Schools dominate town hall meeting

PALMER — One issue dominated Saturday’s town hall meeting of Valley legislators — schools.

The idea of amending the Alaska Constitution to remove the sentence that bars the state from spending public money on private or religious education has been roiling the legislature this session.

Legislators have reiterated multiple times that the amendment — which would go to a vote of the people — does not set up a school voucher system. They do concede, though, that vouchers are one possible result of that kind of change.

Constituents Saturday seemed ready to talk about it.

Joe Boyle, president of the Mat-Su Education Association teachers’ union, spoke out against it.

“What we need is what we have represented all along — a quality education for every student,” he said. “What we need to do is fix our public schools, to make them better.”

Mat-Su schools are quite good, he said, but could be better. He said teachers are working harder now than ever and not getting paid as well as they once did.

“You’re asking employees to do more with less and they are,” he said.

Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Mat-Su, said that he believes the amendment to the constitution has broader implications. The clause, he said, outlaws spending private money on for-profit or religious schools. The district now has as vendors places like Sylvan Learning Center and Alaska Pacific University, a Methodist college.

“Folks want more of that, but if we keep going down that route we are going to bump into the constitution,” he said.

Matt Welk put the question bluntly to the assembled politicians: “Do you support a school voucher system?”

“Yes,” was Dunleavy’s one-word answer.

Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Mat-Su, said he supports choice.

“I’m not scared of the word ‘voucher,’” he said. “I support school choice. I support parental choice.”

Rep. Shelley Hughes said she supports vouchers, but has questions and concerns.

“I support school choice. I support the principle of vouchers,” Hughes said. “I don’t think public money should be used for proselytizing.”

But, she said, those are questions that can be sorted out later.

“I don’t think we should get the cart before the horse,” Hughes said.

Rep. Bill Stoltze said that he is in favor of choice, but more relevant to the constitutional amendment, he’s in favor of debate.

“I have gotten probably 30 emails since we’ve been talking about this saying don’t allow a vote on this,’” he said. “Why can’t we talk about it? What about the discussion are people afraid of?”

He said later that the issue didn’t really catch fire until November 2011 when the Alaska Federation of Natives passed a pro-voucher resolution. He said he believes that move from AFN underscores just how desperately Alaska’s rural schools need change.

“That probably put more horsepower in kick-starting this,” he said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.