Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has threatened to veto an education package overwhelmingly passed by lawmakers after a bruising debate, saying it lacks provisions he favors, including a pilot program offering annual bonuses of up to $15,000 as a way to attract and keep teachers.

Dunleavy, a former educator, said this week that there is still time for lawmakers to address issues like the proposed bonuses and changes to the application process for charter schools aimed at promoting such schools. The governor has 15 days, excluding Sundays, to act on a bill sent to him if the Legislature is in session.

He can sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature. A decision is expected by March 14.

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Some key lawmakers say the package was a compromise and question whether the state can afford the bonuses — or even if they would work.

Debate over education funding has dominated this legislative session. The House last week voted 38-2 to support a compromise package that included a $175-million increase in aid to districts through a school funding formula; language encouraging districts to use some of the extra funding for teacher salary and retention bonuses; a state education department position dedicated to supporting charter schools and additional funding for K-3 students who need reading help. The vote followed a period of intense debate that also showed divisions within the Republican-led majority.

The Senate, led by a bipartisan coalition, agreed 18-1 on Monday to support the package, sending it to Dunleavy.

The compromise stemmed from negotiations after the House failed to support bringing up for debate a version of the bill that advanced from the House Rules Committee. That version included Dunleavy’s bonus plan, charter provisions and a roughly $80 million increase in state aid through the formula.

After the bill passed the House, Republican Speaker Cathy Tilton said that while the compromise "fell short" of the earlier proposal, "I’d still call it a ‘qualified’ success."

School officials had sought a roughly $360 million increase in funding, citing the impact of inflation and high energy and insurance costs. But the state, which relies heavily on oil and earnings from Alaska's nest-egg oil-wealth fund, has struggled with deficits over the last decade, and some lawmakers questioned whether that amount was realistic.

The Legislature approved a one-time, $175 million boost last year, but Dunleavy vetoed half that. Lawmakers did not have enough votes for an override.

Dunleavy has cast the bonuses and support of charter schools as a way of doing things differently. He has questioned whether simply increasing funding to districts will improve student performance.

He has proposed paying teachers bonuses of $5,000 to $15,000 a year over three years, with the highest amount for those in the most remote areas. Estimates suggest the program could cost about $55 million a year.

The language in the education package encouraging districts to use some of the funds for bonuses "does not ensure the desired ends are realized," Dunleavy spokesperson Grant Robinson said by email Thursday.

Republican Senate President Gary Stevens told reporters this week that there is a limit to what the state can afford. A revised revenue forecast is expected by mid-March, and lawmakers haven't even begun publicly debating how big this year's dividend payout to residents from oil-wealth fund earnings should be — typically one of the most contentious debates of the session.

Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, raised questions about how well bonuses might work. He said he thinks there's a "fair expectation" that teachers from overseas or the Lower 48 would leave after the three years is up.

He said the level of support for the compromise bill was "pretty unheard of these days" for a controversial measure.

Tom Klaameyer, president of NEA-Alaska, a teachers' union, said if Dunleavy vetoes the education package, "then our schools remain in crisis."

The measure "was simply a life preserver that was being thrown or could have been thrown to schools to stem the crisis," he said.

He added: "We’re saying, throw the life preserver."

Kelly Clarkson realized her connection to the royals is stronger than she thought.

During a recent episode of her talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show," the singer had actors Abigail Spencer and Donald Faison on as guests. Spencer and Meghan Markle once starred alongside each other on "Suits," and she revealed to Clarkson that Markle is a fan.

"Meg says hello and that she loves you and that she voted for you on ‘American Idol,’" Spencer told the host, with Clarkson joking, "it worked," referencing her win on the competition reality show in 2002.

"This was unsolicited. She did not know I was coming on here. We were just chatting, and I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to see Kelly next week,' and she's like, 'I have a message,'" Spencer said.

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The actress further made Clarkson smile when she revealed Michael Bublé referred to her as "the greatest singer on Earth."

Spencer and Markle first met when they both starred in season one of "Suits." Although Spencer was not a regular, she did appear in many episodes throughout the show, and Markle stayed on until the end of season seven. The two managed to remain very close friends over the years.

"It was 2007, I was doing a pilot for NBC, and I went to read with the people who were supposed to play my best friend. They were testing other actresses," Spencer told Clarkson. "I walk in, I see this beautiful gorgeous creature at the end of the table, and I'm like, ‘Who is that?’ We had an immediate something, you know? And her name is Meghan Markle."

It seems not all the cast members from "Suits" have remained close with Markle since she left the show to marry Prince Harry in 2018. 

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When speaking with Variety on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, former cast member Gina Torres spoke about how excited she and the rest of the cast, sans Markle, were to be reuniting to present an award that evening. She noted, "our text thread is insane right now." When asked if Markle is a part of that text chain, Torres seemingly shaded her former co-star, saying "We don’t have her number."

‘We just don’t. So, she’ll see, she’ll watch," she added. "She’ll be happy that we’re here."

Torres was invited to Markle's wedding to Prince Harry, along with the rest of the cast, including Patrick J. Adams, Sarah Rafferty, Gabriel Macht, Rick Hoffman and Spencer. While they were invited to the ceremony, none of them were invited to the reception that evening at Frogmore House.

Earlier this month, Hoffman recently spoke about his experience at the ceremony, during an appearance on the "Chicks in the Office" podcast, commenting on the viral photos of him with an "awful" look on his face. He went on to explain his expression was due to a "foul" smell plaguing him during the ceremony.

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"I don't want them to think it's me because I'm so particular when it comes to hygiene. So I'm like, 'Do you guys smell that?' And they're like, 'No.' So now I'm, like, literally by myself, alone on an island, and I'm just going, 'Mother...' And that's [the face] they got [on camera]," he said. 

He added, "Guess who knew that the most in the cast that I had an issue with other people's hygiene? Meghan! Always knew and would always laugh about how I was so sensitive."