Using his position of authority over students, Goldenview Middle School Principal David Nogg wrote to parents Monday, leaning on them to push the Legislature for more Base Student Allocation (formula funding) cash for schools. He pressed them to lobby the Legislature. Or else he’ll have to fire 9 teachers and one vice principal.
And he said that proposed budget calls for a reduction of nine full time teachers at Goldenview. and one of the two assistant principals. Those reductions he appeared to blame on the Legislature, although they are the choice of the school district and principal.
Every year the same thing happens. The education establishment and unions ask for the base student allocation to be raised, and every year since 2014 it is not raised, but one-time funding is added into the education budget, which ends up at roughly an equivalent to a BSA increase.
The principal’s request came at the same time the Anchorage School Superintendent told parents he would block immigration agents from entering school property. Superintendent Jarrett Bryantt effectively declared Anchorage public schools to be sanctuary zones for illegal immigrants.
“I am reaching out to you today with an urgent and deeply concerning issue that will have a profound impact on the educational experience of our students at Goldenview Middle School. Due to the district’s ongoing budget deficit, the proposed budget includes significant cuts that will dramatically alter our ability to provide the high-quality education and well-rounded opportunities that our students deserve,” Nogg wrote.
“Specifically, the proposed budget calls for a reduction of nine full-time general education teachers at Goldenview—equivalent to an entire grade level’s worth of classroom educators. Additionally, despite serving 930 students, our school is also losing one of our two Assistant Principal positions. These reductions will lead to larger class sizes and fewer course offerings, limiting the choices and personalized instruction that are critical at the middle school level,” Nogg continued.
“Beyond the classroom, one of the most devastating impacts of the budget cuts is the complete elimination of all co-curricular activities for our students. This means no sports, no National Junior Honor Society, no performing arts, and no other extracurricular activities that play a vital role in shaping well-rounded, engaged, and successful students. I have always encouraged our students to become well-rounded ‘Renaissance kids,’ and these cuts will severely limit their ability to explore their interests, develop leadership skills, and stay connected to their school community,” he wrote.
Then Nogg gave parents their marching orders:
“These cuts will not only affect Goldenview but will touch every school across the district. It is critical that our community makes its voice heard. I urge you to contact your legislators in Juneau and advocate for our students. Let them know how these budget reductions will negatively impact your child’s education and overall school experience.”
He added contact information to aid parents in their lobbying efforts.
Goldenview Middle School has 668 students and 35 teachers for a student:teacher ratio of 19, according to the State of Alaska Department of Education.
According to the Anchorage School District’s dashboard, it has 780 students.
U.S. News says the school has 626 students.
Principal Nogg puts the figure at 930 students, which is 19% higher than what the school district says.
About 45% of the students at Goldenview are grade-level proficient in reading and about 29% are proficient in math. Gov. Mike Dunleavy and conservatives are hoping to improve those scores by requiring accountability for education, something that has been lacking in the districts across the state.
In January, Anchorage Superintendent Bryantt said that the district has a deficit exceeding $100 million and he said it was driven by “more than a decade of flat state funding and rising costs due to inflation.”
Bryantt said “deep cuts are unavoidable, and their effects will be felt throughout our community,” and said that the funding needed was equivalent to $1,963 per student more than the existing base student allocation of $5,930 per student.
Last year’s one-time increase was $700 per student, which he argued left a gap of $1,263.
Meanwhile, for a variety of factors including the bad management of education in Alaska’s biggest city, Anchorage publicly funded schools have lost nearly 13% of their student enrollment since 2010, with a current enrollment of about 42,700. The parents have chosen to take their children to other alternatives, including private schools, homeschooling, and to the MatSu Valley.
Ahh, Goldenview Middle School. That was the mob that taught my daughter that WWII was a war of genocide against Japan. It took a high-volume, high-intensity discussion with the teachers in her pod to back down from that nonsense. I digress.
Of course the teacher wants parents to lobby for more school funding. Not that any of that funding will translate into higher student achievement and test scores. Nope. The extra bucks will come from our pockets and go straight to those represented by NEA-AK and the AFT.
Just the other day before one of the education committees, in person, in Juneau a rural school district superintendent said that the BSA for her school is $63,000. I would expect that district has no local property tax. I would expect that superintendent received 3 days pay at her six-figure annual rate plus per diem and airline miles for her trip to Juneau.
Look at any graphic portrayal of demand and price and you’ll see that when the price for the demander is zero the demand in infinite. That is, if the cost is zero there is no end to what a rural school superintendent will demand for school funding. The government funding conundrum in Juneau is that every dollar of spending has one or more lobbyists and the cost to most of those paying the lobbyists is too close to zero or actually is zero. Common sense, let alone thrift and honesty, has no lobbyist in Juneau.
The consequences of hiring an “educator” but getting a union activist..that principal needs to be unemployed for violating the public trust under the guise of student advocacy
The ASD budget seems to go up significantly every year, but the quality of the education seems to be falling at an inverse rate.
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Perhaps, the problem is not funding.
How is it possible that every year on ground hog day, all 53 school districts show up financially destitute in Juneau???? Fire 40 Superintendents & fix it!!!
The real problem is that parents are voting with their feet and that means less students to draw a BSA for.
Bethel typically starts 100 Freshman a year. Rule of thumb is half drop out before they graduate.
So the senior class graduated 50 students last year. 50 X $22,000 = $1,100, 000 lose in revenue, just from the state’s portion of funding for the Lower Kuskokwim School District. Then double that loss, cause the Feds kick in over $20,000 per student… that’s just the senior class…
Maybe if Bethel changed their curriculum to reading, writing and arithmetic, quit hiring men that wear dresses to class to teach, maybe parents would be less likely to pull their kids out of public schools and look for other options like homeschool or in some cases sending their kids to live with relatives in villages to finish school.
I say no new funding until they consolidate school districts and get rid of everything DEI.
Then put a tax on the ballot in a special election this fall. If it passes, then increase funding next year with one time increases… My guess is any tax will fail miserably, which keeps the Base the actual Base and a legislative appropriation a yearly event.