I attended the town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Sarah Vance on Saturday, April 12. It was held at Kenai Peninsula College in Homer, attended largely by proponents of the stripped-down version of the education bill returned last week to the Alaska House by the Senate. The bill calls for an increase of the base student allocation (BSA) of $1,000, with no accountability measures. Alaska’s scholastic performance is among the lowest in the nation: 49th for 4th-grade reading and math, and 8th-grade reading, and 46th for 8th-grade math proficiency. These are the results of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, a biennial standardized test. In contrast, our per-pupil spending is the sixth highest in the nation.
The majority of folks present favored the increased spending without any accountability, were willing to forgo their PFD, and advocated a statewide income tax and/or sales tax. Clearly, the education system is failing, and it appears drastic measures are needed to reverse the trend. But the answer cannot be just more money. I have lived in Alaska for 42+ years and have seen numerous sign-waving pleas for more money for education. I recall one such effort in the early 1980′s and did some investigation regarding school funding. At that time, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District was one of the most expensive in the nation, and they wanted more money. The usual response when challenged is that teachers have to spend their own money for supplies, there aren’t enough teachers, they don’t have the resources to do their jobs. I applaud their generosity and concern. But there’s something wrong with the system when the money doesn’t get to the purported target — the student. It has long been clear to me that the primary purpose of any bureaucracy is to perpetuate itself, and its stated mission is secondary.
The politicization of the education issue demonstrates that the majority in the legislature isn’t really interested in the quality of education, and in fact has nothing to offer besides throwing more money at the problem.
I want to thank Rep. Vance for her organized and respectful presentation and her graceful responses to a largely hostile crowd. I applaud her dedication to keeping her promises and support her no vote on HB 69 and her support for the anticipated veto by Gov. Dunleavy.
A friend who attended the meeting had this comment: “I wanted to stand up and say they should each give me $100, just because — no explanation, no guarantees. What do you think the response would be?” And that is exactly what the Senate revision of HB 69 is demanding. To those of you who support this irresponsible piece of legislation, be careful what you wish for because you’ll probably get it — in this case, a more costly failure of a system that is supposed to benefit our children and prepare them for the future, but instead sends them off unable to read or do math proficiently. And ask yourself, what is the real goal?
Gayle Claus of Homer is a semi-retired nurse practitioner and mother of fishermen and entrepreneurs.
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