Alaska needs to reinvest in education

Has been updated: 8 minutes ago Release: 8 minutes ago

The Dec. 18 ADN commentary written by Gov. Mike Dunleavy contained some interesting partial truths about his recent budget proposal. To be fair, there are some new positive investments in the budget, and while Gov. Dunleavy has expressed support for his family, the budget is a “starting point.” I cautiously say yes. The chaos and obfuscation of the last four years.

But what the governor pointed out cannot be ignored. “The budget also fully funds education, including the continued implementation of the Alaska Reading Act, pre-K, and increased basic student quotas.”

In fact, the Governor’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2024 does not include increased spending on K-12 education beyond what was authorized by Alaska’s Reading Act legislation passed in 2022. . It’s an increase in quota (BSA), not a new increase in his BSA introduced in the governor’s budget.

Also, the governor’s budget does not provide enough funding for education. In fact, our public schools have lost their footing every year since his 2017. Since 2011, Congress and governors have opted for flat-funded education instead of offering annual “salary increases” to combat inflation. To put this in perspective, if Congress took steps to ensure that the BSA increased annually to keep up with inflation, the BSA would have increased by about $1,300 per student over the past decade instead of just $250. will be A budget that fully funds education would fund investments on the scale of five times what the state did, and is being actively pursued by most of the school districts, education associations, and many legislators. the size of your investment.

A decade of flat funding has resulted in the abolishment of teacher and support jobs, the expansion of class sizes, the closure of schools, the abolition of cafeteria and meal programs, and simply thousands of people quitting their jobs or leaving the state. You are exhausting the teacher with points. These issues are also exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools and students over the past three years.

Look at the Anchorage School District and its $48 million budget deficit to see the impact of years of flat funding. ASD is currently proposing closing just one of her schools instead of six, but those closures could return to the agenda next year if education funding doesn’t increase significantly in the next Congress. I have. Over the past few weeks, as several other Alaskans have noted in their ADN columns, the state continues to require all school districts to simply “do more with less,” while You can’t keep asking for “better results”. This is the wrong way of thinking. It’s as logical as expecting your car to perform better by not doing regular maintenance or filling your gas tank.

The University of Alaska’s budget has also been cut by 20% since the governor took office. While our institutions have undergone significant and painful cuts, these institutions continue to try to control their programs and operations, are understaffed, and cannot afford to raise the cost of living for their remaining staff. you can’t.

Lack of adequate funding for public education is not a scenario that will bring long-term economic growth, stability, or investment to Alaska.

What we do know, after our recent ASD Town Hall session in Anchorage, is that our public schools are the heart of our community. They educate their children, provide a stable and safe environment, and support the wider community in myriad ways. Putting children at the center of policy and decision-making is more essential than ever, especially when it comes to public education. Our children are not pawns or widgets. They are our future and they deserve all the support and opportunities we can offer them.

We must provide our children with a solid public education. In doing so, we will acquire future citizens who are committed to their communities and who will be a solid future workforce. Investing in our children makes Alaska stronger. Investing in our children’s education is the best return on investment we can make.

We urge you to add your voice to the growing collective advocacy to rebuild our public education system for our collective good in the coming weeks. Please reach out to Great Alaska Schools at @gmail.com and speak up by asking lawmakers and governors to reinvest in our children, our public schools and our future.

caroline storm Former Legislative Candidate, Guardian of Anchorage, and Member of the Great Alaska School.

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