Parents and educators press Senate Finance for more education and early‑childhood funding

Parents, early‑childhood providers and education advocates told the Senate Finance Committee that Alaska needs immediate budget increases for schools and early intervention programs to address teacher shortages and rising costs.

Rebecca Braun, a Juneau parent, said state funding for education has fallen about 30% behind costs since 2011 and that declines in standardized test scores and teacher recruitment follow those funding trends. She urged the committee to ‘‘find the resources our schools need’’ and said previous increases did not restore needed investment.

Speakers including Emily Ferry, a Juneau parent, and Tom Bryce urged continued investment to sustain AP, CTE and extracurricular opportunities and to address roughly 600 open teaching positions statewide reported at the start of the school year. Ferry said the state has the resources and that political will is needed to invest in education.

Early‑childhood witnesses asked the committee to fund the Alaska Infant Learning Program (ILP) at $5,720,000 to respond to inflation and expanded eligibility and to use $5,900,000 in childcare benefits funding from FY26 for its intended purpose. Blue Scheibler (Southeast Childhood, formerly AEYC), Nicole Bowers (Discovery Preschool) and Ray Romberg (early childhood professional) described how Roots Awards and childcare grants help retain staff and provide interventions before kindergarten.

Emily Thompson asked the committee to restore ILP eligibility from a 50% delay threshold to 25% and to fully fund retention awards that support early‑childhood workforce stability. Witnesses linked early intervention to long‑term savings and better school readiness but noted that previous ILP funding was vetoed by the governor last year.

The committee did not take an immediate vote; the testimony was part of ongoing budget hearings for FY27 operating, capital and mental health budgets and a supplemental appropriation.