Bills to Promote Education Funding Advance in House
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- Category: State News
- Created on Monday, 28 February 2022 15:46
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JUNEAU – Two bills that would reverse six years of flat state funding for Alaska school districts passed from the House Education Committee Friday.
HB272 and 273, sponsored by Rep. Andi Story (D-Juneau), would increase the per-pupil amount school districts receive from the state, referred to as the Base Student Allocation (BSA), in fiscal years 2023 and 2024, and adjust the BSA for inflation from FY25 onward.
“During hearings in House Education, we heard from districts across the state speaking about how increases to fixed costs they have no control over, like fuel, property insurance, and goods continue to take revenue from services critical to our children,” Story said in a press release. “When state support remains flat, districts are making painful cuts to classroom aides, teachers, student activities, career technical courses, and bus transportation routes to balance the budget.”
HB 272 would increase the BSA in FY23 and again in FY24, Story said.
“This would allow districts to address their operational costs and plan with some certainty to meet student needs,” she said. “Currently, many districts’ budgets are due to their municipalities before they know their revenue. This would also eliminate the need to ‘pink slip’ valuable staff.”
HB 273 would add inflation proofing to the BSA formula beginning in FY25 for all years going forward.
“This would be based on the Consumer Price Index for urban Alaska, ensuring that education’s growth is directly tied to Alaska’s growth,” Story said.
Both bills now head to the House Finance Committee.
Rep. JKT Breaks Leg In Paraglider Accident
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- Category: State News
- Created on Thursday, 24 February 2022 15:40
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JUNEAU (AP) — A Sitka lawmaker broke his leg after crashing a paraglider in Anchorage last weekend.
Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, told the Anchorage Daily News he intended to return to Juneau late Wednesday. Kreiss-Tomkins has been recuperating in Anchorage following surgery and attending committee meetings remotely.
He broke two bones in his right leg in the Saturday crash.
Rep. Laddie Shaw, an Anchorage Republican, was out flying with Kreiss-Tomkins when the crash happened. They flew from Flattop Mountain.
Shaw, who regularly hikes the mountain and paraglides from the top, was on a separate paraglider than Kreiss-Tomkins, who was taking his first flight from the mountain after becoming a certified paraglider pilot this winter.
Kreiss-Tomkins said he “just took a more roundabout flight plan and was not where I wanted to be for the landing.” He struck trees in an open field of snow.
He said he’s focused on recuperating. “If I do it again, I’ll get back to basics and just drill the fundamentals. It can and should be done safely, and so I don’t want to overreact. But I just need to figure out my mobility situation and take it one day at a time,” he said.
Murkowski Concerned About Court vs Abortion
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- Category: State News
- Created on Wednesday, 23 February 2022 15:36
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By BECKY BOHRER
The Associated Press
JUNEAU (AP) — Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday she’s concerned with the direction the U.S. Supreme Court could take on the issue of abortion.
Murkowski, a Republican, told reporters the court has sent signals in recent cases “that I think are causing concern for those of us who have said that Roe v. Wade was rightly decided.” That 1973 case legalized abortion.
The court heard arguments late last year in a case involving a Mississippi law that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. During arguments, members of the court’s conservative majority indicated they’d uphold Mississippi’s law. A ruling is expected later this year.
Under Roe and a case that reaffirmed it, states can regulate but not ban abortion up until the point of fetal viability.
Murkowski said she respects “a woman’s right to control her choice with reproductive health; that is not without limitation, however, and I have also made that clear. So we are all watching with great interest the direction that the court may take.”
Murkowski spoke with reporters after delivering a speech to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature. The speeches generally serve as an update on the work of the state’s congressional delegation and are traditionally given by Alaska’s two U.S. senators. Murkowski touched on a wide range of topics, including the federal infrastructure package that she said was one of the most consequential measures she’s worked on.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski gives an address to the State Legislature Tuesday in Juneau. Alaska Senate President Peter Micciche and House Speaker Louise Stutes are shown behind Murkowski.
(Photo by Klas Stolpe / KINY)
Murkowski faces reelection this year. Murkowski, a moderate, has said that she’s always been a registered Republican. But she’s at times been at odds with her party, including on issues like abortion and in her criticism of former President Donald Trump. State party leaders have endorsed Republican Kelly Tshibaka, who also has been endorsed by Trump.
Murkowski said Tuesday her commitment is “to the people, not to a party.”
Twelve candidates have made official with the state Division of Elections plans to run for the seat, including Murkowski and state Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, a Democrat. Tshibaka hasn’t filed with the division yet; the deadline to do so for the August primary is June 1.
In this year’s primary, the top four vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to the general election. Ranked choice voting will be used in the general election. This is the result of a voter initiative passed in 2020.
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Thanks to the generosity and expertise of the the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska broadband department, Tidal Network ; Christopher Cropley, director of Tidal Network; and Luke Johnson, Tidal Network technician, SitkaSentinel.com is again being updated. Tidal Network has been working tirelessly to install Starlink satellite equipment for city and other critical institutions, including the Sentinel, following the sudden breakage of GCI's fiberoptic cable on August 29, which left most of Sitka without internet or phone connections. CCTHITA's public-spirited response to the emergency is inspiring.
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20 YEARS AGO
September 2004
Sheldon Jackson College’s Service Programs and Civic Engagement Project is teaming up with One Day’s Pay to provide volunteer service in remembrance of Sept. 11. ... To join the effort contact Chris Bryner.
50 YEARS AGO
September 1974
From On the Go by SAM: The Greater Sitka Arts Council has issued its first newsletter – congratulations! Included with the newsletter is an arts event calendar.
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