Rep. Andy Story says HB 261 would smooth school funding, help districts hire teachers earlier

Rep. Andy Story, sponsor of House Bill 2 61, told the House Finance Committee on April 27 that the bill would fix a “flawed education budget process timeline” by using multi‑year averaging so districts would know their student count by July 1 and could offer teacher contracts earlier. “House Bill 2 61 is the most transformational education bill before the legislature,” Story said, arguing it would reduce budget volatility and help districts retain teachers amid a national shortage.

Education groups and local finance officers urged the committee to approve the committee substitute. Lon Garrison, executive director of the Association of Alaska School Boards, testified that “ASB supports committee substitute HB 2 61 version g because it makes an important structural improvement to Alaska's education funding process by providing school districts and school boards greater predictability in the budgeting process.” Nicole Herbert, chief financial officer for the Juneau School District, said, “Under House Bill 2 61, we would have known that number a full year earlier in January 2026,” and called the predictability ‘‘meaningful’’ for planning FY2027.

Witnesses from urban and rural districts described staffing and program cuts tied to year‑to‑year funding swings. Andy DeGraw, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District CFO, said his district has cut “$30 to $40,000,000” over eight years and called HB 261 “huge” for providing a glide path to make reductions more thoughtfully. Caroline Storm of the Coalition for Education Equity and parent Kim Hayes urged passage to preserve enrichment, transportation and other programs that keep students in brick‑and‑mortar classrooms.

Committee members pressed for technical detail. Lawmakers asked how the bill treats sudden enrollment growth, how many districts remain on hold‑harmless status, and what the fiscal impact will be as hold‑harmless protections expire. Story said roughly 35% of districts are currently in hold‑harmless and that the bill would allow those districts to finish that protection and then be grandfathered into the averaging schedule; she pledged to provide additional modeling to the committee.

No formal action or vote was taken. The committee kept the amendment deadline open to allow staff and the sponsor to produce the requested fiscal modeling and hold‑harmless analysis; public testimony on HB 261 was closed.