April 16, 2007
Monday

This morning the Alaska Senate made good on its commitment to Alaska's school children by forward funding education. The Senate voted 19-0 for Senate Bill 61. The bill deposits a billion dollars of surplus general fund revenue into the Public Education Fund for the fiscal year 2009 operating budget.

Forward funding provides school districts with a firm amount of money to base their budgets on instead of having to estimate how much money will be coming from Juneau.

"Education funding is one of the cornerstones of the legislative process," said Senate President Lyda Green (R - Wasilla). "What the Senate did today will provide some peace of mind to school administrators and school board members when they sit down to write their budgets next year."

"I can't think of a better way to use the surplus revenue we have on hand now than to put it in the classroom," said Senate Finance Co-Chair Sen. Bert Stedman (R- Sitka). "What the Senate did today means teachers and school staff will not have to worry next year about getting a pink slip and then waiting to see how much the legislature appropriates to education."

"Everyone agrees saving money for education is the right thing to do," said Senate Finance Co-Chair Sen. Lyman Hoffman (D ­ Bethel). "We also know more work needs to be done on education funding and I'm confident we can make significant progress on this issue between now and the end of session."

SB 61 now goes to the State House for its consideration.

Source of News:

Alaska State Legislature
www.legis.state.ak.us

 

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