Education bill remains in limbo for second day, after failed vote
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) - A wide-sweeping education bill that includes money for students, teacher bonuses and rural school internet remains in limbo for a second day, after House Majority members were hoping the matter would be taken up Tuesday morning.
On Monday, the House adjourned midday and reconvened for about 30 minutes late Tuesday morning, but the House Rules version of the education bill was not brought up.
House Speaker Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, announced late Tuesday that the House is adjourned until 10 a.m. Wednesday, leaving many unanswered questions on what will happen with the education bill.
House Republicans failed to adopt a wide-sweeping education bill Monday.
Leading up to the 20-20 vote, Senate Bill 140′s critics, including three non-Republican Majority members, Reps. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, Neal Foster, D-Nome, and CJ McCormick, D-Bethel, sided with House Minority members, voicing frustrations over what they feel are the bill’s flawed merits and a rushed process.
“I don’t know the effects of the teacher retention bonuses, my superintendents have all really expressed a lot of concern about that because that’s going to drive a wedge between classified and non-classified employees,” Edgmon said. “I want a better process and I have had a couple of sleepless nights thinking about this because I’ve heard arguments on both sides.
“The underlying bill was a simple BAG (Broadband Assistance Grant) grant bill that allows us to increase internet speeds across the state of Alaska, a bill that has not had other bills embedded into it,” House Minority leader Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, said.
The House Rules Committee’s re-write of SB 140 was originally a school internet funding proposal. While that issue remains in the substitute bill, so does a $300 per student funding increase to the state’s Base Student Allocation or BSA.
The bill also tries to address some of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s education reform priorities, including providing teacher bonuses and granting the State School Board new charter school authority. Opponents have said they would like to see the BSA closer to $1,400.
Additionally, Schrage said he was “dismayed” about six new financial impact statements, known as fiscal notes, that have been added to what he feels is an already expensive bill.
“I think that what has been done to SB 140 in the House this year, frankly, is a betrayal of good process in this body, and fails to do the work that our constituents expect us to do,” Schrage said. “To understand and vet the legislation that’s before us. And to understand the potentially severe fiscal consequences of what we may or may not do.”
Supporters, on the other hand, argued that school districts are putting together their respective budgets now, and there was a need to move the bill along quickly.
The failure to adopt the House Rules Committee version of the bill prompted Rules Chair, Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, to ask for the vote to be rescinded.
“The high-speed internet for schools, if we don’t get it done within the next two or three days, that’s gone,” Johnson said. “So we have basically sent a message to the education community that we don’t care. I suggested we hear the bill, we have amendments, we vote them up, we vote them down, but to stop now is to surrender. And I am not prepared to surrender. It has never been in my makeup.”
Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, echoed Johnson’s concerns. Saying there are schools in his district on the verge of closing.
“They will be closing within a month, Madam Speaker. So I think we should take this issue up now. I would ask my fellow members of the Interior to consider taking up this issue now. Because if we wait till later in session, people are going to make those decisions. And, you know, I know, that I’ll be able to say that, ‘Hey, I tried.’ And then let the chips fall where they may,” Stapp said.
“Frankly, it should be frustrating to every single school board and all 128,000 school children that this body will not debate this bill,” Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Wasilla, added. “It has things for every single kid in the state in it. Not just money, not just transportation, not just the internet. It’s all in one bill. So let’s debate it.”
However, Schrage objected to Johnson’s motion, saying he did not think deadlines were a good enough reason to hear the bill.
“For weeks, we were told this bill would be on the floor and for weeks we have waited. I’ve spoken to this. Members of this body and spoken to this. Where has the bill been?” Schrage remarked. “Instead, we were given a false deadline, a Frankenstein monster of a bill and we’re told this is your opportunity. If you care about education, this is your only shot.”
On Tuesday, Sen. Bill Wielechowski commented on what’s happening over in the House, saying he is optimistic something can be resolved.
“You don’t see that very often where a motion like that fails, but it’s got the parties talking, which is a good thing, and it’s got the majority talking to the minority and so I think there’s a good likelihood we’re going to see a bill come through in the next few days,” he said.
Wanting to see a bill that could pass both chambers, Wielechowski was one of the members of the Senate Majority who negotiated with members of the House Majority to work out a compromise on the education package.
“I thought those were productive meetings, I thought it really helped to define the scope of the problems, define the scope of where we could find agreement and consensus but we didn’t come to an agreement,” he said. “But I do think we narrowed what the issues were pretty significantly. So I don’t think it was a waste of time.”
He said some of the issues they didn’t see eye to eye on were the increase in the BSA, teacher incentives and charter schools, issues that have also drawn concern from Schrage. But the House Minority was not invited to the closed-door meetings with the House and Senate Majority, which Wielechowski says was probably a mistake.
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