Ortiz introduces bill to increase state funding for public schools

A second bill has been introduced in the Legislature to significantly boost state funding for public schools.

Rep. Dan Ortiz, whose district covers Ketchikan, Wrangell and Metlakatla, introduced a bill on Feb. 8 to increase the state’s per-pupil funding formula by 21%. The Senate Education Committee a week earlier introduced its own version with a 17% boost.

Ortiz’s bill would add about $320 million to the state budget.

The per-student funding formula has not budged in the past six years, squeezing school budgets, jeopardizing programs and staffing levels, and leading to increasing calls on le...