The battle to improve education; six points

Spectrum, by Rep. Vic Kohring

I have always maintained that education is one of the cornerstones of our society. The state should build good roads, protect us with a quality judicial system, and provide our children with the best education possible. After much debate over how much new money the Legislature should place into education, we have inserted an additional $82 million. I co-sponsored House Bill 233 to accomplish this.

It seems the battle over "how much" funding will never cease. The more money we appropriate, the more the National Education Association and liberal media demand. I suggest we find new ways to make our dollars work better. In other words, I want to "fully fund" education, but at the same time insist upon better results.

Recent announcements by the Mat-Su School District of proposed cuts have not revealed the entire picture. For example, the perception that the Legislature is doing the cutting is incorrect.

The district, not the Legislature, makes specific budgeting decisions. The money we're trying to add in Juneau with House Bill 233 will go a long way to help offset these proposed cuts.

To suggest improvements is one thing, stating specifics is another. I recommend specific ideas as part of my "Six Part K-12 Education Plan." (For this and other issues go to my

Web site at www.akrepublicans.org/kohring.) In the plan I suggest we:

(1) Create an education endowment where state land would be sold and developed with the money invested in financial markets. The earnings would then be placed in the endowment for distribution to schools.

(2) Add enough money to the foundation formula to ease the current funding crisis. We're on track this session with House Bill 233.

(3) Adjust the formula annually to offset inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index. I co-sponsored House Bill 222 to achieve this.

(4) Cut unnecessary spending to help pay for the formula increase. For example, we could reduce the legislative session to 90 days from its present 120 and meet every second year as in other western states.

(5) Consolidate school districts of 500 students or less of the 55 districts throughout Alaska, eliminating expensive superintendent and special assistant positions that add up to millions. The savings from these proposals would then be placed in the education endowment.

(6) Craft a working, dynamic voucher or tax credit system to launch real competition between public and private schools. This would place parents in control of their tax dollars by giving them the freedom to choose public, private, charter, correspondence or home schooling for their children. Savings from lower enrollments in public schools would be placed into the education endowment. Of all the things we could do to give our children a better intellectual grounding, this is the most important.

Please join me in actively taking positive steps toward turning our schools into the envy of the nation by encouraging excellence through genuine competition and freedom of thought and choice.

Representative Vic Kohring is a Republican and represents Wasilla and the Mat-Su in the Alaska State Legislature.