Group urges parents to get involved

MAT-SU -- Valley Voices for Children, a new grassroots committee formed to promote fiscal responsibility in the state Legislature to fund education, is asking community members

to show their support to increase education funding by wearing blue and gold ribbons and by contacting their legislators.

"The crisis is going on right now," said VVC member Kris Moore. "This is something we have to address now."

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is faced with an $8 million deficit for fiscal year 2005, and the cuts that have been proposed range from cutting extra-curricular activities to full-time nurses in smaller schools. The cuts, the district says, are not based on inefficiencies within the district or borough, which has funded education at 100 percent for the last three years, but are necessary because of a lack of state funding. School districts across the state are facing similar budget dilemmas, and an outcry for funding at the state level has emerged.

"It's Juneau that we have to deal with, and we all have to work together as a coalition," said Barb Morris of the Mat-Su Employee Association. Morris, district spokeswoman Kim Floyd and numerous parents and Parent Teacher Organization and Parent Teacher Association members all showed up to the first VVC meeting last week.

VVC, the district and others are worried that without public outcry, the Legislature will continue to not adequately fund education. Failure to account for inflation and increases to payment into the state retirement system (PERS/TERS) in the education foundation formula have caused funding at its current level to be inadequate, according to the VVC. A push by the public for the funding to increase, along with a promise to stand behind ways to pay for it, will be the only way to fund education now and in the future, the group claims.

"We are paying for it one way or another, either collectively or individually," Floyd said. The group is not standing behind one particular way to find the money to fund education, such as taxes or using the Alaska Permanent Fund, but it does promote the idea that if we want good education for our children, we must step up to the plate and let our legislators know that we are willing to pay for it, one way or another.

"The initial response [by legislators] will be 'this will never pass,'" Moore said. "We have to let them know that we value education … and that we will pass it in November."

VVC is asking community members to take a stand and start letting their leaders know that they value education. The group's goal is two-fold, to get education funded -- for this year and for following years to come -- and to get parents involved in education. Right now the group is waiting to see what a bill the House Education Subcommittee has in the works for funding education will look like, and plans to move forward after that. The subcommittee meets again today. So far the subcommittee is suggesting a $35.8 million one-time appropriation to help districts with the TERS/PERS problem, but the money will not be included in the foundation formula. According to VVC, an additional $431 increase to the formula (making it $4,600 per student), along with the $35.8 million appropriation, would be enough to fix the crisis for the district this year. Lawmakers have so far been reluctant to introduce such an increase, because of sustainability issues over the long haul -- once in the formula, the increase would become the norm and be paid out every year. This is where VVC comes in, the group says. It is asking the public to let the lawmakers know they want the increase, and that they are willing to pay for it.

"We are going to have to get very political; this is an election year for all of the house and Senator Green. It's one thing to come from the teachers and the district, but if it comes from the parents, they'll listen," Morris said.

"One way to ensure the money is spent the way we wish is to elect people who believe what we believe," Floyd said.

The VVC is asking the community and other districts around the state to start talking to their legislators and let them know how strongly they feel about education -- and to remind them of your voting status. Anyone who is not registered, they said, should get registered then call or write back again. The following are some suggestions the VVC has come up with to show support for education:

Send a message now to your legislators asking them to draft a bill that will meet current needs;

Register to vote, and let your legislators know that you will be voting;

Become, or encourage others to volunteer, offer your talent, skills, time and positive attitude to your local school -- don't just ask the state to pay for education, show you are willing to work for your child's education;

Advocate for fiscal responsibility to your local legislator, write letters, make phone calls, send e-mails;

Don't give up. Keep up to date with the information being presented;

Stay positive and help eliminate negativity and incorrect information;

Wear blue and gold ribbons to show your support for funding education;

Talk to your friends, neighbors and co-workers -- anyone that will listen -- and get them to join in the fight for education.

The group is urging that a push for funding now, and for future sustainability of education, has to come from the people. While the issues around what areas may be cut within the district are also cause for concern, VVC is asking the public to put those arguments aside for now and join as one cohesive voice of the Valley to speak to the funding problems at hand.

"You have the power to make a difference on this," Moore said. "Right now our district is being forced to say 'we don't do what's best, we do what we can afford.'"

For more information, or to become involved in VVC, contact Moore at 373-2684.

"When you get into a crisis, it makes people rise to a level of action," said Ann Knobbe, one of the parents involved with VVC. "I think it's going to be a good thing to have parents come forward and outwardly show their support for education."