Education debate puts politics over people

Several days removed from the Alaska Legislature’s cowardly recapitulation to Gov. Mike Dunleavy over education funding, Alaskans are left to wonder what hope remains for the state’s public education system.

After a sweeping education bill sailed through the Legislature in February – with just four out of 40 House members and a single senator voting against it – it appeared that long-starved public schools and the Alaska families who count on them would finally get a break. Sadly, Dunleavy, a Mat-Su resident, had other plans.

The vetoed legislation was huge, both in form and potential. It was a bipartisan agreement that offered a historic increase in funding, while also addressing other concerns important to both the governor and legislators. A rare masterful compromise, it was painstakingly hammered-out by a group of legislators who care about schools and who understand that a thriving education system is a foundational part of prosperous communities.

That’s not just for families, either. Alaska’s businesses and statewide economy require an educated workforce, too. So it was encouraging to see such widespread support for the initial legislation. It was also encouraging to see a local legislator at the forefront of bringing disparate people together to craft the agreement.

Rep. Jesse Sumner, a first-termer from Wasilla, provided impressive leadership in the process. Demonstrating the same diligence and preparedness he always modeled as a Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman, Sumner helped bring about the combined 54-5 vote last month in favor of the legislation that the governor ultimately vetoed. To be sure, there is still time to salvage a good outcome for schools. But by reversing themselves and killing the compromise legislation – all Mat-Su legislators except Sumner supported the veto – our elected people have once again put local schools in a bind.

In contrast to Sumner’s leadership and principled stand for education and families, Sen. Shelley Hughes of Palmer didn’t even wait for the veto announcement before showing how unserious she is about schools. She declared her support for the governor’s expected veto in February, almost immediately after voting in favor of the bipartisan agreement.

Then, during the March 18 debate, she implored the media present to let the public know how much she supports schools, right before she voted to defund them. Not to be outdone, Wasilla Sen. Mike Shower also kept the hot air flowing in the Capitol that night. Shower had already cast the lone Senate vote against the bill in February, so his windy, preachy floor speech declaring support for the veto and demanding “accountability” from schools was not surprising.

What was surprising, though, is that “No-Show” Shower, with the worst attendance record in the Capitol, would so shamelessly moralize about accountability.

There were plenty of cringe-worthy moments on the House side, too, during the March 18 debate. Rep. Kevin J. McCabe of Big Lake blustered for nearly five minutes, absurdly declaring that school districts are a business, and blaming them for their own financial distress. “How long are we going to throw money on a business and not get a return on the investment?” he demanded to know.

All that hot air will never obscure two facts.

First, there has been no increase in the base student allocation – the formula used to fund school districts around the state – since 2017, the year before Dunleavy started his first term, and a full three years before McCabe was even elected.

Since that tiny increase, inflation has decimated school district budgets. Expenses have ballooned along with class sizes, and buildings have deteriorated, all without any sign of increased commitment from the state.

So no one – least of all McCabe – has been “throwing money” at schools. Second, public education success stories are plentiful, despite the unwillingness of the veto gang to acknowledge them.

There are plenty of great examples of the “investment return” that somehow eludes McCabe. Sumner is one of them. He grew up in the Valley, graduated from local schools, and went on to become a successful, productive member of the community as a second-generation homebuilder in the fastest growing region of the state.

Sumner’s story is hardly unique. Countless other students over the years have prospered in the local school system, then returned to give back to this community in a multitude of vocations.

They are the public education success stories that blowhard politicians want to pretend don’t exist. The return they provide is vibrant, sustainable communities with good jobs and decent quality of life.

But that return is not self-sustaining. It will surely wither if schools are not nourished. That should be food for thought with November elections on the horizon.

Mark Kelsey is a retired journalist who lives near Wasilla.

FIND OUT MORE

www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/joint-legislative-session-2024031199/?eventID=2024031199

Video coverage of the joint legislative session Rep. Kevin J. McCabe begins at 1:23:15

Sen. Mike Shower begins at 1:30:45

Sen. Shelley Hughes begins at 1:37:25