Alaska Governor Reallocates Some Marijuana Tax Revenue to Education

As part of the Alaska Education Challenge, Governor Walker is allocating 25-percent of the state’s marijuana tax dollars toward education. The program works to improve education for all of the state’s students. Senate Bill 104 was signed on the auditorium stage at East High School.

There were more than 300 people in attendance, with educators standing behind the governor, as the bill was signed, KTVA 11 News reports. Four schools will benefit from these tax dollars. Two are in rural areas and the others are in urban areas.

Walker said, “It does a couple of things. First, it creates a pilot program for four schools, two urban and two rural. It would have intensified teaching, which is a different concept in our Alaska Education Challenge.”

He also said, “It also deals with some of the funding with the marijuana tax. Revenue from that tax, 25-percent will go into a program associated with marijuana awareness and those kinds of things. It’s a multifaceted piece of legislation. A lot of hands involved with this one and it’s a very good piece of legislation.”

He closed his comments by saying, “I was on a plane Sunday from Fairbanks, and I asked the guy next to me what he did for a living. The man said he hauled precious cargo. The man was a school bus driver and said he absolutely loved his job. I just want to tell all of you in the districts, teachers, leaders, administrators, thank you for all that you do day in and day out. You are one of our most precious resources in Alaska.”