State accused of education discrimination

WASILLA -- Two Wasilla parents are leading plaintiffs in a lawsuit claiming that the state of Alaska violated its own constitution through engaging in discriminatory practices that unfairly funded and distributed education money throughout the state.

Kristine and Gregory Moore, of Wasilla, were joined in the lawsuit filed in state superior court by several other parents, the National Education Association of Alaska and two rural Alaska school districts.

"I home schooled my son because of large classroom sizes," Kristine Moore said. "My son has behavioral issues and teachers can't meet his needs. Class sizes are too big and he's not one who can sit and organize his papers. He'd rather build a robot or hang out with his friends. He's not a cookie-cutter kid."

The lawsuit charges that the state does not invest enough money in its schools to provide an adequate education for all students, and the funding it does provide fails to adequately meet the needs of poor, minority and special- needs students.

"Not all kids are going to go to college and those kids need to be able to explore other educational options," Moore said. "We need to make sure our kids have access to their individual talents because every kid is different."

Moore is an active member of the Parent Teacher Association at Goose Bay Elementary and has worked to raise funds for library shelves, physical- education supplies and an upgraded playground.

"I'm all for fund-raising to supplement but for actual classroom materials, that's not our responsibility," Moore said.

Moore also founded Voices for Children, an advocacy group that encourages parents to call and express their concerns to state legislators. The group helps educate parents so they can intelligently lobby their legislators for changes in educational funding.

School Board President Mike Chmielewski said he understands Moore's frustration but the school board will probably not sign on with the lawsuit.

"The borough will not likely be convinced that this is the way to make things happen," Chmielewski said. "I don't second-guess Kristine's motivation but for the courts to be involved, there needs to be a more narrow focus for the suit."

Chmielewski did, however, commend Moore's work with her advocacy group.

"They have raised the consciousness of legislators and individual parents and I think continuing that kind of work is important," he said.

Chmielewski agreed with Moore that more funding is needed for education and said that sometimes it does take a variety of avenues to get things done.

NEA-Alaska President Bill Bjork said that for 20 years the legislature has failed to adequately fund Alaska schools.

"By virtue of funding each student is the same, the state is not giving all students the resources to succeed," Bjork said. "Each school district is funded by the amount of students in that district, but in some districts it costs more to educate students."

Commissioner of Education Ralph Sampson disagreed with the entire philosophy of the lawsuit.

Sampson said the courts should only come into play when all other options have been exhausted, and he doesn't believe that is the case in this situation.

"I think the legislature has been doing a successful job of assessing needs," Sampson said. "They are constantly listening to individual needs across the state."

Sampson said he was shocked by the timing of the lawsuit as well in charging that the state discriminates against rural school districts by not providing them with adequate funding to meet the special needs of poor, minority and special-needs students.

"For the first time in 24 years there was enough gain that we have at least flattened if not [narrowed] the achievement gap between minorities and disadvantaged students, and Caucasian majority students," Sampson said.

While the achievement gap between these groups is a nationwide problem, Sampson said in Alaska there has been progress narrowing the gap.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.