Legislature(2025 - 2026)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/05/2025 03:30 PM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB13 | |
| SB46 | |
| Presentation(s): Special Education in Alaska | |
| SB93 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 13 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 46 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| = | SB 93 | ||
SB 46-EDUCATION FUNDING
4:05:28 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE
FOR SENATE BILL NO. 46 "An Act relating to education funding;
relating to the public education fund; relating to the base
student allocation; and providing for an effective date."
4:06:00 PM
SENATOR MATT CLAMAN, District H, Alaska State Legislature,
Juneau, Alaska, sponsor of SB 46 provided the following
statement:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Senate Bill 46
Sponsor Statement Version N
"An Act relating to education funding; relating to the
public education fund; relating to the base student
allocation; and providing for an effective date."
Senate Bill 46 will help address the public education
funding crisis in Alaska. Public education funding is
a significant topic for the state legislature.
Currently, Alaska faces challenges with school
closures and increasing class sizes coupled with the
loss of experienced teachers and staff due to budget
constraints. The legislature is constitutionally
mandated to establish and maintain a system of public
schools open to all children of the State. Currently,
a key component of funding this constitutional mandate
is the Base Student Allocation (BSA).
The legislature established the BSA in 1998 and it is
one part of a calculation that establishes the Basic
Need of funding per student. But the BSA has been
consistently underfunded and does not keep up with
inflation. Since FY 11, the legislature has increased
the BSA on four occasions totaling $230. According to
the Anchorage School District, we would need to
increase the FY 26 BSA by $1,963 to match the buying
power of the FY 11 BSA. In the same 15-year period,
we've added Outside-the-Formula (OTF) funding 11
times. The BSA structure with multiple OTF
appropriations is confusing and ineffective. Schools,
parents, and teachers are unable to effectively plan
or budget for the next school year.
Instead of trying to use the BSA, this bill proposes a
single, direct appropriation for public education,
similar to the funding process used for all other
state departments. This bill will shift the focus of
the funding discussion from the BSA to a well-defined
total appropriation for public education. It will
streamline the funding process from two steps to one.
The funding formula considers factors such as the
number of students, school size, cost of living,
special education needs, and career and technical
education will remain in place. In addition, the bill
mandates increased transparency by requiring the
governor to publish prior year education expenditures,
adjusted for inflation, to serve as a baseline for the
upcoming budget.
Public education is our best investment in Alaska's
future. This bill will establish a more transparent
mechanism for funding public education that keeps pace
with inflation and contributes to improved student
performance.
4:09:10 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN gave a presentation on SB 46. He moved to slide
2, FY25 Education Funding, a graph showing the percentage of
funding from three main sources: State (62 percent), Local (25
percent), Federal (11 percent), and other (2 percent). He then
moved to slide 3 and described how basic need and state aid are
determined currently and the changes under SB 46:
[Original punctuation provided.]
The current structure starts with the statutory Base
Student Allocation multiplied by the Adjusted Average
Daily Membership to get the District Basic Need. From
this total, deductions are made where appropriate for
the required District Local Contribution and District
Federal Impact Aid. This equation provides the
District State Aid and the total for all 53 districts
is the Total State Aid appropriated by the
Legislature. One-time funding is added after this
initial calculation.
Under Senate Bill 46, we start with the Total State
Aid appropriated by the Legislature and add in the
Total Required Local Contributions and the Total
Federal Impact Aid to determine the Total Statewide
Basic Need. We then adjust the Total Statewide Basic
Need for inflation as a starting point.
Then multiply the inflation-adjusted Total Statewide
Basic Need by the district AADM percentage of the
total AADM to get the District Basic Need. And from
each District Basic Need, make deductions for the
required District Local Contribution and the District
Federal Impact Aid to get the District State Aid.
4:10:36 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN moved to slide 4, Current Structure - District
State Aid, a chart showing FY25 Projected AADM, FY25 Basic Need,
FY 25 District Required Local Contribution, FY25 District
Deductible Federal Impact Aid, FY25 One-Time Funding and FY25
District State Aid for four Alaskan Schools. He compared the
funding of the four schools
[Original punctuation provided.]
This slide illustrates the current structure for
district state aid. We chose four school districts
that illustrate different funding sources. The
Anchorage district has both a required local
contribution and federal impact aid. The Lower Yukon
district has federal impact aid and no required local
contribution. The Mat-Su district has a required local
contribution and no federal impact aid. And the
Southeast Island district has no required local
contribution and no federal impact aid. The FY25
District State Aid in Column G includes last year's
one-time funding.
4:11:16 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN moved to slide 5, Senate Bill 46 - Statewide
Basic Need. He said:
[Original punctuation provided.]
This slide illustrates the FY 26 Statewide Basic Need
calculations using Senate Bill 46. We add the total FY
25 Appropriation for State Aid, the total Required
Local Contribution, and the total Federal Impact Aid.
This total for FY 25 Statewide Basic Need in Column E
is then adjusted for inflation, shown in Column F.
This may be the starting point for funding.
4:11:47 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN moved to slide 6, Senate Bill 46 District AADM, a
chart showing the FY26 Projected Statewide AADM, FY26 Projected
District AADM, and FY26 District's Percentage of Statewide AADM
of the four areas and said:
[Original punctuation provided.]
This slide illustrates the FY 26 calculation of each
district's percentage of the statewide AADM by simply
dividing each district's AADM by the statewide AADM.
This percentage is then used to determine District
State Aid, in the next slide.
4:12:04 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN moved to slide 7, Senate Bill 46 - District State
Aid, a chart showing FY26 Projected Statewide AADM, FY26
Projected District AADM and FY26 District's Percentage of
Statewide AADM. He said:
[Original punctuation provided.]
This slide illustrates the FY 26 calculation of each
district's percentage of the statewide AADM by simply
dividing each district's AADM by the statewide AADM.
This percentage is then used to determine District
State Aid, in the next slide.
4:12:36 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN moved to slide 8 Comparison - District State Aid,
a chart showing FY25 District State Aid Current Structure (AADM
x $5,960), FY25 District State Aid Current Structure (with one-
time funding: AADM x $680), and FY26 District State Aid Senate
Bill 46. He said:
[Original punctuation provided.]
This slide compares the FY 25 District State Aid under
the current structure and the FY 26 District State Aid
using Senate Bill 46. These calculations reflect the
inflation adjustment from FY 25 to FY 26.
These calculations are also set forth on the
spreadsheet that we distributed to the committee.
One of the key differences between the current
structure and the Senate Bill 46 structure is how
school districts will budget moving forward each year.
Take the Anchorage School District as an example. The
current proposed budget in the news is based on the
statutory BSA, and many of the proposed cuts are based
on an appropriation that does not include any one-time
funding or any increase in the BSA. For Anchorage,
that base amount is $49.1 million less than the amount
they would use if the FY 25 one-time funding was part
of their calculation. In contrast, under Senate Bill
46, Anchorage would probably start with flat-funding
based on FY 2025-a total state appropriation for the
district of $351 million. This starting point is $49.1
million greater than they are using today. And if the
governor's initial budget started with a 3 percent cut
to education statewide, then Anchorage could lower
their total school budget by 3 percent starting with
$341 million instead of $351 million. This starting
point is still a substantially greater number that the
starting point today- $302 million - and a more
transparent approach for the public. Finally, if the
governor's initial budget started with a 3 percent
increase to education statewide, then the Anchorage
School District could make an appropriate adjustment.
4:14:49 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN concluded the presentation on SB 46 by saying:
[Original punctuation provided.]
In summary, the straight-forward, one-step approach of
Senate Bill 46 will be more transparent for the public
and more reliable for our public-school districts and
Alaska's children.
4:15:10 PM
SARENA HACKENMILLER, Staff, Senator Matt Claman, Alaska State
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, provided a sectional analysis of SB
46.
[Original punctuation provided.]
Senate Bill 46
Sectional Analysis Version I
Section 1
AS 14.03.150(c). Property insurance required. Updates
a statutory reference to conform with
Section 2
Section 2 AS 14.17.410(b)(1). Public school funding.
Modifies paragraph (1) reconfiguring the three funding
sources of public education funding and removes the
base student allocation (BSA). Redefines basic need as
the amount of state aid calculated under new
subsection (g) plus required local contribution and 90
percent of the district's eligible federal impact aid
for that fiscal year.
4:15:55 PM
MS. HACKENMILLER continued the sectional analysis of SB 46:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Section 3
AS 14.17.410. Public school funding. Adds a new
subsection (g) outlining the calculations that the
department shall use to determine state aid for each
district.
Section 4
AS 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence study.
Replaces the public education fund with legislative
appropriation as the funding source of state
correspondence study programs.
Section 5
AS 14.17.440(a). State funding for state boarding
schools. Replaces the public education fund with
legislative appropriation as the funding source of
state boarding schools.
Section 6
AS 14.17.500(a). Student count estimate. Updates a
statutory reference to conform with Section 2.
Section 7
AS 14.17.610(b). Distribution of student aid. Amends
statute to remit any unused funds to the general fund
rather than the public education fund.
Section 8
AS 14.17.900(b). Construction and implementation of
chapter. Removes requirement to appropriate funds to
the public education fund.
Section 9
AS 37.07.020(b). Responsibilities of the governor.
Amends statute to remove the public education fund
from the list of significant funds of which the
governor must include projected balances each year.
Section 10
AS 37.07.020. Responsibilities of the governor. Adds
new subsection (h) requiring that the governor publish
two reports per year in December and March, showing
education expenses adjusted for inflation in prior
year and current year.
4:17:03 PM
MS. HACKENMILLER continued the sectional analysis for SB 46:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Section 11
Repeals the following sections and subsections in
conformance with new language.
1. AS 14.17.300. Public education fund.
2. AS 14.17.400. State aid for districts.
3. AS 14.17.410(a). Public school funding.
4. AS 14.17.470. Base student allocation.
5. AS 14.17.480(b). Quality school funding.
6. AS 14.17.490(c). Public school funding
adjustments.
Section 12
Adds a new section to uncodified law stating that this
Act applies to a contract that becomes legally binding
on or after the effective date of this Act.
Section 13
Effective date Provides an effective date of July 1,
2025.
4:17:37 PM
SENATOR KIEHL thanked the presenters for a thought-provoking
approach to addressing education funding. He asked whether SB 46
essentially reverses the current process by starting with the
total desired spending amount and then dividing by the adjusted
number of students, rather than starting with a per-student
amount and adjusting it through various calculations.
4:18:23 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN responded that broadly, yes, SB 46 shifts the
approach. He explained that because districts rely on the base
student allocation (BSA) as the starting point for budgetingand
because one-time funding is not included in that basethey often
present budgets based on a much lower figure than what the
legislature ultimately approves. He stated that this leads to a
lack of transparency and makes it difficult to discuss real
increases or decreases in funding. He emphasized that while the
change might appear to be a math exercise, it actually allows
districts to more accurately communicate their financial
realities.
4:19:44 PM
SENATOR KIEHL expressed concern about the structure of SB 46,
noting that it does not create a dedicated fund or limit the
Legislature's appropriation power or the Governor's veto
authority. He stated that, in practice, the true starting point
for funding is whatever the Governor includes in the December 15
budget proposal, not what was allocated the previous year.
4:20:14 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN responded that the starting point is partly what
the Governor proposes but not entirely. He explained that while
the Governor's December 15 proposal initiates the budget
process, the Legislature retains appropriation authority and can
shift the discussion. He noted that, for example, if the
Governor proposed a $175 million cut from the prior year's
spending, public reaction would be substantially different than
current discussions. He concluded that although the Governor
sets the initial figure, the Legislature can present an
alternative starting point, and SB 46 would help create a more
transparent dialogue with the public about education funding.
4:21:19 PM
SENATOR KIEHL said that, based on his reading, SB 46 pools
required local contribution with state aid and federal impact
aid to calculate a total funding amount, which is then divided
into a per-student flow to the district. Each district's
required local contribution is then subtracted from the check it
receives. He asked if his understanding of this portion of SB 46
was correct.
4:22:27 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN responded that SB 46 does not function as
described and clarified that he does not interpret the required
local contributions as being pooled and then subtracted from a
statewide total. He explained that each district's local
contribution is accounted for individually when calculating that
district's funding, similar to the current method based on per-
student allocations. He stated that the state appropriation
figure does not include the local contributions and used
Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks as examples where the local
share is applied at the district level rather than from a pooled
amount.
4:23:51 PM
SENATOR KIEHL thanked the sponsor for clarifying his intent and
noted that there may be a discrepancy between the bill's
drafting and the sponsor's stated goals. He acknowledged that
the explanation provided aligns more closely with current
funding practices, which he found helpful.
4:24:53 PM
CHAIR TOBIN opened public testimony on SB 46.
4:25:13 PM
REBECCA EMERSON, representing self, Palmer, Alaska, testified
with concerns on SB 46. She said she is a parent of a child with
Down syndrome enrolled in special education in the Mat-Su
Borough. She expressed concern about how special needs funding
is allocated and whether it adequately follows the student. She
observed limited resources, including insufficient staffing of
teachers, paraprofessionals, and related service providers. She
requested greater transparency and a focused effort to ensure
special education students receive the resources they need.
4:25:54 PM
CHAIR TOBIN closed public testimony on SB 46.
4:25:57 PM
CHAIR TOBIN held SB 46 in committee.