The auditorium at Noel Wein library was packed with parents, teachers and staff, many wearing red t-shirts that said “go red for ed.”
Fanta Lee Sanko is vice-president of the Education Support Staff Association and has been an advocate for staff in the district for years. She’s worried about the impact of the governor’s line-item veto.
“You want us to do more with less, more with less. And so I don't understand how he as an educator, as a father, as a human, can just keep cutting from our population of students that are in need," Lee Sanko said.
"And our teachers aren't going to stick around for it, I don't think.”
Oliver Bergh said he was there supporting public education as a right.
“I'm a Lutheran pastor, and Martin Luther is one of the reasons that we actually have public schools because of his belief in education, because to educate the youth is one way that God helps provide for this world," Bergh said.
"We need to be supporting our schools more and more. My daughter, when she gets of age, will likely be going to Denali and I want to make sure that she has as good of resources as I was able to get in my youth.”
Several union leaders and parents spoke about the lack of state funding for education.
Sarah Lewis is a parent and part of a group called Great Alaska Schools. She says it is a misdirection for the governor to talk about increasing charter schools or open enrollment across the state as solutions to Alaska’s education problems, because the real issue is money.
“We have a boiler that's failing here in the borough. We have a school in Sleetmute that has literally condemned half of their building," she said.
"It's pretty clear to anybody that funding is what's required to get us up to this basic level so that we can actually focus on outcomes and doing what's best for our kids.”
The Legislature twice this year passed bills to raise the base student allocation. First House Bill 69, that would have increased the per-student amount by $1,000, which passed in April. Days later, April 17, Dunleavy vetoed it, saying it did not have enough policy changes. The House and Senate got together to override that veto, but didn’t have the votes.
Then on April 30, the legislature passed House Bill 57, seen as a compromise with some of the governor’s desired policy changes written into it. It increased the per-student allocation by only $700.
But still, in May, the governor vetoed it. In a quick joint session, on May 20, both houses over-rode the veto 46 to 14.
But Alaska gives its governor the power of line-item veto, enabling him to slice off sections of funding. So, last Thursday, June 12 Dunleavy vetoed $200 of the $700 increase in House Bill 57.
For Fairbanks, that means $5.2 million less in state funding next year.
Dunleavy said the vetoes were to save money due to low oil prices, which is an Alaska revenue source. But others are calling that disingenuous, because the fiscal vetoes were primarily from education funding, and not other departments.
Aaron Gunderson said parents like him should be outraged with the cuts.
“A budget is a moral document. And the governor's vetoes are the clearest expression of his immorality as there has ever been," Gunderson said.
"So it is long since passed the time for our legislators to show their morality, use their power, and override the governor's veto.
It is unlikely that the legislature will call a special session to hold that vote this summer or fall. Former Legislator David Guttenberg, now on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, said between now and January, parents should find the legislators who did not vote to override the veto of the bill, and pressure them to override the line-item veto.
“You need to sign up for their e-news. You need to go to their constituent meeting, even if it's in Delta, even if it's in Glennallen. Show up there and say you need to override the governor's veto, because it's important to those schools as well as ours," Guttenberg said.
“Raise your hand. Wear your red T-shirts. Tell them that's important for you. Don't let them skinny out. Don't let them wiggle out. Just keep being there. Just keep the pressure on.”
The Great Alaskan Schools group handed out flyers with the contact information of all Interior Alaska legislators.
