Contributed by Michael Backus
At a recent town hall meeting, I talked with and heard from people who claimed our schools are failing. This is a slap in the face and tremendously disheartening for me. I work hard to do my very best every day for my students. I cannot help but wonder whether part of this animosity towards our schools is fueled by a desire to avoid an income tax. It certainly would help one sleep easier if they justified their decision to support budget cuts with the notion that schools waste money.
Even if this were true, the argument is flawed. If our military were doing a poor job of protecting our country, would we cut their budget? If law enforcement or firefighters were doing a poor job, would we cut their budgets? Of course not. Then why does anyone even bother to make this argument? If schools are wasting money, then our job is to hold them accountable by electing good school boards. If you see waste or have ideas for spending money more efficiently, talk to your school board.
To be fair, Alaska does spend a lot of money per student on education. This simple fact is due in large part to Alaska's commitment to build a high school in any community with at least 15 high school aged children. We spend a lot on education because we committed ourselves to providing quality education to as many children as possible when we had the money to do so.
Now that we can no longer rely on oil revenue to maintain our prior commitments, I understand something must change. In fact, most teachers have come to expect and accept such change. In all my years as a teacher, I have never heard our principal say, “Good, news, class sizes are going down,” or “Guess what, you’re all getting a raise.” Instead, we have come to expect shorter prep times, larger classes, and pay that does not keep pace with inflation.
That said, cutting $300 million in funding for schools across Alaska in a single year will have a devastating impact on our children. While I expected class sizes to go up when Dunleavy got elected, I never fathomed he would do so much damage so quickly and irresponsibly. If we are going to balance our budget, let's do it in a way that prioritizes what we value and what will make our community a great place to live and our economy strong 30 years from now. At the very least, let's phase these changes in over several years so that we can develop a good plan. Perhaps we need to revisit how we serve rural communities. Perhaps 15 high school aged children is too low a number. Perhaps we need to consider regional boarding schools. Perhaps school districts on the road system need to cut programs. Honestly, I don’t know. I do know it will take time to sort this out and come up with a good solution.
When Walker pushed the legislature to balance the budget, and then cut the PFD when they failed to act, Dunleavy declared the need to balance the budget premature. He advocated waiting until there was more pressure to reduce the size of government. In short, he was part of the problem. Now, his solution is even worse. As a lifelong Alaskan who has seen how our political discourse has been contaminated by our desire to maintain the PFD at all costs, I cannot help but laugh every time I see or hear Dunleavy’s slogan to “stand tall for Alaska.” Who is he standing up to? What is he standing for? Walker stood for balancing the budget in a responsible way. Dunleavy just promised to give Alaskans a bunch of money if they voted for him.
Part of the problem is that when we go to the polls, we focus on what is best for ourselves. In the coming years, I am not too concerned about the welfare of my family. My wife and I have decent jobs and my experience as a teacher has given me the ability to ensure my children are prepared for the workforce regardless of the quality of our schools. Voting for candidates that promise me a larger PFD serves my own interests. I am writing this letter because I look at my students and I know that they are not so lucky. Most of them have no realistic alternative to public education. They need a good education if they are going to be successful later in life. If you care about Alaska and you care about the community your children will live in 30 years from now, I urge you to stand tall for Alaska's children by supporting a three-pronged solution that involves budget cuts, using part of the PFD, and an income tax.
For a great YouTube video that explains our complicated budget crisis in simple terms, take a look at: http://www.akfuture.org/an-introduction-to-alaska/
