Opposed to SJR 9

Can you imagine our country without public schools? I can’t. A democracy cannot exist without an educated populous with shared values and a shared knowledge. That is why in our history townships dedicated a section to a public school.

Our state representatives and senators say that Senate Joint Resolution 9 is about avoiding lawsuits that have not occurred, about bringing a percentage of Alaska families back into the public system. But, they avoid the essential question of should special interests and religion be contained away from public education?

The resolution is in direct conflict with the historic role of public money and public schools. True, the public system has changed since the Constitution was written, and exponentially so in the last 15 years. However, the core value of a public education protected from private and religious interference has not changed.

Obviously, public schools are not a perfect institution. They are fraught with issues bound by the endless mission to serve all for the good of all. But, public schools exist for a reason beyond test scores. Public schools serve as an equalizer for the free market’s zest for individual freedom at any cost.

Our republic’s bureaucracy is daunting for the immigrant and less advantaged. Even the process of school registration can be intimidating to these citizens looking to provide for their children. Just by knowing the way things run, the families that choose charter and private schools are already of a more privileged and separated group. Supporters of SJR69 claim to want to bring the disengaged back into the fold, when in truth the resolution works against honest and earnest citizens who don’t easily navigate the halls of our democracy.

Public funds are to provide equity of access and opportunities. They are not to be spent to create divisions. It is too easy to turn the discussion around to parent choice. That is a simplistic argument for a complicated problem. SJR 9 clearly divides between the “haves” and the “have nots” with the public dime.

To suggest that this is only an honest attempt to legally allow vendors in public schools is a Tom Sawyer whitewash. We do not need a constitutional amendment so public money can be spent in private or religious schools because some children receive tutoring through Sylvan Learning Center or a handful of students choose to take advantage of APU’s early admissions.

If the legislators and senators were statesmen they might be more inclined to help communities support their schools — incentives to become involved in PTAs, helping parents know how to develop early literacy skills, support for neighborhood schools. Instead, they are investing their legacies into fragmenting our communities even further, divorcing our neighborhoods from each other.

SJR 9 clearly counters the wisdom in the separation of church and state. It flies in the face of promoting a sense of community and a participatory electorate. It is discriminatory and divisive.

Do not let this resolution become c’est la vie. The Alaska Constitution should remain, “No money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.”

Emily Forstner teaches Language Arts at Wasilla Middle School.