Dear Neighbors,

You have very likely seen the coverage on the local news stations regarding House and Senate bills to increase education funding. As you know from my recent Legislative Updates, the Senate majority offered a bill to increase K-12 education funding by $82 million and to increase the University of Alaska's operating budget by $5.8 million if the Minority gave their ¾ CBR vote in exchange.

The Senate Majority hoped to accomplish three things. First, provide Alaska's school districts with the money they need to avoid massive cuts and damaging teacher layoffs in a timely manner that would be most useful to the school districts. Second, to provide the University with the funding it needs to continue to offer necessary classes taught by excellent professors. Third, to avoid the end-of-session leveraging of the final budget vote, which has historically resulted millions of extra dollars for projects and programs in legislators’ districts.

As you know, the Senate Minority refused to give their “CBR Vote” for education alone. They wanted to retain the option of adding money to the budget for various projects and programs at the end of the budget debate.

The House has, however, gotten the House Minority's “CBR Vote” in exchange for $84.5 million for K-12 education, $15.8 million for the University and an added $16.2 million for projects in rural communities that have little or no relationship to education. I have attached the list of those projects and their cost.

My concern is that the House action, if approved “as is” by the Senate, may well require substantial cuts to other parts of the budget. So the Senate is studying the projects approved by the House and will continue to debate whether the House bill contains the best combination of funding and the most appropriate projects. Senators are, for example, checking to see if the highest priority projects were funded in the most needy areas of the state.

I hope you will review the attached list and contact me with your thoughts.

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