Perhaps the line is drawn at education

Two stories from the end of last week about school funding have something in common: Republicans rejected school funding cuts.

The first you may have seen: the Senate Appropriations Committee¹ last Thursday rejected the education budget proposal of Trump: 

The bill and its accompanying Senate committee report spell out modest increases over current funding levels for key education programs like Title I for low-income students ($18.5 billion proposed, up from the current $18.4 billion), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for special education ($15.5 billion, up from $15.4 billion currently), and Head Start for early-childhood instruction ($12.3 billion, currently funded a bit below that level).

It maintains all existing federal K-12 grant programs as separate funding streams with roughly level year-over-year funding, including for teacher training, literacy instruction, rural schools, and services for homeless students and English learners.

It extends current-year funding and staffing levels for key Education Department offices the Trump administration has dismantled in recent months, including the office for civil rights ($140 million), the Institute of Education Sciences ($793 million), and comprehensive centers that provide technical assistance to states and districts ($50 million).

This was not an action taken only by Democrats!

Fourteen Republicans and twelve Democrats voted on July 31 to advance a federal budget bill for education, labor, and health to a full floor vote, tentatively slated for September. Two Democrats and one Republican voted against the measure.

It was a bipartisan vote! 

You may not, perhaps, have seen what happened in Alaska on Saturday. Alaska has had a real budget battle on school funding this year: 

In April, Alaska's House and Senate passed a bipartisan bill that would have offered the largest increase in nearly a decade in what the state spends on each student annually. It did not include capital funds for school construction or maintenance.

Days later, Dunleavy, a former superintendent and school board member, vetoed it. He said it didn't include enough support for homeschooling and charter schools — policy changes that he's long pushed for.

Before the legislative session adjourned in May, lawmakers passed a compromise bill that included less spending and eased regulations for charter schools. Dunleavy again vetoed it, but lawmakers overrode the veto. The next month, Dunleavy used his line-item veto power to slash 3% from the education budget, the largest cut to any department in the state.

This year's total state budget came to $14.7 billion, about $1 billion less than the previous year. Some lawmakers have described it as "bare bones" and "flat funded."

On Saturday, for the first time since 1987, the Alaska Legislature overrode the veto of a sitting governor.

The vote was 45-14. At least 45 of 60 legislators are needed to override an Alaska governor’s budget veto.

The override eliminates a 5.6% year-over-year cut to public school funding, leaving districts with a small funding increase. 

And it was not easy for them to do so!

...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. Other lawmakers canceled family events and postponed trips for business and to the National Conference of State Legislatures..

As late as Saturday morning, no one in the Capitol was sure whether the governor’s veto would be overridden or sustained.

“We actually thought we were going to be short,” said Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage.

In the end, the veto was overridden by the exact tally needed. 

Republicans hold the majority in both chambers in the Alaska Legislature.

What made the difference?

Local stories of why districts need the money:

Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Superintendent Luke Meinert called the impacts of “chronic underfunding” devastating for the district’s more than 12,000 students. “In the last five years, we’ve closed seven schools, reduced administrative staffing by 25% and eliminated more than 250 positions in our district,” he said. “These aren’t just numbers. These are real people who spend time with our students every day.”

Money has impact on real people.  
Keep telling your stories to those who make decisions. It makes a difference.

¹ Note that the Senators also have not missed what has been going on with education funding; part of what was advanced

...would prevent the executive branch from removing Title I and special education programs to agencies outside the U.S. Department of Education. The legislation also rejects several other funding reforms proposed by the Trump administration.

The bill would require timely awarding of formula grants by the Education Department to states and districts. 

This was the concern of the one Democratic vote in opposition, Senator Chris Murphy.