Alaska Schools: Bipartisan Fixes for Funding & Teacher Retention

0:00What's up? I'm Corey, and these are your headlines from Anchorage News today. Alaska schools are facing big hurdles, from rural areas short on teachers and rundown buildings to crowded classrooms in cities pushing families away. A bipartisan group in the House majority is pushing key fixes, like stable funding to boost the state's economy. They're focusing on keeping good teachers with House Bill 78, a shared risk retirement plan. It passed the House last year with support from both sides, and is now in the Senate Finance Committee. The state actuary says it adds no extra cost to the budget. To fund reading programs under the Reads Act and Career Tech Education, their advancing House Bill 280. This updates the corporate tax code, so local stores aren't hit harder than online sellers, creating fairness and new money for schools hit by cuts. Over the past decade, funding dropped, leading to bigger classes that hurt learning. In the last two years, they've restored 40% of those cuts and tweaked the main school

1:01funding formula to fight inflation. Lawmakers promised to keep working together on these changes, tying strong schools to stopping out migration and protecting state savings. They think parents, teachers, and kids for their hard work. This story is shared with support from our sponsor. Podcasts hit different when the sound comes from your pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.