District cuts don't have to be start

of tough times

Wednesday night's meeting of the school board marked a crossroads of sorts for Mat-Su School District students and their families.

After weeks of consideration, two well-attended board meetings and the emotional testimony of scores of parents, school staff and other taxpayers, the board voted 4-3 to privatize school district custodial services beginning next year.

It is too early to know for certain if the move will prove, ultimately, to be the cost-saver district administrators tout it as. But one thing is certain - in these days of tax caps and dwindling state aid to communities, Wednesday's board vote is just the beginning of difficult and likely painful decisions to come.

As such, it is also, perhaps, a final wake-up call to anyone who has yet to accept that the &#8220free lunch” of the cash-flush days of the oil boom is over.

How we carve up an increasingly limited fiscal pie is going to define what kind of community we live in.

As local residents are confronted with the reality of shouldering more of the expense of the services they require, extra vigilance will be necessary to ensure that those we elect to make the difficult decisions are more than just a catchy slogan or have the &#8220right” party affiliation.

It is also worth noting the irony of the timing of the board decision.

While 112 of our friends and neighbors were effectively stripped of their jobs and immediate security by the board's approval of the district plan to privatize, earnest discussion, at last, is beginning in Juneau about restructuring the state's industry-generous system of taxing oil and gas.

As long as we accept that we cannot afford $1.6 million to keep 112 custodians in a living wage and real benefits, shouldn't we also accept that we can no longer afford to shower lavish tax breaks and other incentives on an industry raking in multibillion-dollar profits?

The governor's oil tax reform plan, blessed by industry, is now on the table.

Whatever deal is ultimately approved, it is one that the state, its cash-hungry communities and the property-tax payers who reside there will have to live with for a long time.

As we weigh the full impact of the board's decision Wednesday, and consider what other cost-saving moves might be on the horizon, we need also to consider the opportunity now at hand in Juneau.