THE
DAYS KEEP FLYING BY
Today
marked the 38th day of the 2007 legislative session. Education
funding, in the form of the Base Student Allocation (House Bill
1) was heard in the House Finance committee (see story below).
Now, it appears there will be a slowdown with regards to K-12
education funding. It seems the memory of 2005 when the House
passed an education funding increase early and had it attached
to SB 141 (changing public employee retirement from a defined
benefit to a defined contribution) is still fresh on the minds
of many who lived through the session of 2005.
HOUSE
FINANCE COMMITTEE
The
House Finance committee (Co-chaired by Kevin Meyer – Anchorage
and Mike Chenault – Nikiski) met on Tuesday to hear House Bill
1. This is the bill sponsored by Carl Gatto (Palmer) to begin
the discussion of what the Base Student Allocation (BSA) number
should be for the next school year (FY 08). NEA-Alaska
testified at the hearing that the number should be $5,953. This
is an increase of $573 per student, a total increase to the K-12
budget of $115 million. Many superintendents and other
education advocates testified to the need for more dollars in
the BSA. Last week, the House HESS committee decided on a 5-1
vote to pass an amendment to House Bill 97, offered by Rep. Bob
Roses (Anchorage) to add $77 million dollars to TRS funding. By
adding the money to TRS and taking that burden off of the
districts, approximately $77 million dollars would be available
to districts. This has the effect of increasing the Base
Student Allocation (BSA) by almost $400 per student. Close to
the NEA-Alaska advocated number of $573 additional per student.
House
Bill 1 can be brought up again by the House Finance committee at
any time under “bills previously heard/scheduled” so please stay
tuned to the LCS for further information. Please contact all
House Finance committee members to let them know that a BSA of
$5,953 is needed in FY 08.
HOUSE BILL 142
Earlier
this week, Representatives Gara (Anchorage) and Kawasaki
(Fairbanks) introduced HB 142. This legislation addresses the
Base Student Allocation (BSA), Inflation proofing and pupil
transportation costs. Please contact Rep. Peggy Wilson
(Wrangell), chair of House HESS and ask her to schedule HB 142
for a hearing.
The next LCS will be
published on Tuesday, February 27th. Enjoy your weekend.
If you know anyone who wishes to receive the LCS/Legislative
Update, please send us an e-mail with their home e-mail
address if possible. We are always happy to add to our
list. Keep up the advocacy for K-12 education!
Bill Bjork, NEA-Alaska
President
Lydia Garcia, Interim Executive Director
John Alcantra, Government Relations
