Forward funding for education is not likely to survive the next legislature.
Sen. Lyman Hoffman, the only Democrat in the Republican coalition running the Alaska Senate, says that lawmakers have other priorities this year. With a tight budget and the coming school year already funded, Hoffman told KYUK reporter Johanna Eurich that lawmakers will probably not commit any education funds for the 2020 school year during this coming legislative session.
“2020 is two years from now, and we will cross that bridge when we get to it,” said Hoffman. “I think that since education is funded [for the 2019 school year], I think the attention is going to go towards other issues.”
Hoffman expects the real battle in the coming legislative session will be how big to make the Permanent Fund Dividend. He says it will be bigger than $1,000, adding his estimate that the dividend would probably be somewhere between $1,600 and $2,900.
“Somewhere between those two numbers,” Hoffman predicted, adding that "the legislature and Gov. Dunleavy have to sit down and hammer that out. That’s key to me to make sure that the number is as high as possible.”
KYUK will broadcast the entire interview with Sen. Hoffman during all Thursday, December 27 local newscasts. Hoffman’s views are part of a series of special end-of-the-year news programs that will run next week on KYUK. The discussions are designed to look forward to the issues and challenges ahead for the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.