Alaska’s Schools Face Cuts as Governor’s Veto Deepens Emergency
by pedro graterol
Alaska faces an education emergency after deep budget vetoes, stalled override efforts, and millions withheld in federal funding.
Alaska’s education crisis, which SDMN has been following closely over the last few months, is facing a new chapter following Governor Mike Dunleavy’s partial veto of public education funding. In June, the governor eliminated more than $50 million from the state’s per-student funding formula, reducing an approved $700 increase to just $500. The move, the first time in state history that a governor has failed to fully fund the education formula, has thrown schools into fiscal turmoil forcing local boards to revisit their budgets during the summer to make additional cuts to staff and programs.
In response, according to the Alaska Beacon, the Alaska Legislature created a joint, bipartisan education funding task force charged with addressing the long-term sustainability of school funding. The 14-member group, composed of lawmakers from both chambers and both parties, will begin meeting monthly, starting in August, and is expected to present its recommendations by January 2027. Its broad mandate includes analyzing transportation and energy costs, examining insurance pools, and evaluating teacher recruitment efforts and school performance metrics like absenteeism and accountability.
Lawmakers involved in the task force say the goal is to create an apolitical space to study complex funding mechanisms and propose meaningful reform. They also hope to stabilize the fiscal process so that education funding does not remain hostage to volatile oil prices and annual budget negotiations. While some legislators pushed for a summer special session to override the governor’s vetoes, leadership has said that vote will not come before January due to scheduling challenges and uncertainty about whether enough support exists.
The vetoes were made based on a late-breaking oil revenue forecast, released the same day as the budget’s signing, that projected a $222 million shortfall compared to earlier estimates. Dunleavy cited this drop in oil prices as the reason for cutting not only education funding, but also appropriations for school maintenance, childcare, disaster response, and mental health services.
In addition, and compounding the problem, according to KTOO, the U.S. Department of Education has withheld over $47 million in funds designated for Alaska’s schools, citing administrative concerns. These federal dollars support programs for migrant students, English learners, and academic enrichment. Education leaders warn that the combined loss of state and federal funding is jeopardizing students’ opportunities and placing immense pressure on already strained school systems.
