Assembly may weigh in on vouchers

PALMER — With this year’s legislative session well underway in Juneau, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly is will vote on which pieces of legislation to weigh in on, not least of which is the plan to clear the way for public funding of private education.

“I guess it’s fairly evident that I’m favoring the concept,” said Mat-Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss, who sponsored a resolution that, if passed, would put the borough on the record officially in the pro-school-vouchers camp.

“I don’t know how it would shake out. Everybody’s already talking about vouchers and stuff like that, but I think that it’s premature to say that’s what the vehicle would be,” the mayor said. “But the more basic concept of getting funding directly to the students instead of through the machinery of government is one that I would look forward to weighing in on.”

The legislation in question is actually an amendment to the Alaska Constitution. One of its prime champions is Valley Sen. Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy has said in the last two legislative sessions that he would not favor public funding for classes that teach religion. But, he said, why shouldn’t a public school student be able to take a class from Brigham Young University or from Sylvan Learning Center?

DeVilbiss said he’s in favor of public funding for private schools.

“I can’t see how that won’t work out to the benefit of the students,” he said.

The only study of what such a plan would cost comes from the state Legislative Research Services, which did some basic calculations on behalf of Sen. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage.

The report was based on the idea that the change would bring about a voucher system. If all 11,000 private school children were given the same amount of funding that their public school neighbors get, the report estimates that the increase in school funding from the state would be $99.7 million each year.

If approved, the amendment also seems likely to increase property tax bills in the Mat-Su and Anchorage boroughs. That’s because a portion of education funding is paid through local property taxes and more students in the district count means more taxes must be collected locally to cover the increase in students.

The assembly will decide whether to endorse the constitutional amendment at its meeting Tuesday evening. Also at that meeting they will weigh in various other statewide issues.

Fish

Assemblyman Jim Sykes has sponsored a blanket resolution in favor of anything the state can do to boost salmon returns to the Valley.

“The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly asks the Alaska Legislature to encourage all possible measures, including needed additional financial resources for the Alaska State Department of Fish and Game, that help restore our fisheries to healthy sustainability in the Borough to enable them to thrive for the benefit of future generations of Alaskans and our visitors,” the resolution reads.

Pensions

This one has the broadest initial support with co-sponsorship from DeVilbiss, Sykes and assemblyman Steve Colligan. It would endorse Gov. Sean Parnell’s plan to draw from savings to pay down part of the state’s pension liability.

“The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly respectfully requests the 28th Alaska State Legislature to support this proposal strongly and appropriate funds from the constitutional Budget Reserve Fund to the State retirement systems in FY 2015,” the resolution states.

Trains

Also from assemblyman Sykes is a resolution encouraging the borough and Alaska Railroad Corp. to continue looking at the possibility of commuter rail linking Anchorage, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the Mat-Su.

“The assembly supports a pilot project by the ARRC to provide additional passenger rail services between (the areas),” the resolution states. “Be it further resolved that the MSB and MOA rejuvenate efforts to cooperate on mutually beneficial transportation issues.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.