We are back to education debate in the House this week. After many weeks of delay, attempts at negotiations, and eventually a bill that was amended in House Rules committee, HB 69 came to the floor on Monday where dozens of amendments were brought forward, and most were voted down. Wednesday, we took the first vote on that bill and there will be more to come.

Just prior to the final House floor debate/vote, I made a motion to return HB 69 to the House Education Committee. Along with many of my colleagues, I believe that recent policy additions to HB 69 in the last week have not been fully vetted to understand their potential implications to our education system.

My hope is that we could have returned to negotiations and a robust policy debate in the Education Committee, which includes the public process of hearing from stakeholders and individuals who have a vested interest in this conversation.

As a member of the negotiation team for the House Minority, I was discouraged when we met for only one week, and consistently advocated for a return to negotiations with my colleagues in the House and Senate, but that did not take place.

A significant number of items were added to HB 69 in the Rules Committee, plus three minor amendments adopted on the House floor. However, the people of Alaska and our district did not have an opportunity to comment on these changes. While members of the public have consistently and overwhelmingly advocated for an increase to the base student allocation, I think the policy additions and the funding source to the bill require further public discussion.

Some of these changes to HB 69, like open enrollment, or what the real impact of a lottery system might be for students or schools have not been well-vetted before the House vote. It also still does not fully address problems with funding school maintenance, crumbling school buildings, or classes with too many students.

The headline version of HB 69 is that it increases the base student allocation. However, after many conversations with legal experts regarding HB 69, I believe there is a very real possibility that language in the current version could dramatically alter the future stability of many educational programs in Alaska.

We can do better. We must do better. Despite these things, HB 69 had the votes to be moved to the Senate on Wednesday and I voted yes for that with an expectation that additional work to refine this legislation will occur.

I am disappointed that work didn’t occur in the House of Representatives but remain hopeful a solution to education issues can be achieved if all parties approach the issues with a genuine desire to reach a consensus. The current version of HB 69 is anything but a consensus or an agreement nor does it address the problems facing our education system.

For questions, please reach out to my office via email at Rep.Justin.Ruffridge@akleg.gov or by phone at 907-465-2693.