OPINION: The Legislature should support schools for economic growth

Updated: 2 minutes ago Published: 2 minutes ago

A good public school system is essential to recruiting and retaining a workforce and having a growing economy. As business owners, we are beyond frustrated that the Legislature fell one vote short of overriding the Governor’s veto on education funding. As a result, the Anchorage School District will release a list of schools proposed for closure in mid-October. The inability to provide stable funding for schools is the leading cause of Alaska’s economic downturn and emigration. When you vote in November, we urge you to vote for lawmakers who have the wisdom to support schools and the courage to override vetoes when necessary.

CNBC recently released its rankings of the best states in the US for business. Alaska ranked 48th. The top state was Virginia, and the main reason this state ranked high was its support for public schools and small class sizes. According to CNBC, Virginia averages 18 children per classroom, a reasonable number that allows for high-quality and individualized instruction. Compare those very reasonable class sizes to the enormous class sizes in Anchorage and all other urban districts. There are dozens of elementary, middle, and high school classes in ASD with more than 30 students. In many classrooms, there is not enough space for every student to have a desk. How on earth are companies able to recruit and retain employees when families look at our schools and see such enormous class sizes?

Under our Alaska Constitution, the Legislature has a duty to fund a public school system that is accessible to all students. For most of the past decade, the Legislature has allowed school funding to decline every year. This year, the bipartisan Senate majority finally prioritized school funding and, to bridge the partisan divide, proposed legislation to restore half of the cuts made over the past decade. Half a cut is not nearly enough, but it was the first positive step in years. Even though almost every lawmaker voted for this legislation, when the governor vetoed it, just enough Republicans turned around to uphold the veto. In a single vote, the Legislature failed to provide predictable funding for schools.

We applaud the lawmakers who got right back to work and restored $175 million to the budget. However, one-off funding leaves our schools in the untenable position of having no idea how much funding they will receive from year to year. As a result, the Anchorage School District is being forced to consider closing beloved neighborhood schools. Make no mistake: the best way for Alaska to lock itself into an economic death spiral is to start closing neighborhood schools, effectively telling families with children to pack their bags and move to another state with a government policy that promotes growth.

This year is a make-or-break election for our state’s economic future. As business leaders, we urge you to vote for pro-education legislators who will fund our schools and vote to override Governor Mike Dunleavy’s vetoes when necessary. It’s time to restore stability to our education system and get Alaska back on track with economic growth.

Rachel Pennington, Jimmy And Mary Miner, Elissa Brown And Max Kubitz his parents and entrepreneurs in Anchorage.

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