Proper education funding requires level playing field

May 5, 2006

SPECTRUM/Nels Anderson

&#8220A conclusion in search of a study” is a clever quip from Senate Finance Chairman Gary Wilken, R-Fairbanks, regarding the area cost differential (ACD). This study attempts to fairly calculate the relative costs of educating students in various parts of the state.

I wonder if Sen. Wilken believes this. In response to a direct question from a Sitka school board member as to whether he thought the ACD was fair, he replied &#8220Probably not, but what in life is fair?” Why this astounding dichotomy? My sense is that there are three issues: 1- No one wants to increase spending; 2- The urban schools like Fairbanks have not suffered like other districts, and 3- There is a determination not to send more money to rural districts that are not paying anything toward their children's education.

I happen to agree that everyone should pay something, but to couple this with the ACD is simply wrong.

The current study was commissioned with specific criteria and paid for by the state Legislature. Not liking the results, the prestigious Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) was asked to review and revise the report. Their results have now become the fourth study since 1984 to be called &#8220flawed” by the Legislature and apparently shelved.

If these flaws are so transparent to the non-economist legislators they should quickly fix them and then implement the findings of the study. We on the Kenai Peninsula have become unwilling experts in making undesirable budget cuts while trying to protect kids.

I suspect a couple of our district office administrators and school board members could quickly make 7 percent to 10 percent cuts to the school budget in Sen. Wilken's district, which would still leave Fairbanks children better off than students here on the Kenai. I don't suggest that, only a financially level playing field. I don't wish to alienate the senator, as we need his support.

Our Kenai legislators tell us our only hope for redress is to sue the state, and the Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor has stated that this is the borough's intent. I refuse to believe a lawsuit is the only answer. I am optimistic that Alaska has more statesmen than politicians.

Sens. Hoffman and French have publicly opposed the governor's $90 million educational increase because it will go to retirement and inflation. They are right - $40 million will go to retirement, $30 million to increased fuel costs, and $20 million for &#8220student improvement.” No one believes this amount on a $700 million educational budget will cover more than inflation.

Neither the legislators nor the schools are responsible for the incredible burden of funding retirement for employees. However, if the 5 percent ceiling on annual increases to employer contribution rates is eliminated, and if the Alaska Retirement Management Board (ARMB) implements the actuarial rates of approximately 45 percent for TRS and 30 percent for PERS for fiscal year 2008, it will be devastating to all Alaska classrooms.

By my calculation, using the most current information I have, this would cost the state and schools an additional $95 million per year for schools and $230 million overall for state employees. Logically, this can't come at the expense of current students and would force legislators to stop dodging the issue and fund a solution, however unpalatable.

If legislators really wants to control educational costs (which consist primarily of salaries and benefits), they could take over salary and health care negotiations with school employees. Certainly school boards don't like this responsibility. It leaves them perceived as &#8220the enemy” by school employees. I personally would rather spend all my time working on student improvement.

In summary, the $90 million proposed by the governor, while a lot of money, basically freezes school budgets at their current levels. It does nothing to address the $84 million needed to implement the ACD.

If this can't be fixed politically with oil at $75 per barrel, will it ever? The $23 million bravely proposed by Rep. Mike Chenault to start the process is not enough. It is an admission of the inequity but the fix keeps stealing 70 percent from the affected children in the state. For the students on the Kenai Peninsula, this inequity has been going on for 22 years and counting.

Nels Anderson is a family physician and member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education.