PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK: ‘Those Shoes’

Thursday morning as I was preparing for work, I turned on music for background noise. One of my favorite songs, “Those Shoes”, an Eagles classic was playing. My mind was on the happenings the night before at the Legislative Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Palmer Senior Center.

After honoring retiring Senator Bill Stoltze, six Alaska state legislators held an open forum that allowed any citizen to come to the podium to speak their mind on issues facing the state. Some folks were cordial and as you can imagine some were not so cordial. One common statement seemed to be, I don’t envy you because you got one hell of job in front of you. But you asked for the job and we elected you so go represent us.

What can we learn from Wyoming?

The question is what are the newly elected officials going to do and the incumbents for that matter. Obviously, everything revolves around the budget. The theme of the night was budget cuts as opposed to the code word for taxes and PFD payout reconstruction which is revenue. Many stood before Senators-elect Shelley Hughes and David Wilson, Representative-elects DeLena Johnson and George Rauscher and returning Representatives Cathy Tilton and Dan Saddler.

“Don’t put taxes before me or cut my PFD until you have cut the budget,” was a shared point of view for most in the room.

According to the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation in 2015 Alaska spent $18,196 per capita. The highest of all states, next is Wyoming at $15,071, then North Dakota at $10,469. It drops off significantly from there. In fairness, the vastness of Alaska equates to higher expenditures, but with 151,908 more residents in Alaska than Wyoming, an argument could be made that Alaska’s per capita spending could be closer to Wyoming’s. If Alaska can get to Wyoming’s per capita spent, then that is a $2.3 billion savings.

Education

“Our school districts waste millions of dollars!” was one man’s passionate plea to the crowd as he turned and looked back at the audience. In the school year 2012-13 Alaska spent $15,841 per student, ranking number one of all 50 states, while Wyoming ranked fourth at $14,644. Again, the vastness of Alaska lends itself to more expenses. Alaska per student administration expense was $1,113 while Wyoming spent $866. If Alaska could run on the same per student administration expense that is a $32,477,783 savings.

I’m focusing on administration because generally that’s what citizens will focus on. Cutting extracurricular activities is foolish because these activities are proven to make better students. Is there waste in administration expenses?

Let’s look at one case of a recent administration hire and you decide. The much beloved former Mat-Su Valley School District Superintendent accepted the position as Superintendent of the Anchorage School District, which is paying her $235,000 — a 31 percent higher salary of that of the outgoing Superintendent. She was paid $178,500 at her previous position. She now oversees a district of over 48,500 students. The Laramie Wyoming school district 1 is the largest in Wyoming. The superintendent is paid $195,000 per year but oversees a student population of 13,635.

Where are the millions in savings?

Perhaps the gentleman who broached the subject should have come to the podium with specific examples. School districts tend to reduce expenses in student aides and teachers. Is that what the citizens are after?

I hope not.

University

“I can’t begin to tell you how much money the University system wastes!” was another statement that night.

Alaska ranks No. 2 ($14,112) in per student spending for higher education while Wyoming ranks No. 1 ($17,300). Major cuts have been proposed and are coming. University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen says that the university system should have one school of education. His recommendation that its one and only dean should be based in Fairbanks has drawn criticism from Anchorage. Posturing aside, the folks at Wednesday night’s meeting who spoke on higher education would agree with Johnsen on one school of education. Cost in administration was the number one point of contention.

Law enforcement

“Crime is out of control in the Valley.”

On the same night, as the legislative meeting in Palmer there was also a town hall meeting for public safety in Wasilla. The fact that these meetings were on the same night drew criticism from some who spoke to the legislators, including one gentlemen spending most of his allotted time speaking calling it a conspiracy to distract the public. As his time drew to a close he stated, “You don’t even have an electronic timer to show that everyone received the same amount of time to speak.”

I’m pretty sure everyone except those who spoke past their time received the same time limit. At the public safety meeting AST Sergeant Andy Gorn stated burglaries were down 25 percent. Gorn also stated it may take hours or even days before a trooper can respond calls regarding property crimes. The Mat-Su valley has 34 troopers assigned to cover 85,000 people outside of the areas that is covered by Palmer and Wasilla police departments. There were 181 stolen vehicles and 1,100 criminal thefts reported in the Valley in 2016. Throw in domestic violence, assaults and other crimes and the workload is too much to expect for law enforcement to reasonably cover at its current staffing. Valley residents feel even more violated after the murder of teenager David Grunwald. What we have learned about David’s death has left most of us in disbelief and wanting protection and solutions.

What I gathered from the legislative town hall meeting is that residents of the Valley want more spending toward law enforcement and some stated they are willing to pay for it. We are vulnerable in our grief and tired of criminals feeling empowered. SB91 received its share of criticism and all of the legislators promised to dissect the bill and make necessary changes.

Cut state employees

“I work for the state of Alaska, I can tell you first hand there is waste.”

The most revealing and raw statement came from the gentleman who made this statement. He would go on to say, “we can cut state jobs; I work for the state and I see the waste. If it costs me my job so be it. I’m employable and not worried about finding another job.”

What else can be added to his statement? I’m sure those cuts are coming.

What you going to do in those shoes?

The legislators that are heading into session asked for the task of balancing the budget. I concur with the crowd at the town hall meeting. I wouldn’t want to be in those shoes but they were given the opportunity by the people of Alaska. So, in between the tall drinks and the drama that will be before them in Juneau they have to come back with a budget we can all live with. So buckle up legislators, we’re counting on you to lead us into the uncertainty of Alaska state economics. Work together and find solutions is all we are asking. In the meantime, fellow citizens, keep corresponding with your representatives. Be specific, base your points on facts and most of all, be cordial. They may have asked for the job but they are members of our community and our encouragement can go a long way to motivate them.

Thank you for reading the Frontiersman.