The Alaska Legislature in a one-day special session overrode Gov. Mike Dunleavy's veto of more than $50 million in public school funding.

The vote was 45-14, just meeting the threshold of 45 of 60 legislators to override a budget veto.

The Legislature’s action on Saturday, Aug. 2, will restore more than $100,000 in state aid for Wrangell schools, reducing the amount the district will need to pull out of reserves to cover the 2025-2026 school year budget.

Unlike other districts in the state, Wrangell schools built the 2025-2026 budget on the assumption of no increase in state dollars — the largest source of revenue for the district — so any increase lessens the need to withdraw from the district’s diminishing reserves.

Ketchikan Rep. Jeremy Bynum, who also represents Wrangell, Metlakatla and Coffman Cove, voted in favor of the veto override.

In advance of the special session, Bynum, a first-term legislator, said the governor’s veto would push local governments to make up the funding gap by increasing the burden on property taxpayers.

With the vetoed K-12 funding restored, the increased state aid to local school districts under the per-student funding formula program is the largest boost in almost a decade.

With the additional funding, state foundation formula money will provide more than 60% of Wrangell school district revenues for 2025-2026, with borough funding at less than 30%.

It’s the first time since 1987 that Alaska lawmakers have overridden an appropriations veto by a sitting governor.

“This is a remarkable day,” said Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican.

“It was quite eventful and really unprecedented in my experience in the Legislature, and I’m very proud of how the House and Senate worked together and how we stood up and did the right thing,” Stevens was quoted by the Alaska Beacon.

Dunleavy called the special session to pressure lawmakers into considering a variety of his education policies intended to increase the availability of alternatives to traditional public schools.

Citing a national standardized test where Alaska ranks 51st out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, the governor has said, “It’s a moral imperative to fix that.”

This spring, lawmakers passed a compromise bill that included some of the governor's education policies and also raised the base student allocation, the state's per-student funding formula.

Dunleavy vetoed the bill, calling it inadequate, but lawmakers successfully overrode that veto.

He then vetoed the funding required for the increased formula payments and called the special session. The timing was strategic, as it was thought some lawmakers would be unavailable, which could have increased the chances of his veto standing.

Legislators made extraordinary efforts to attend the special session. Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, obtained special leave from military service in Europe. Sen. James Kaufman, R-Anchorage, flew to Juneau from Vietnam, the Alaska Beacon reported.

Dunleavy said afterward that he doesn’t think it was a mistake to call the special session. “This gives the people of Alaska a chance to see where people stand on these votes.”

Lawmakers also voted to override Dunleavy’s veto of Senate Bill 183, a measure that would require the Alaska Department of Revenue to provide lawmakers with a report on oil tax settlements. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, has said that could reveal the state has been settling tax disputes for much less than their stated value.

The vote on that override was 43-16. Forty votes were needed for that override because it was a policy bill and not an appropriations bill.

Wasilla Republican Sen. Mike Shower was excused from both votes in the special session of the Legislature on Saturday, Aug. 2.

The House and Senate adjourned their joint session immediately after considering both vetoes and lawmakers were greeted by applause from pro-override protesters who demonstrated in the Capitol’s hallways and outside the building before the vote.

Lawmakers on Saturday did not take up any of Dunleavy’s other vetoes, which will stand. The governor vetoed millions of dollars from other parts of the budget, including money for school maintenance and for child care and infant learning programs.

Legislators also did not vote on bills pertaining to teacher housing, capping high interest rates and fees for payday loans, loan help for commercial fishermen, and emergency health care for police and rescue dogs.

The Sentinel contributed information for this story, which was primarily reported by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, donor-funded news organization. Alaskabeacon.com.