Opinion: Alaska’s children deserve better than this.

Has been updated: 1 1 day ago release date: 1 1 day ago

The Anchorage School District is on life support, and judging from the public testimony heard about Senate Bill 140, so are other school districts in the state. Two weekends ago, I spent hours listening to public testimony from parents, teachers, administrators, and other education experts to help our state’s schools stay ahead of inflation and increase school productivity. repeatedly explained that the base student allocation needed to be increased by $1,413. And it’s even functional. Senate Bill 140 would increase his BSA by $300, less than 22% of that amount.

Our family currently has three children attending elementary school in the Anchorage School District from kindergarten through sixth grade. We have seen firsthand how the state’s refusal to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to support public education impacts Anchorage’s schools, teachers, and children. I did. Class sizes increased consistently. A lack of support staff is forcing teachers to choose between supporting the children who need the most academic and behavioral support or teaching the entire class. ASD’s current proposed cuts would result in the elimination of even more staff and teachers. Class sizes will be even larger. Parents were asked in the poll whether they would prefer sports or the arts to their school. Unless the state significantly increases her BSA, the Ignite gifted program may be eliminated entirely.

Rogers Park Elementary School’s highly gifted, needs-based program is at risk of losing both of its advanced math teachers because there is no alternative in-person instruction. State representatives who oppose further funding have inexplicably declared that ASD must first improve test scores before receiving the needed funding. So schools are being asked to do better with things that have been proven to have bad results. This does not mean that teachers lack creativity or a can-do spirit. These are absurd and derogatory statements made by politicians.

I’m not going to give my kids a box of colored pencils until they show me a better rainbow with the old brown and white pencils I currently have. As parents we are exhausted. We’re constantly scouring our district for the best resources our kids have access to, and we’re constantly monitoring what will be cut next and working to oppose it.

Not all parents have the resources or time to advocate for their children, nor do they need to. State authorities need to fulfill their obligations and provide adequate funding for education so that basic education does not require constant vigilance.

I have lived in Alaska for over 15 years and grew up in Pittsburgh during the collapse of the steel industry. Most of my family worked in factories or at US Steel in some capacity. The oil industry has reached a similar collapse in Alaska, and we need to recognize that and plan a path forward.

As I listened to the public testimony on SB 140 and advocated for the survival of the Ignite program, all I could think of was a line from the movie “Braveheart.” You forgot your right to something better. ”

Our children have a constitutional right to a state-aided education, and they certainly deserve more than they are receiving. Just as the steel mills couldn’t come back from the dead to save Pittsburgh, it’s time to stop fighting over scrap and realize that big oil companies aren’t going to help us. The people of Pittsburgh and new industries such as medical research saved it. Pittsburgh needed people to stay and heal, and to do that they needed to be educated.

The state must allocate the necessary funds for school maintenance by increasing the BSA to $1,413. Equally important, the state needs to identify or create revenue sources specific to public education. If you are required to pay sales or income tax, as in other participating states, so be it. It’s what our children and our nation need and deserve.

carla sobel I work and live in Anchorage with my family.

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