funding was far less than what school officials sought to counter the impacts of inflation and high energy and insurance costs, but education leaders saw passage of the bill as a positive step.
Margo Bellamy, president of the Anchorage School Board, and Jharrett Bryantt, superintendent of the Anchorage school district, Alaska's largest, said the veto "undermines a bipartisan effort to make a historic investment in our children’s education."
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"In an already tenuous environment for public education in Alaska, the uncertainty and chaos this veto will have on districts’ progress to improve student outcomes cannot be understated," they said in a joint statement urging a veto override.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alaska-gov-dunleavy-vetoes-legislature-backed-education-package