Membership stirs debate

Should school board pony up $20K to belong to AASB?

October 30, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - A contentious issue arose at the most recent Mat-Su School Board meeting when board member Larry DeVilbiss was nominated to represent the school district as a candidate to fill a spot on the board of the Association of Alaska School Boards.

DeVilbiss promptly declined the nomination, saying he didn't even think the Mat-Su School Board should be a member of AASB, a coalition that lobbies the state Legislature to support a variety of political issues relating to education.

With an annual membership fee of more than $20,000, plus substantial travel expenses to attend various AASB functions, DeVilbiss argued that the cost did not justify membership benefits, which includes special training for school board members and other educational workshops. DeVilbiss said the workshops are still available for nonmembers for a fee.

&#8220When I first came on board five years ago, we were not members and I was still able to go to AASB for training,” DeVilbiss said Tuesday during a phone interview. &#8220My biggest complaint with AASB is the enormous expenses. The membership fee is nothing compared to the travel cost.”

Sarah Welton, the newly elected board president, countered, arguing that AASB membership is important if Mat-Su wants to stay in the educational loop as far as what is happening with current state and national education trends. She also said it was important to be at the table with the state's most powerful education lobbying group. AASB is also a part of National School Boards Association.

Member Rob Wells agreed with Welton's assessment that Valley needs are better represented when the board works with other school boards across the state.

&#8220It takes coalitions, and this puts us with the strongest coalition,” he said.

DeVilbiss, however, argued that many of the individual school boards across the state are competing for state funds when it comes to paying for new schools and other capital improvement projects.

He said state representatives play a larger role in securing state resources for the Mat-Su, a point Wells agreed with.

&#8220It won't be AASB that goes to bat for $5 million for Su Valley [roof repairs],” he told fellow board members. &#8220It will be the raw political power of our state representatives.”

Apart from the expense associated with membership, DeVilbiss said he opposes many political issues AASB supports, such as state testing of home-schoolers, teen health clinics and lowering the age of mandatory school attendance.

Despite DeVilbiss' concerns about those positions, Wells said he thought there were many AASB resolutions DeVilbiss did support, such as child advocacy and local control for school boards.

The board eventually voted, unanimously, to send Wells to AASB as its nomination for a position on the 15-member AASB state board. AASB convenes in Anchorage, Nov. 3-6, for its annual conference, where it will elect new board members and set legislative priorities for the coming year.

In January, the Mat-Su School Board will decide whether to renew its annual AASB membership.

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.