Facts, figures continue to leave students out of equation

Frontiersman editorial board

In a Spectrum piece that ran in Friday's Frontiersman, Donnie Allen raised several questions pertinent to the ongoing labor struggles between the Mat-Su School District and the Mat-Su Education Association, and posed some questions to the district.

Frontiersman checked some of Allen's figures and presented some of his questions to the district.

It appears that Allen's salary figure for Chief Administrator Bob Doyle was in error. Doyle actually earns $108,000, or $124,392, if you include all benefits. Allen's estimate was about $24,000 too high.

Allen also expressed concern that 20 teachers were cut in spite of an enrollment increase of 700 students. His concern stems from the fact that the district "has been granted and additional $159 per student."

In fact, the district's enrollment increased by 726 students, however, 143 of those were above the district's projected budget. In other words, the district received funding for 583 of those new students. According to the district, it therefore received $749,119 from the state, but it spent $833,921 on additional teachers.

In the ongoing battle over how the district should spend its limited funds, a flurry of facts and figures are swirling around the Valley. As is often the case with complex government budgets, some of the numbers are objective and some are subjective.

The animas with which this argument has been recently carried forward seems intended to force residents here to choose sides between the district and the teachers. Those representing the teachers have continually accused the district and others of distorting facts and exaggerating its position.

It's fair to point out that the Frontiersman has received inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information from MSEA and some teachers at least three times during this latest round of negotiations.

It is also critical for everyone watching this story unfold to remember the group that continually is left out of the equation is the students. In the midst of the battle, students are contending with the increasing challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act, with diminishing programs and services and with the idea that things are likely to get worse before they get better. The truth here is that there is not enough money to continue funding the district's programs as they've been funded in the past. As the adults tug at the last scraps, we hope there's still something left for the students.