Seeing the headline on April 21, “Alaska budget battles pit dividend against school funding boost,” felt like déjà vu all over again. I am disappointed, and frankly disgusted, that I live in a state whose voters continue to elect politicians who place a priority on a large Permanent Fund dividend payout over the well-being of the community.
We have an outmigration problem that is likely going to get worse. We are underfunding education at all levels, road maintenance, the ferry system, health and social services. Terry Stimson (April 24 letter to the editor) was 100% correct about Alaska having been one of the most desirable states for educators. When I graduated with a teaching degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage in the mid-1980s, all education majors were told to expect to substitute teach for 3-5 years. The competition for a teaching position was that tough. There were more than 1,000 substitute teachers on the sub list and almost all were vying for a full-time position. Now schools can’t fill positions and often can’t find substitutes when teachers are out for any reason.
The PFD has fluctuated a great deal over the years since its inception. Once it was as low as $331. A large PFD should not come at the expense of our state balancing the budget and funding basic needs. It should especially not come at the expense of our children’s education. Huge payouts, like the one we had last year and what is being pushed for this year, are contributing to the overall poor financial health and well-being of our state. We will continue to lose talented educators if we insist on choosing a large PFD over funding education. Continued loss of qualified and talented educators will result in a poorly educated population.
There’s an argument that people need the PFD because they’re hurting financially. If relief for people that are hurting financially was the goal of the PFD, then giving every resident the same amount would not be an efficient way to structure a payout. But that is not, nor was it ever, the goal of the PFD.
Please contact your legislators and ask them to make funding schools a priority. Make our children a priority.
— Katie McBride
Eagle River
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