News from the Senate Majority
Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

Senate Finance Committee Reviews School Funding Formula Rewrite

Proposal Strives for Simplicity and Equity

For Immediate Release: February 27,1998 Contact: Senator Randy Phillips, at (907) 465-4949.

Juneau – A proposed rewrite of the school funding formula, encased in Senate Bill 36, was unveiled in the Senate Finance Committee this week. According to the bill sponsors, Senators Randy Phillips, John Torgerson and Gary Wilken, the rewrite will make Alaska’s education funding formula more simple and equitable.

"The current formula is broken and needs to be fixed," said Senator Randy Phillips. "Our proposal gives us a starting place. Through the legislative process the bill will evolve into a solution that works for the funding of education for Alaska’s students."

The bill sponsors outlined flaws in the current formula saying it is far too complex. Few Alaskans understand the current funding formula and they realize there is an unequitable distribution of education dollars to the state’s school districts.

Wilken noted the time has come to recognize the following issues:

• Cost differentials in operating a school in different areas of the state are not a direct result of the cost of living.
• All areas of the state must assist in educating our children and should be required to contribute their fair share.

"We have unorganized areas of our state, some on the road system and some not, that contribute little or nothing towards the education of their children. Instead, they pass the burden on to the organized areas," Wilken said. "We also have organized areas of our state that pay at a lesser rate than others, even though their tax base wealth is far greater than other organized areas. These inequities are addressed in this proposed legislation."

As proposed this week, Senate Bill 36 will base funding on a per student basis rather than an instructional unit value.

"This change alone simplifies the formula and is popular with Alaskans," said Wilken. "According to a 1995 survey conducted for the State Board of Education, 73% of voters support funding education based on an amount per student and 81% believe the state's method of funding schools should be simplified."

Additional changes to the formula found in Senate Bill 36 include:

• Asks all residents of school districts to support their schools with local contributions based on their ability to pay.
• Adjusts funding based on size of school.
• Sets caps on administrative costs to put more money into the classroom.
• Changes school district boundaries for Regional Educational Service Areas (REAA’s) to match the boundaries proposed for model boroughs in the 1995 LBC "Model Borough Boundaries" report.

Senate Bill 36 incorporates three other Senate bills proposed last session including SB 146, 142 and 193. Senate Bill 36 was created after extensive public hearings held statewide. The hearings were conducted by a joint committee comprised of Senate HESS and Finance committee members.

"Combining the best from each of the bills gives the Legislature a good starting point from which to build a solution," said Torgerson. "We will listen to all concerns, but must realize that in every formula proposal, there will be winners and losers. Our consolidated approach of these four bills benefits 85 percent of all students enrolled in Alaska’s public education system.

"Spending more money on the status quo won’t fix the problems," said Phillips. "We spend approximately 40 percent of our state general fund dollars on education. At this level of funding, we need to take a hard look at how education dollars are being managed. Once we get these answers, we can determine how best to fix the problems."

Public hearings are being held this week. Suggested amendments to the bill will be considered next Tuesday and Wednesday in the Senate Finance Committee and the bill will make it’s way to the Senate floor for a vote sometime in the middle of March.

"For years, Alaskans have criticized the formula, but have shied away from creating a solution," Torgerson said. "We are committed to sitting at the table this year until the formula is fixed and a majority of Alaskans agree the solution."

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