Local education advocacy group continues working

MAT-SU -- Valley Voices for Children, a grass-roots committee made up of parents, educators and school advocates, is back up and running again after computer problems wiped out a portion of its e-mail database earlier this year.

VVC members meet regularly to identify important and sometimes neglected aspects of public education. Oftentimes the issues are complicated and VVC attempts to educate the public.

Kris Moore, chair for VVC, said just understanding the issues can sometimes be exhausting work.

"I'm a mom and I'm really busy," Moore said. "It can be an intimidating process to go before the Legislature and testify on these issues. We educate the community about legislative process and committees because we're trying to hold the state accountable."

Education funding has always been a major advocacy issue for VVC, but with the state increasing education funding by $82 million last year and Gov. Frank Murkowski proposing that the state add another $126 million over the next two years, funding is not as desperate an issue as it has been in the past.

It does remain, however, an issue that affects almost all aspects of improving education, and VVC will likely continue to push for statewide and local funding increases.

The Mat-Su Borough School District recently agreed to three-year contracts for most of its employees, which means contract disputes will not dominate VVC meetings.

"We have funding and contracts done and now we can really get down to some fun issues," Moore said.

Moore said she is looking forward to focusing on some Valley issues, such as getting new textbooks in some of the schools where the books are outdated and sometimes falling apart. Parking lot safety is another issue as well as making sure the state understands that Mat-Su schools are full and the Valley needs new schools as the population continues to explode.

Moore said she hopes someone will volunteer to help her get a Web site up and running soon, to help disseminate information to people who are concerned about public education.

"A Web page would be great for getting info out there, but again, I need a volunteer," she said.

While VVC has no formal membership, Moore said the group welcomes anyone who is interested in attending.

"We want to form a coalition with school board members, educators, parents and administrators, so we are all on the same page," Moore said.

Wednesday's meeting takes place at 10 a.m. at the Windbreak Cafe. For more information, people may call 373-2684.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.