Dear Neighbors,
Given the increased activity in the home stretch of the session, I’ll be posting more frequent editions of Southeast Spotlight. Please also check out my Facebook and Twitter pages for daily updates and postings.
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Last week the Senate passed additional major cuts to public school teachers, job counselors and education staff. Last year I and others tried to amend a three-year “education” plan that required educator cuts in many districts, and that was made worse last month when the Republican-led House Majority passed a budget deleting $32 million in promised education funds. Things got worse Friday when the Republican-led Senate hit schools with yet an additional $47 million in cuts. I believe in smart budget cuts, but not cuts with a bludgeon, or cuts that harm educational opportunity for the next generation.
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The legislative session is starting to pick up pace now that there are only 16 days left in the 90-day session. The operating budget was voted on by the Senate today and soon the House and Senate will choose their conference committee members to work out the differences. One of those differences is the funding of education, which is discussed below along with some important information regarding the Anchorage Municipal elections.
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The legislative session has picked up the pace as we near the home stretch. With less than a month left, the House is holding Floor sessions nearly every day. The operating budget will be a big focus as we close in on the end of session, but since there is a lot of information out there already (see “Fiscal Reality with David Teal” and “As the Alaska Legislature makes cuts”), I’d like to focus my comments on something even MORE engrossing: audits.
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The countdown is on to the end of session. The budget remains the largest issue for the Legislature this session. In this newsletter, I have included the final results from our constituent survey. Thank you to all who responded! I hope everyone has a great Passover and Easter weekend. And please be sure to vote in our local election!
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