Anchorage Democratic Sen. Forrest Dunbar, who is deployed to Poland on active-duty military service, will be able to attend the Aug. 2 special session of the Alaska Legislature, providing a critical vote in the effort to override the governor’s veto of school funding.

Dunbar, a member of the National Guard, received a federal waiver that will allow him to return to Alaska for legislative work.

His vote is crucial for lawmakers who hope to achieve a three-quarters majority of all legislators to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s decision to veto millions of dollars in public school funding from this year’s state operating budget.

Despite Dunar’s attendance, the outcome remains uncertain, and Dunleavy has the option of canceling the session.

It takes 45 votes to override the budget veto, and Dunbar was one of 46 legislators who voted in May to reverse the governor’s decision to veto a bill increasing the state’s public school funding formula.

That formula is subject to the state’s annual budget process, and Dunleavy used his veto pen to only partially fund it, causing a wave of cuts to services at public schools across the state. Dunleavy had said he would not agree to the full funding increase without the Legislature adopting other education policies he’s proposed.

If the Legislature overrides the veto, Wrangell schools would gain an additional $100,000 in state funding for the 2025-2026 school year.

Many legislators hoped to override the budget veto in January, when the regular legislative session reconvenes and all 60 members would be in attendance, but Dunleavy called a special session for Aug. 2, forcing an early vote.

Writing on Facebook on July 22, Dunbar said he sought a formal waiver from the military that would allow him to use his personal leave, pay for his own plane ticket, and return to the state for the special session.

“I am pleased to report that the commanding general to whom our unit now reports has indeed granted that request,” Dunbar wrote on his Facebook post. “I plan to return to Alaska for the start of the special session, and I will be voting yes to override, so that our students have the funds they need to avoid catastrophic cuts to their schools.”

For weeks, it hadn’t been clear whether Dunbar would be able to obtain the rare dispensation needed to return to Alaska.

Even with Dunbar’s attendance, it isn’t clear whether the governor’s budget veto will be overridden or sustained.

In a closed-door meeting shortly after issuing a proclamation that called the session, Dunleavy asked members of the House’s Republican minority caucus to stay away from the first five days of the special session, the period when the Alaska Constitution requires any override vote to take place.

The date of the special session also coincides with the National Conference of State Legislatures, which several lawmakers were expected to attend.

Other legislators had various prior commitments.

Since the governor’s announcement, many have said they will be canceling their plans in order to attend the session. Anchorage Sen. James Kaufman will return from a trip to Vietnam, he said, and vote in favor of the override.

Some Republicans aligned with Dunleavy on the issue, including Eagle River Rep. Jamie Allard and Big Lake Rep. Kevin McCabe have said they will follow his wishes and stay away.

Of the 46 legislators who voted this spring to override the governor’s veto of the education funding formula, all but a handful have committed to supporting a budget veto override as well.

Ketchikan Rep. Jeremy Bynum, who also represents Wrangell, Metlakatla and Coffman Cove, has said he will report to work in Juneau and will vote to override the education funding veto.

The governor’s legislative director is keeping close track of the number of potential “yes” and “no” votes for a veto override, and it is possible that the governor could cancel the special session.

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