Governor guts public school funding and reduces funding for child care and the infant learning program.

For the first time in Alaska history, the Governor fails to follow Alaska law and cuts public education base student funding.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

On June 12, the Governor vetoed over $122 million from the state's upcoming operating and capital budgets, including a $74 million decrease in state support for public education. Significant cuts also affected the public university system and the merit-based college scholarship fund.

The infant learning program lost $5.7 million in funding, and childcare subsidies were reduced by $1.8 million. Major maintenance projects at public universities were cut, and repayment funds for the WWAMI medical program were eliminated.

Overall, the Governor's vetoes have severely undermined our state's early learning and public education systems, from birth through university.

In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an essay discussing the purpose of education. He emphasized that education should teach us to think critically and objectively. Without an education, we struggle to distinguish between truth and falsehood or to separate fact from fiction. Education should not focus solely on efficiency; it must also be rooted in morality. King argued that intelligence alone, without character, will not prepare us for future challenges. He warned that if we are not careful, our education systems could produce "a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed by immoral acts."¹

Learning is not just a process; it is a powerful tool that empowers us. It opens doors, challenges norms, and teaches us to question authority. It leads to liberation and empathy, reminding us that without knowledge, we are vulnerable to exploitation. This is the power of education, and it is currently under threat.

It is no surprise that our system of free and accessible public education is facing attacks. If education serves as the gateway to critical thinking—enabling us to challenge half-truths, prejudices, and propaganda—then those who seek to control our behavior through misinformation must restrict our access to a quality public education.

I had hoped that the Governor would follow the law and fully fund our public schools, but his veto of base student funding was not surprising. This Governor has created the crisis our public schools are now facing, and I am confident he will use this manufactured crisis to continue criticizing student academic performance in our public schools. I, along with many others, have challenged his assertion that our schools are failing as misleading and inaccurate.

As Senate President Gary Stevens stated, “The Governor has abandoned us.” It is profoundly disappointing and disheartening to witness an executive determined to undermine a system intended to provide access and opportunity to every student, regardless of their background or location.

As the legislature continues to discuss the timing for an override vote on these recent education vetoes (learn more about why now is not the best time), please know that I will not rest until a vote is taken and full state funding for the upcoming fiscal year is restored—not only for our public schools but also for our public universities, early learning programs, childcare services, disaster preparedness, and wildland fire response.

History shows that the fight for an open and accessible public education system for all is as righteous as it is lengthy. We cannot give up, even in the face of setbacks. Our children cannot afford for us to step aside and be defeated. I am here to defend the rights of all children. Please join me in this effort.

- with gratitude

Löki Gale Tobin

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The righteous history of teacher unions

In 1857, several state teacher associations met in Philadelphia to organize the first national teachers’ union, the National Teachers Association (NTA).

By the 1860s, NTA would rename itself to the National Education Association and begin to admit women as full members. In 1865, the NEA president, J.P. Wilkersham, formally denounced slavery.

By 1904, brown and Black educators formed the National Association of Colored Teachers (which later became the American Teachers Association), which would later merge with NEA (1966). In 1910, NEA made history by electing Ella Flagg Young as president of NEA, a full decade before women were given the right to vote.

Founded in Chicago, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) first organized in 1916 with just eight locals signing on with the American Federation of Laborers.

By the early 1920s, AFT struggled with membership as World War I saw “red scare” attacks on educators with AFT valiantly fighting for tenure law to protect educator careers as well as challenge unfair labor laws that demanded women teachers wear certain skirt lengths, teacher Sunday school, and limit the number of “gentleman callers.”

In 1926, NEA joined forces with the American Teachers Association (ATA), a majority brown and Black teachers’ union, to advocate for the accreditation of secondary schools serving brown and Black students. This was the first of many collaborations between the two unions, with one of the most significant being a $1 million fund to protect educators during school desegregation.

The 1950s saw many schools attempting to require teachers to sign “loyalty pledges,” threatening academic freedom and integrity. AFT fought back, working to secure collective bargaining agreements that protected brown and Black as well as white teachers alike.

In 1967 and 1968, the delegates of NEA continued their history-making streaks by electing their first Hispanic and Black woman presidents, respectively.

Since the 1970s, NEA has fought and won several court cases for its members, including prohibitions on mandatory maternity leave for educators, while AFT helped establish healthcare services for educators and fought back against attempts to defund schools.

In the 1970s, both NEA and AFT led policy discussions centered on education reform and adequate school funding, arguing that classroom teachers and paraprofessionals are key stakeholders and decision-makers. Both unions have and continue to work with policymakers on key education legislation, elevating the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in curricula and teaching practices.

1. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/purpose-education