Alaska lawmakers fail to override the governor’s education package veto

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska lawmakers on Monday failed to override Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of an education package, just weeks after the bill that sought to boost spending on public schools overwhelmingly passed the Legislature.

Monday’s vote during a joint session of the House and Senate was 39-20, falling just short of the 40 votes needed for an override.

Dunleavy, a former educator, had complained the package did not include his proposal to offer teachers bonuses as a way to retain them and changes to the application process for charter schools aimed at promoting them. But both those concepts struggled to gain broad support among lawmakers.

Alaska schools — particularly in remote, rural communities — have long struggled with teacher turnover, but during legislative hearings, questions were raised about how effective bonus programs are, and members of the Senate’s bipartisan majority raised concerns with the roughly $55 million a year cost of Dunleavy’s proposed three-year program of paying teachers bonuses of up to $15,000 a year.

Senate leaders also opposed allowing the state education board, whose members are appointed by the governor, to directly approve charters, casting it as an erosion of local control, and said broader issues around charter schools, such as facility and transportation issues, merited further analysis.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Alaska governor vetoes education package lawmakers overwhelmingly passed </bsp-custom-headline>