Walk-in demonstrations across the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on Wednesday, Apr. 24, aim to garner the attention of the Alaska legislative and executive branches and garner funding to compensate for budget deficits facing school districts statewide.
For Kenai Peninsula Education Association President LaDawn Druce, the walk-ins are an intentional effort by teachers, administrators, volunteers, students, and parents to demonstrate that they stand together against the recent decisions by Alaskan government officials to block much-needed funding for education in the state.
Druce, who has been an educator on the Kenai Peninsula for over 30 years, said she can’t remember a budget crisis like this one. “I don’t think I have honestly seen it this bad,” she said in a call to KSRM.
In February, the legislature passed SB 140, a historic bill that included a $680 increase (roughly 11%) to the Base Student Allocation (BSA)–money the state gives school districts per student–as well as extra money for student transportation and reading intervention for K-3 students. It would have been the first BSA increase in the state since 2017, but Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed the bill because it did not include provisions from his proposed budget.
The legislature quickly mobilized in an effort to override the governor’s veto but failed to do so by a single vote. The failure was baffling to many, as an override only requires a 40-vote, joint session majority, and nearly all 60 legislators had already voted to approve SB 140. When the dust settled, however, the override fell just shy of the needed votes after several legislators had apparently experienced a change of heart–two of those from the Kenai Peninsula–and turned their previously “yes” votes into “no.”
Since the override failed, an outcry has arisen from the public and educators across the state, who are all stunned and outraged by the governor’s decision.
According to Druce, who set aside her KPEA President’s hat to speak personally and frankly, the veto is even more frustrating considering the way Gov. Dunleavy–a former educator–has benefitted, and still benefits, from bygone years of adequate education funding in the state.
“He has a Tier 1 retirement in his back pocket,” said Druce. “A Tier 1, the Cadillac plan, and yet this year, he said, ‘Oh, I just don’t think these new people are really interested in retirement. These younger people don’t really seem to be interested in it.'”
The governor has repeatedly offered reassurances that education funding is coming, but for Druce and all those across the state who are staring down the barrel of cuts to staff and programs, or in some cases, school closures, the reassurances are not enough.
“He said there will be more money for education, [that] we will be putting more money in education. But we’re at April 23rd, so it’s looking less likely, and even if it does come later, later doesn’t necessarily help the situation right now.”
Last week, students at Soldotna High School staged a walk-out in protest of the governor’s veto. Students left the school during their third class period and gathered around the flag pole. Armed with signs and chants of “BSA,” “We need teachers,” and “I don’t know what I’ve been told, lack of funding’s getting old,” the large crowd gave a voice to their concerns over the state government’s inability for nearly three months to find a meaningful solution to what many considered their number one priority going into the first legislative session of 2024.
Druce says she and her retinue want to demonstrate similarly but without disrupting an in-session school day. “We came up with the walk-in idea [which] is less disruptive to schools and their schedules. We did not want to impact parents negatively on any sort of transportation type issues and we do want it to be positive.”
If things remain as they are, major cuts are heading to the KPBSD. On Monday, Apr. 15, the KPBSD Board of Education passed a budget that accounts for the district’s looming $13.7 million budget deficit in FY 2025. The new budget increases the peer-to-teacher ratio by one in most classrooms and comes with large cuts across the borough, like eliminating school pools and theaters.
