Great Alaska Schools appreciates Gov. Bill Walker's resolve to face the tremendous challenges before our state as he steps into office. We listened with hope as he described Alaska's opportunities in his State of the State address on Wednesday, Jan. 21, and then again with respectful concern to his State of the Budget given Thursday, Jan. 22.
As public school advocates, we recognize the dilemma he is struggling with as governor. We take comfort in the knowledge that Gov. Walker agreed in his questionnaire response to us that our public schools need an increase in the Base Student Allocation (BSA) of $425 this year in order to be fully funded and healthy. However, his support for fully funding schools is dependent on the overall state fiscal situation. In his State of the Budget speech, Gov. Walker spoke directly to teachers, honoring their service, and acknowledging the challenge that comes from today's budget uncertainty. The teacher hiring crisis that is coming to light in the Anchorage School District is a warning sign that our Alaska teacher corps is crumbling in the face of funding uncertainty.
Regardless of the means by which Alaska generates its revenue, the constitutional obligation to properly fund public education remains. We believe public education should not be shortchanged even during lean times. Every year in a child's education is critically important and irreversible. Our children cannot simply put themselves on hold and wait to grow up; their time for gaining the tools to achieve their potential is now. Inflation is inevitable. Alaska's failure to plan accordingly does not have to be.
Detailed effects of Gov. Walker's proposed 2.5 percent education budget reduction remain unclear for now but we have grave concerns about any cuts made when our schools have already endured significant staff and support reductions since 2011. Our teachers have been making do with less and less for years. The slight increase to the BSA and additional funding outside of it granted during the 2014 legislative session were signs of progress. The commitments for level funding over the next three years, even if not in the amount we believed necessary, still provided a measure of security. We fear Alaska public schools may have taken one small step forward last year only now to be followed by two giant steps back.
We ask the Legislature to, at a minimum, restore the funds cut by Gov. Walker, and to seriously consider increasing the funding available to our schools to match inflation. Only through stable and predictable funding can we overcome the hiring and morale challenges in our teacher ranks.
Great Alaska Schools heartily endorses the governor's call to be creative, for parents to step up and for teachers and administrators to think outside the box. We look forward to hearing the results of the K-12 formula studies due out this summer and will do our part by seeking ways to maximize efficiency without sacrificing quality in our schools. We invite anyone interested in supporting public education to join us in Anchorage this Sunday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at 2824 E. 18th Ave. (Unitarian Universalist Church). We will be creating meaningful but manageable plans of action for even those with the busiest of schedules.
We believe that Gov. Walker's reference to former Gov. Hickel's wisdom, "We can't cut our way into prosperity," applies nowhere more aptly than it does to public education. We also believe that lean times elicit an even greater need for the community to come together and offer its time and talent for the collective benefit of nurturing Alaska's future. Alaskans, we can wring our hands or roll up our sleeves. Please join us in committing to immediate action.
Valerie Buckendorf and Pat Galvin are founding members of Great Alaska Schools Anchorage. Also contributing to this piece were Great Alaska Schools Anchorage members Alyse Galvin, Deena Mitchell, Alison Arians, Becca Bernard, Aaron Poe, Suzanne LaFrance and Suzanne Little, along with Terry Snyder of Mat-Su, Laura Volmert of Fairbanks and Mary Hakala of Juneau. Great Alaska Schools is a grass-roots organization founded in 2014 to back adequate funding for public schools throughout the state.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.