OPINION: Alaska’s constitution is clear — we must adequately fund public education

We live in an age of spin. If you do not believe me, just look back on the last few months of debate about public education funding in Alaska. Whether it is misrepresenting data or omitting relevant facts, there has been a concerted effort to complicate what is at stake when it comes to meeting Alaska’s constitutional obligation to adequately fund education.

To address the immediate and pressing needs facing every school district in Alaska, it is past time to significantly increase the Base Student Allocation (BSA). No one can deny that our schools are suffering under the weight of inflation and a shortage of teachers and other workers vital to the success of Alaska’s children and young adults. Without additional funding, we will see school closures, continued teacher attrition, increased class sizes and fewer class offerings.

Now, I have heard the arguments against increasing the BSA. Some opponents note that Alaska’s annual per-pupil spending is the highest in the nation. While that is factually correct in a dollar-for-dollar comparison with other states, it does not account for Alaska’s high cost of living. When adjusted for cost of living outside of Anchorage, the purchasing power of Alaska’s per-pupil spending is 7% below the national average. Our parents and students deserve more than below-average support from the state of Alaska.

The most frustrating argument against an increase to the BSA is that we must first have more “accountability.” No one disputes that the statewide assessment results are disappointing, but reading and math assessments do not tell the full picture of student success or failure, and it is disingenuous to pretend they do. Any parent or guardian can opt their child out of an assessment, and according to the Department of Education and Early Development, many parents do. Less than 15% of correspondence students participate in student assessments. Many correspondence parents argue that assessments are not infallible tools and do not tell us whether a young person will succeed later in life. I agree with this. A young person’s potential should not be measured by a single, point-in-time analysis.

What we do know is that struggling students need individual attention and a decade of flat funding has resulted in a loss of 2,100 adults from Alaska classrooms. Class sizes directly correlate to student achievement, and when Alaska classrooms are topping out at 30-40 students, how can any kid do well if they are not getting regular individual attention from their teacher? Small class sizes directly result from adequate funding, and we in the Legislature must be held accountable in fulfilling our constitutional obligation to provide the financial resources our schools so desperately need.

Finally, I hear well-intentioned people claim that administrative costs are taking resources out of classrooms. That argument ignores the fact that teachers cannot do everything. Schools need teachers and janitors — that is, unless we want to take teachers out of the classrooms so they can clean toilets and disinfect floors.

I believe parents when they say their local schools need more resources to educate their children. I believe teachers when they testify that things are reaching a breaking point in their classrooms. And I believe students when they say they fear for their classmates’ mental health, lament the lack of class offerings and wish they could afford extracurricular activities. The Alaska Constitution requires the state of Alaska to adequately fund public education. I took an oath to defend the Constitution, but that is not the only reason why I am fighting for a great public education system. I am fighting because I love Alaska. It is that simple.

Löki Gale Tobin represents downtown Anchorage, Government Hill and Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in the Alaska State Senate. She is a Pride Foundation Board member, Ph.D. student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a community advocate.

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