Senate Education Committee - The First Week
We're working quickly to identify solutions to ongoing statewide school funding challenges.
This past week, the Senate Education Committee began the work of identifying the funding challenges facing Alaska’s public schools. The Committee heard from a wide array of education advocates including Dr. Lisa Parady with the Alaska Council of School Administrators. In just a few words she made the case for an increase in education funding in Alaska.
“I really want to be clear that we’re not asking for whipped cream or ice cream on top of the pie. We’re just asking for crust, or maybe the filling." - Dr. Lisa Parady, Director of the Alaska Council of School Administrators
On January 27, the Senate Education Committee heard a detailed presentation from researchers with the University of Alaska’s Institute of Social and Economic Research. After crunching the numbers and adjusting for costs and inflation they found that in 2019 Alaska spent less per pupil on public education than the national average. Imagine what the numbers say now after two years of inflation.
“A myriad of operational costs, including utilities, supplies, transportation, fuel, maintenance, freight, food, instructional materials, and other services necessary for operating a school system, have all increased dramatically. As these operational costs have increased, resources to employ the staff needed to run schools and deliver educational support and instruction have been reduced. As a result, the opportunities for all students to succeed diminish, and we see declines in many indicators of student achievement.” - Lon Garrison, Executive Director of the Association of Alaska School Boards
The research and data are clear: flat funding of education is destroying our schools. In testimony from the Association of Alaska School Boards, we heard that comparing 2012 to now, schools have seen on average a 24.6% decrease in their purchasing power.
After a week of hearings, it seems more obvious than ever that our children and young adults deserve better than below-average support from the State of Alaska. Stable, sustainable, and predictable education funding is not only needed but necessary for the state to meet its constitutional obligation outlined in Article 7, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution.
This past week education advocates repeatedly reinforced the reality that an increase of at least $860 dollars to the base student allocation will simply allow schools to address rising inflation costs. I believe a larger investment is needed if we want to hire more teachers, reduce class sizes, and give Alaska’s children and young adults the education and tools they need to lead fulfilling lives in whatever profession they choose.
So, what comes next? Well, over the next two weeks, the Senate Education Committee will discuss how best to support our schools now and in the future. But first, it’s important to hear from parents, students, teachers, and anyone else who has a stake in the success of Alaska’s schools in other words, all of us need to chime in.
“A strong public education system is essential to the individual and collective well-being of our country and its people, and to the development of an informed and engaged citizenry, without which no democracy can exist and flourish.” - AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement
On Monday and Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee will take public testimony on the issue of public education funding. Our meetings will run from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. The number to call is 907-563-9085. You can also send the committee an email to Senate.Education@akleg.gov.
