NOTN- The University of Alaska Southeast says its textbook affordability program has saved students more than $1 million since it began in 2016.
According to national surveys and studies on the affordability of course materials, about 65% of college students did not buy their textbooks because they were too expensive and 77% of students delayed purchasing their textbooks due to high cost. Students who face food insecurity are often the most heavily impacted, having to make a choice between buying meals and purchasing textbooks.
The initiative, encourages faculty to use low-cost or zero-cost course materials in place of traditional commercial textbooks. According to the university, more than 200 faculty have offered 889 “Zero Textbook Cost” courses, saving students an average of $225,000 each semester.
“Offering affordable access to an excellent education is our #1 priority at UAS.” Chancellor Aparna Palmer said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of the Egan Library and the hard work of our faculty and staff, we help ensure that our students can learn more deeply, finish their degrees, and achieve their dreams.”
The effort is part of a national shift toward using open educational resources (OER), which are free, adaptable, and often more up-to-date than traditional textbooks.
According to UAS these open educational resources enable both students and faculty to benefit, because the materials can be adapted to fit the needs of today’s students, they also help strengthen student participation.
UAS began marking “Zero Textbook Cost” courses in 2022, allowing students to easily search for affordable options when registering for classes.
By the end of the spring 2025 semester, the university estimates more than 10,000 students have benefited from the program.
The Juneau School District office in downtown Juneau.
(Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau)
The Juneau School District office in downtown Juneau.
(Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau)
NOTN- The Juneau School District has canceled all classes for Thursday, Aug. 14, citing ongoing flood warnings for the Mendenhall River and the need to assess damage in the Mendenhall Valley area.
JSD released a statement this morning, The district said it will continue to monitor the situation and notify families of any changes through automated calls, emails, texts, its mobile app and its website. “The safety of our staff and students is always our number one priority.”
The National Weather Service’s flood warning remains in effect until 8 a.m. Thursday. Three district schools are located in the affected area. Officials said the delay will allow Unified Command and safety crews to evaluate conditions before students return.
Classes for grades 1–12 are scheduled to begin Friday, Aug. 15, while the first day of kindergarten will be Monday, Aug. 19.
NOTN-Juneau’s Unified Command is preparing residents for the anticipated , Suicide Basin release that could cause flooding along the Mendenhall River.
Once water begins to spill from the basin, the National Weather Service will issue a flood warning, and the Unified Command will send evacuation advisories through multiple channels.
City and school district officials are preparing for possible closures affecting all Juneau schools, even though only three are located along the river. The district said closures could last as long as the evacuation advisory remains in effect.
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon says they are moving through the evacuation as if the HESCO Barriers – which are placed along Mendenhall river – aren’t there.
“We’re assuming that they will work.” Said Mayor Weldon “We did this all with the Army Corps of Engineers, they were quite excited about them working, and we’re hopeful that things will be much better than last year. But again, it’s still a flood area, so we are asking people evacuate.”
If the advisory is issued before the school day begins, classes will be canceled. If flooding is expected during the day, at-risk schools may release students early or relocate them to safe sites for parent reunification. Guardians and emergency contacts must provide photo ID to pick up students.
In some cases, bus riders who live in the evacuation area but attend schools elsewhere may be taken to a central pickup point outside the flood zone rather than back into affected neighborhoods.
Governor Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference on Thursday, April 17 in Juneau. (Photo by Greg Knight/NOTN)
Governor Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference on Thursday, April 17 in Juneau. (Photo by Greg Knight/NOTN)
NOTN- Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Monday released the full policy agenda for a special session of the Alaska Legislature, scheduled to begin Saturday, Aug. 2. The session, first announced earlier this month, will focus on a sweeping package of education reforms the Governor says are aimed at improving student outcomes and securing long-term funding for public schools.
“This is an opportunity to address Alaska’s performance issues and funding issues in K-12 education well into the future.” Dunleavy said in the press release. “By addressing this now, school districts, students, parents, teachers, and policymakers will have certainty and will not have to debate this issue during the regular session that begins in January,”
The Governor’s office outlined their key priorities for the session, those include
Executive order creating a Department of Agriculture
Tribal Compacting between the state Department of education and select tribes
Expansion of corporate tax credit program for education.
Authorize the Department of Education as a charter school authorizer in addition to local districts
Open enrollment allowing public school students to enroll in any public school that has room including outside of a student’s resident district.
Grants for reading improvement and for a new after school reading tutoring program
Recruitment retention payments to classroom teachers to reduce turnover
Long-term certainty in funding for K-12 schools if agreement is reached on policy.
Education Commissioner Dr. Deena Bishop, a former teacher and superintendent, said the proposals are evidence-based and modeled after successful policies in other states.
Bill introductions are scheduled for the session’s opening day, with hearings requested to begin Sunday, Aug. 3.
However many lawmakers plan to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s decision to veto millions of dollars in public school funding from this year’s state operating budget.
according to the Alaska Beacon, It takes 45 votes to override an Alaska governor’s budget veto, and of the 46 legislators who voted this spring to override the governor’s veto of the education funding formula, all but a handful have committed to supporting a budget veto override as well.
That formula is subject to the state’s annual budget process, and Dunleavy chose to only partially fund it, causing a wave of cuts to services at public schools across the state. Dunleavy had said he would not agree to the full funding increase without the Legislature adopting other policies he’s proposed.
Pearl Creek Elementary School is seen on June 3, 2025. The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District decided to close the school at the end of the academic year due to budget cuts. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Three Alaska school districts have joined a coalition from across the country — including school districts, teachers unions, parents and advocacy groups — suing the Trump administration for blocking $6.8 billion in congressionally approved education funding.
The Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the Kuspuk school districts joined the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court. The suit challenges the withholding of funds as unlawful and unreasonable, as well as violating Congress’ authority and the separation of powers.
“The lawless and last-minute withholding of federal education funds is not just a bureaucratic failure—it is a direct attack on our most vulnerable students. Less than a month before school starts, we’ve been forced to plan for cuts instead of preparing to serve children,” said Fairbanks Superintendent Luke Meinert in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
The Trump administration has said it’s withholding the funds pending a review of the grant programs to ensure they align with the Republican president’s priorities, and to “prevent them from promoting a ‘left-wing’ agenda,” according to the lawsuit.
For Alaska, an estimated $46.4 million was allocated across five grant programs, according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. That includes funding to support migrant education, academic enrichment, English language learning, and other types of instruction, as well as teachers’ professional development. In addition, an estimated $1.1 million was withheld for adult education programs.
According to the lawsuit, school districts nationwide are facing millions in budget shortfalls, and have had to “cancel orders for new curriculum, delay critical teacher training, pause contracts for services for English language learners, or take other actions to avoid incurring expenses that they cannot afford to pay without the money normally provided by the Formula Grant Programs.”
The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District serves more than 12,000 students across 33 schools, and has seen over $2.57 million frozen, according to the lawsuit.
“Without these Title program funds, nearly 200 education jobs are in jeopardy,” Meinert said. “Our classrooms will be less supported, and students will be left behind. This isn’t just fiscal irresponsibility—it’s a moral failure that jeopardizes the future of the very students federal law is meant to protect.”
The Kuspuk School District serves 320 students in nine schools across 12,000 square miles in Western Alaska — and has received national attention for its deteriorating school buildings and severe maintenance needs. It is facing over $180,000 in frozen funds.
Students attend class in a Kuspuk elementary school. (Photo provided by the Kuspuk School District)
Among the grants frozen was funding to support teacher training, school supplies, enrichment programs and English language learning, including for over 130 staff. “Because English is not the first language for more than 60% of the district’s teaching staff, sustained … training has been critical to ensuring educators can effectively support English Learners across subjects and grade levels,” according to the lawsuit.
Superintendent Madeline Aguillard said in a statement the programs are “not line items, they are lifelines” for students.
“These are not extras. These are the programs that give our students a chance,” she said. “When funding is blocked, it does not just stall services. It dismantles the systems we have built to reach those most in need. When the federal government walks away from its obligation, it is not a delay. It is denial. Denial of access. Denial of progress. Denial of the futures our students have a right to pursue.”
For Anchorage, the state’s largest district by population at more than 43,000 students in 94 schools, the frozen funds are estimated at $11.8 million.
In an interview last week on the district’s budget challenges ahead of the lawsuit, Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the funding freeze on July 1, at the start of the fiscal year was “severe,” particularly having just signed new contracts for teachers and staff. “If you offer somebody a role and no longer have the funds for it — it’s so unprecedented that the federal government would not essentially pay its bills on time because these monies were appropriated. This is not a budget reduction conversation. This is a executing the will of the Congress of conversation,” he said.
Anchorage Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt (Photo provided by the Anchorage School District)
The freeze comes amid an ongoing state education funding debate with the Alaska State Legislature meeting for a special session on Aug. 2, as well as a dispute over local contributions to school funding. School officials said this combination of issues is devastating to public education in Alaska. Earlier this year, the Anchorage School District reported it had to lay off 42 staff positions, and cut more than $30 million in salaries, benefits and services.
Bryantt said the district had to immediately lay off five staff members following the funding freeze announcement, and transfer about a dozen more to alternate roles. “We can make sure that folks are employed. That’s my top priority, in addition to the continuity of our students’ learning,” he said, and recruiting and hiring teachers is an ongoing challenge.
“Teachers are a national commodity,” he added.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Rhode Island, names the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, its director Russ Vought, the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. It asks a judge to compel the department to release the funds.
Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined nine other Republican senators in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget urging the department to release K-12 funds, as well as over $700 million for adult education programs.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will release some of the withheld grants, an estimated $1.3 billion that goes to support after-school care and summer school programs, though it’s unclear when those funds will be received by districts.
Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, at a news conference with Gov. Mike Dunleavy on education funding on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
The state of Alaska has filed an appeal with the U.S. Department of Education after federal officials said the state failed a test measuring the differences in funding between school districts, which put more than $80.8 million in federal aid at risk.
Each year, the state receives federal funding called “impact aid” intended to compensate districts with federally owned lands, which reduce the tax base to support schools. The state can put that funding toward its own funding for schools — which the state has done in the past — but only if it can pass what’s known as a disparity test.
Federal law requires there to be no more than a 25% gap between per-student revenue in districts near the highest in funding and districts near the lowest. The department found Alaska’s disparity to be 26.88%, given the state’s complex funding formula.
But Alaska has rejected the finding, filing a formal appeal on July 14 and submitting districts’ finance data to argue their expenditures meet the standard. The test puts federal funding at stake, according to the state, which this year amounts to an estimated $80.8 million.
Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, said in an interview last week that she feels good about the state’s accounting and a successful appeal.
“I’m confident that we did meet it,” Bishop said of the requirements. “If I base it off of the last appeal and how Alaska was able to share how transportation costs are truly that disparate, then I think we will do fine.”
The state failed the same disparity test in 2021, based on 2019 state data, and successfully appealed. This time, the state submitted 2024 data for evaluation.
“So a little bit of it is a huge math problem at the beginning,” Bishop said of the appeal process. “We wrapped our arms around it and figured that out, and then made an argument on … why we did it that way, given the background of those costs in Alaska.”
Bishop said Alaska sees high costs in rural school districts — especially for transportation, but also basic supplies and operating costs.
“The cost to do business is highly diverse in Alaska. If you just took the cost of a head of lettuce or a gallon of milk, you know, in Anchorage, as compared to Teller, it’s not just three times (higher in Teller). It could be up to five times. And really building and construction materials, supplies, all of those are such a significant increase due to the way you can only get in by barge or plane. So it’s just … again, understanding why we pay such large differences in different places in Alaska.”
The U.S. Department of Education notified the state that it failed the test on May 16, as first reported by KTOO. Bishop said it will take time to resolve. The 2021 appeal was resolved at the end of that fiscal year, in 2022.
“It is a long process, because I think they’re very careful at it,” she said. “You want to spend the time on it. They did spend the time to understand Alaska.”
In the meantime, the federal impact aid payments will continue to school districts.
DEED spokesperson Bryan Zadalis said by email those funds will continue through the appeal process. “School districts will continue to receive Impact Aid funding directly from US-ED through their regular processes of application approval and funding availability,” he said.
Added uncertainty for education funding
The results of the disparity tests add uncertainty for the state, and for Alaska schools.
That’s based on the state’s complex funding formula for schools – which includes federal, state and local contributions.
Alexei Painter, who directs the division of state government that analyzes the budget for the Legislature, said the Legislature passed a budget that funds whatever the state’s portion is in that funding formula. If the state passes the disparity test, it allows the state to deduct the federal impact aid dollars from the state school funding.
But if the state fails the test, Painter said, “that money doesn’t go away. It just goes directly to those districts.”
If the federal impact aid isn’t flowing through the state government, it no longer is distributed based on the state funding formula. That’s potentially a big problem for the state.
“If we fail, we can’t make that deduction,” Painter said in an interview Wednesday. “The result of that is that what the state would owe to pay the full formula would go up by $80 million.”
That’s because the state would still be required to distribute the remaining state aid according to formula, but it would have less revenue to do it.
Painter explained that the issue is further complicated by Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget veto of $50 million for the state’s education funding this year.
Under the original budget bill passed by the Legislature, the state had an open-ended commitment to provide school funding according to the formula. But in issuing the veto, Dunleavy crossed out the language, replacing it with a dollar amount.
“The governor vetoed that appropriation from an open-ended one to a fixed dollar amount,” Painter said. That means that if the state fails the disparity test, “that cost goes up by $80 million, and now the veto impact is $130 million.”
The Legislature is set to take a vote on whether to override Dunleavy’s veto of school funding during a special session, scheduled for Aug. 2.
Painter said that if the Legislature votes to override the veto, it would fund the education formula – including the $80.8 million.
Depending on the override vote and the appeal, the impacts to school districts could vary widely across the state, he said. The division issued a memo in June on the potential impacts.
Some districts that receive the federal impact aid because they include federal lands, like the Lower Kuskokwim or Fairbanks school districts, could see millions more. But others, like the Matanuska-Susitna or Anchorage districts could see millions less, as the state would not have enough money to fully balance its part in the funding formula.
“I would just assume the Legislature will address this in some way,” Painter said. A veto override would be one way to address it. Another way would be to provide more money for school districts after the Legislature reconvenes for its next regular session, in January, in a supplemental budget bill.
If the state loses its appeal and the Legislature doesn’t act, it could be a problem for districts.
“Otherwise there’s just a lot of uncertainty for districts,” Painter said. “Even if the department’s ultimately successful, in the meantime, it just adds uncertainty for districts.”
Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage and chair of the Senate Education Committee, said in a phone interview that she was glad the state has appealed. But she argued that the disparity is being driven by a lack of funding on the state’s part for public schools.
“That is ultimately on the shoulders of our state and also of our local communities, and with a decade of flat funding, it is clear why our school districts’ budgets are getting tighter, the deficits are getting larger,” and the disparity is growing, Tobin said.
Zadalis said no date has been set yet for a hearing on the appeal.
A school bus passes in front of the Alaska Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
A school bus passes in front of the Alaska Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Shauneen Miranda, States Newsroom
Republican members of the U.S. Senate called on Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought in a letter Wednesday to release the $6.8 billion in funds for K-12 schools that the Trump administration is withholding.
The letter marked a major friction point between President Donald Trump and influential lawmakers in his own party as his administration tests the limits of the executive branch’s authority in clawing back federal dollars Congress has already appropriated. Every state has millions in school funding held up as a result of the freeze.
Wednesday’s letter came after the Supreme Court temporarily cleared the way earlier this week for the administration to carry out mass layoffs and a plan to dramatically downsize the Department of Education that Trump ordered earlier this year.
Just a day ahead of the July 1 date when these funds are typically disbursed as educators plan for the coming school year, the Education Department informed states that it would be withholding funding for several programs, including before- and after-school programs, migrant education and English-language learning, among other initiatives.
“Withholding these funds will harm students, families, and local economies,” wrote the 10 GOP senators, many of them members of committees that make decisions on spending. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican and chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, led the letter.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, chair of the broader Senate Appropriations Committee, also signed onto the letter, along with: Sens. Katie Britt of Alabama, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, John Boozman of Arkansas, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Jim Justice of West Virginia.
“The decision to withhold this funding is contrary to President Trump’s goal of returning K-12 education to the states,” the senators wrote. “This funding goes directly to states and local school districts, where local leaders decide how this funding is spent, because as we know, local communities know how to best serve students and families.”
States Newsroom has asked the Office of Management and Budget for comment on the letter.
Meanwhile, a slew of congressional Democrats and one independent — 32 senators and 150 House Democrats — urged Vought and Education Secretary Linda McMahon in two letters sent last week to immediately release the funds they say are being withheld “illegally.”
Democratic attorneys general and governors also pushed back on these withheld funds when a coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the administration earlier this week.
A school bus drives in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
A school bus drives in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Governor Mike Dunleavy has called a special legislative session beginning Saturday, August 2, in Juneau.
The session will focus on two issues, education reform and the creation of a new Alaska Department of Agriculture.
The Governor’s recent budget vetoes have been raising concerns, the Governor cut over $122 million from the state budget, including $50 million from per student funding and major school maintenance projects. Juneau Senator Jesse Kiehl spoke with News of the North about the Base Student Allocation and had this to say, “when we look at the budget issues and the Governor’s special session coming up, what that really has to do with is, are we going to fund the BSA that we passed? it took an override to get that $700 per kid increase, and of course, the Governor vetoed that down, actually below a level that he proposed at one point during the session.”
Senator Kiehl is also a part of an education task force created by House Bill 57 which will look at a wide range of financial challenges and school policies, It’s charged with making recommendations before the 35th Alaska State Legislature convenes in January 2027.
When asked if the governor’s vetoes would affect the Education Task Force, Senator Kiehl said “I think those are going to be pretty separate issues. The task force has a lot of work ahead of us, to look both at the adequacy of how much we’re putting into schools and whether we’re doing it as well as we can be- Are there better ways to fund? are there more fair ways to fund? And then some other education policy issues.”
The group will dig into rising costs in transportation, energy, insurance, and school maintenance, along with accountability and student outcomes. The task force will present recommendations in a report on the first day of the January 2027 session.
The Alaska State Capitol is seen during the last week of the 2025 session on May 19, 2025. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
By: Corinne Smith, Alaska Beacon
As many Alaska school districts grapple with steep budget deficits, and in the wake of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s partial veto of an increase to per-student funding, the Alaska State Legislature has launched a joint bipartisan task force to focus on education funding.
The Legislature approved a $700 increase per student to the funding formula, but earlier this month the governor vetoed more than $50 million in education-related funding from the state’s budget, including a portion of the per-student increase, pushing it down to $500 per student.
Some lawmakers and education officials have expressed outrage and disappointment at the governor’s budget cuts, with leadership of both the House and Senate promising to hold a vote to override the budget veto to partially restore funding to schools, in the first five days of the January 2026 session. The Legislature previously overrode Dunleavy’s veto of a separate bill that enshrined the $700 increase as policy in state law; it required funding in the budget bill to put the increase into practice.
In the meantime, the task force, created by House Bill 57, will look at a wide range of financial challenges and school policies. It’s charged with making recommendations before the 35th Alaska State Legislature convenes in January 2027.
“This is a ‘yes, and’ moment,” said task force co-chair Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, in a phone interview. “Is there a way by looking more globally at issues, that we can help contain some of those rising costs that districts have? But the fact remains that we haven’t given a significant increase to education in over 10 years.”
Rep. Rebecca Himschoot, I-Sitka, speaks in favor of a veto override on House Bill 69 on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. Himschoot also serves as co-chair of the House Education Committee and now co-chair of the education funding task force. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Education funding has been at the heart of Alaska’s ongoing political and financial debates among Dunleavy and the Legislature — as well as school officials, families and local municipalities — around state funding, policy changes, and how to improve students’ performance and learning outcomes. In a short video released the day of the line-item budget veto, Dunleavy cited declining state revenues and repeated his conviction that increasing education funding will not necessarily improve outcomes without policy changes.
The joint task force is set to start work in August, Himschoot said, and will not only look at how the state funds school districts, but also how it can address rising costs of transportation, energy, health insurance and school maintenance.
“We’re seeing double-digit increases in insurance costs, we’re seeing double-digit increases in energy costs. Is there something we can do to either arrest those increases, or a separate funding stream we should use?” she said.
“There’s been a lot of interest in trying to create some sort of an insurance pool to help with those costs,” she said, adding of the task force’s goals: “In general, examine the big picture to try to get down to that, so to speak, smaller picture of the annual funding cycle.”
Himschoot said solutions will vary as widely as Alaska’s 54 school districts, and the task force can take time on issues not afforded during the fast-paced legislative session.
“We can tweak individual levers of funding during the session. We can look at how we’re funding career and technical education and say, ‘We want to fund it more. We want to fund it less. We want to use this other mechanism or this other fund source,’” she said. “So by doing this work during the interim over the next two years, it gives us time to ask questions, which often lead to more questions, and during the session, it can be very difficult, on a very tight timeline, and bring in all the different perspectives that need to be heard.”
The task force is planning to meet monthly and meetings will be open to the public, Himschoot said. “It’s super important that this is a process that anyone and everyone can participate in,” she said. “That’s the only way that it has any real value.”
Republican member Sen. Mike Cronk, a former teacher and representative for the large Interior District R that includes nine school districts, said he sees participation from school officials as mandatory. “I’ve already talked to numerous superintendents in my district, and I am going to require some of their input on certain things, because they’re the experts,” he said, in a phone interview. “I believe that’s the buy-in. I don’t believe ‘legislators’ singular, should be making these decisions. We need buy-in from everybody.”
Then-Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, speaks to a fellow lawmaker on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Cronk, now a senator, was appointed to the new education funding task force. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Cronk said he wants the task force to create an ongoing, stable fiscal plan for funding schools.
“We’re spinning our wheels. We just continue to not actually solve anything as a Legislature. We just prolong it to the next year, and the next year,” he said, after five years in the Legislature. “So that’s my desire, is to make sure that we have a fiscal plan in place where, if education needs more funding, we have the ability to get that. Or if roads need more attention, we have the ability to get more funding for that versus this. Just, ‘hey, oil prices are great, we could fund everything.’ Or ‘oil prices aren’t so good. Oh boy, we’re in a crisis situation.’ We shouldn’t be there. We should be working together, you know, for the betterment of Alaska.”
Cronk said he understands the governor’s concerns but disagreed with his partial veto of the school funding increase. “I respect the governor: He’s a separate office than the Legislature, so he has the ability to make decisions what he feels best, you know, and I feel the more we respect that, the better off we’ll all be working together,” he said. “But again, the override vote of the initial bill, I think, was pretty strong and showed that for the most part, most of us supported the increase.”
The task force will also examine student performance and accountability measures, including absenteeism, as well as policy changes sought by the governor throughout the session, like open enrollment, easing the application process for charter schools, and reading incentive grants.
Cronk said he’s open to looking at all policy changes to improve outcomes. “It’s not just straight up, how do we fund better? It’s, ‘How do we make our education system better for all students?’ So that’s what I hope to focus on,” he said.
Task force member Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, said he’s interested in looking at the school funding formula. “So from some of the issues in the formula itself, like school size factor and district cost factor, which some of those haven’t been updated in decades, as well as some of the issues from the federal government, things like the disparity test,” he said, referring to the state failing a federal test and now proposing capping local municipalities’ contributions to their schools.
Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, addresses the House during the debate on the school funding bill on Mar 10, 2025. He is a member of the House minority caucus and was appointed to the education funding task force. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
“A task force is well suited to come out with some recommendations,” he said. “I think that we also need to discuss accountability measures, so things like testing, how we test, how we talk about testing … open enrollment, how does that affect Alaska schools? How does it affect military bases? There’s a lot that we have to look at.”
Ruffridge said he’s also focused on teacher recruitment and retention, and incentives for local residents to become certified teachers. “So developing an apprenticeship track to be engaged with teachers, and really growing some of our teachers in their homes and in their communities, I think, is a really good idea,” he said.
He and Cronk both said they hope the task force will be less of a political and more of an advisory body, “where … you take the time to understand these deeper, complex funding elements or other policy measures and bring forward a draft recommendation of ways that we could make things better — and then that would need to go through the political process,” Ruffridge said. “So, trying to be a little more apolitical.”
The task force also includes co-chair Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage; Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau; and Rep. Andi Story, D-Juneau.
Many school districts are facing millions in budget shortfalls, and with Dunleavy’s budget veto, school boards are going back into budget meetings this summer to make further cuts to programs and staff.
Himschoot addressed criticism of the Legislature not calling an emergency special session this summer to override the line-item veto, saying some legislators are out of the country and unavailable and there is more of a possibility of having the votes to override in January.
“So the problem is, can we get everyone together? And if we do, will their votes hold? We know for sure we can get everyone together in January. We don’t know that we’ll have the votes, not now and not in January,” she said. “And so we are working on it.”
The task force will present recommendations in a report on the first day of the January 2027 session, the same month the task force sunsets.
