Claim schools are failing is a slap in the face

At a recent town hall meeting, I talked with and heard from people who claimed our schools are failing. This is a slap in the face and tremendously disheartening for me. I work hard to do my very best every day for my students. I cannot help but wonder whether part of this animosity towards our schools is fueled by a desire to avoid an income tax. It certainly would help one sleep easier if they justified their decision to support budget cuts with the notion that schools waste money.

To be fair, Alaska does spend a lot of money per student on education. This simple fact is due in large part to Alaska's commitment to build a high school in any community with at least 15 high school aged children. We spend a lot on education because we committed ourselves to providing quality education to as many children as possible when we had the money to do so.

Now that we can no longer rely on oil revenue to maintain our prior commitments, I understand something must change. I also know that cutting funding $300 million in funding for schools across Alaska in a single year will have a devastating impact on our children. I expected class sizes to go up when Dunleavy got elected, but I never fathomed he would do so much damage so quickly and irresponsibly. If we are going to balance our budget, let's do it in a way that prioritizes what we value and what will make our community a great place to live and our economy strong 30 years from now. At the very least, let's phase these changes in over several years so that we can at least develop a good plan.

When Walker cut the dividend, Dunleavy declared the need to balance the budget premature. He advocated waiting until there was more pressure to reduce the size of government. In short he was part of the problem. Now, his solution is even worse.

If you care about Alaska and you care about the community your children will live in 30 years from now, I urge you to stand tall for Alaska's children by supporting a three pronged solution that involves budget cuts, using part of the Permanent Fund Dividend, and an income tax.

Michael Backus,

Wasilla