Winding Up and Winding Down in Juneau

The last days of the first session of the 27th Alaska State Legislature are upon us. The end date is April 17th at midnight and there is still much that has yet to be decided at this point. Late today, SB 84 (Senate Education) was given a Committee Substitute that looked little like the original bill. All reference to the Base Student Allocation (BSA)has been stripped out of the document. It now contains money for voc/tech (CTE)at about $11.5 million in total, tax credits for donations to intercollegiate activities, and $500,000 per year for a three year pilot in the Iditarod School District for a "theme based" program. Representative Les Gara tried to insert an increase to the BSA back into the bill. He, Rep. Guttenberg, and Rep. Doogan voted yes on the ammendment. All others voted no. They include Representatives Neuman, Costello, Edgmon, Thomas, Stoltz, Fairclough, Wilson and Joule. I wonder if these elected officials are considering the consequences for children in their school districts. Or, are they thinking more about pushing back at the Senate in a power battle?