High school students across Alaska took to the streets Thursday morning to protest Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto of a bipartisan education funding bill on March 14 and the Legislature's subsequent failure to override the veto. I slipped out of class.
The walkout included students from more than 20 schools from Anchorage, the Interior, Southeast and Southwest Alaska, the Matanuska-Susitna area and Arctic Northwest Boroughs, to the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island. They did not return to class for 40 minutes in deference to the 40 lawmakers needed to override Dunleavy's veto.
At Eagle River High School, light snow fell on more than 100 students who gathered at the flagpole for a protest.
“I want everyone in Alaska to hear loud and clear that our students value their education,” said Caitlin Corbett, a senior at Eagle River College and Eagle River College's financial director. “And I would like to see student-based quotas increased.” Alaska Student Government Executive Committee organized the protest.
The Base Student Allocation is a per-student funding formula used to determine how much money a school receives from the state. There have been no significant increases since 2017. The $680 increase to the BSA is included in Senate Bill 140, which Dunleavy vetoed in March. That came after he vetoed $175 million in one-time funding for schools passed last year, which Congress also was unable to override.
In an emailed statement about Thursday's school strike, Dunleavy said he supports and encourages all Alaskans to exercise their First Amendment rights and supports increasing the base student quota. He said that
“That funding alone will not improve educational outcomes in Alaska,” Dunleavy wrote. “Our public schools need an education reform bill.”
Student protesters wore red to show support for increased funding for schools in the state. State Board of Education and Early Development Student Representative Felix Myers said he got the idea from a similar protest last year when Mat-Su students walked out of class to protest their local school board. . Meyers said students organized a statewide protest on social media Thursday morning.
“As student leaders seeking to engage students without adult assistance, it was essential that we met with students in a location where we knew our message would be seen,” Myers said in an email. ” he said. “I am extremely proud of this result and inspired by the signs and red being worn at protests and across the state.”
Meanwhile, efforts by lawmakers to increase education funding continue. Rep. Tom McKay, an Anchorage Republican, has introduced a bill similar to the one Dunleavy vetoed, but the bill has not yet made it out of the House Education Committee. State senators say the latest draft of the state operating budget, currently before the House, includes an increase of $680 per student, leaving little room for compromise.
Tim Rockey is the producer of Alaska News Nightly and the director of education for Alaska Public Media.please contact him trockey@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8487.Read more about Tim here.