Senate's claim that schools can absorb 5 percent cut doesn't cut it

An open letter to Alaska state Senate:

When I met with many of you in Juneau, there seemed to be a general perception among you that a 5 percent cut would not make much difference to public education. The buzz was that "the cuts can easily be absorbed by cutting administration."

I since have spent many hours digging into the details of the Anchorage School District budget, and the likely impact of the cuts you've proposed. Among other things, I learned that there are essential operations which support the work in schools that would never be cost effective to perform at each school. And doing without these support services is not possible.

[Anchorage School Board cuts dozens of teaching positions, and the situation could get even worse]

For example, in the Anchorage School District, five employees handle payroll for 93 schools. This task would be difficult, if not impossible, without adding another employee to each school. Similarly, information technology, which has already been extremely pared down to 13 positions, serves 93 schools with a few additional people on-site at larger schools. Again, it clearly would not be cost effective to have one person in each school to handle these essential tasks. I imagine there are similar stories for other districts.

As a result of my research, I now have a better understanding of why the ASD will be forced to cut 99 teaching positions and 26 others with the flat funding that is the "best case" scenario being discussed in Juneau. There is just no fat left to trim. Administration and support (including all secretaries, building plant operators, HR, etc. on up to superintendent) comprise just 4.72 percent of the overall budget in ASD. While there may be a handful of positions that might be reworked with efficiencies, a 5 percent cut would require the loss of 250 to 300 positions in ASD alone.

[Stop playing games with the education of Alaska's children]

Not only will this have a devastating effect on the already-struggling Anchorage economy (with other communities across Alaska also suffering due to similar cuts), student learning will be harmed. Educators' time would be better spent doing the work of finding optimal ways to teach every child to read and enjoy learning, instead of being forced to spend time and energy devising ways to make more cuts that ultimately shortchange our kids, our economy and our future.

Obviously, there is still work to be done. I encourage you to focus your efforts on serving every student in learning and growing to be their best selves. It is not only your moral responsibility, but also your constitutional duty as a legislator. Although we all recognize that times are tight, the cuts you propose will effectively hamstring a system that provides opportunity for all. In short, you must find another way.

Deena Mitchell is a founding member of Great Alaska Schools. She lives in Anchorage.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com.