In a statement made about the U.S. Department of Education wrongfully attacking Alaska, Gov. Mike Dunleavy came out and said it: He believes the U.S. Department of Education should be dismantled.
Must Read Alaska reported on the matter earlier, describing how the federal government has finally admitted Alaska’s distribution of Covid-era relief money was not a problem after all:
Since MRAK’s report, Dunleavy has issued a statement:
“Today marks the end of a saga the Biden-Harris administration started that was a tremendous waste of time and resources. From the very beginning, it was clear that the U.S. Department of Education’s allegations were meritless. Alaska was not going to back down because we knew we were right,” he said. “On the bright side, this saga is a wonderful case study of the U.S. Department of Education’s abuse of power and serves as further evidence for why I support the concept of eliminating it.”
Commissioner of Education Deena Bishop also weighed in: “It is a triumphant day for Alaska’s students, as our Maintenance of Equity battle with the US Department of Education has ended, and Alaska’s stance on the matter has been vindicated,” Bishop said. “After standing firm behind our Legislature’s bipartisan funding formula, which has been repeatedly independently acclaimed as one of the most equitable in the nation, the federal government has finally conceded, admitting what we knew all along -we are putting the children of Alaska first.”
Maintenance of Equity was a Biden provision inserted into the American Rescue Plan Act intended to ensure low-income local school districts were not disproportionately cut if a state reduced education funding, Dunleavy explained.
On one hand, the federal government had alleged Alaska provided too little funding to some urban school districts, implying Alaska provided disproportionately too much funding to rural districts.
On the other hand, the formula Alaska used to determine funding amounts is one that the U.S. Department of Education had already approved.
Further, the governor’s office explained, Alaska did not cut education funding. If a school district received a lower funding amount, it was due to a drop in student enrollment.
The Education Department, a massive bureaucracy that skims tax dollars that should go to states, failed to understand the “hold harmless” provision of Alaska’s funding formula.
In Alaska, if a district’s enrollment drops more than 5%, the district does not immediately see a change in funding. Instead, the hold harmless provision allows the state to continue funding the district with amounts that step down over time. This is a benefit to school districts that prevents drastic changes in funding amounts and allows districts time to plan for a new level of funding based on changes in enrollment.
E”D attempted to strong-arm Alaska into providing more funding to certain urban districts, although ED changed its demands on the dollar amounts and even which districts were allegedly owed the funds.
Some Alaska legislators, such as Sen. Loki Tobin, chair of Senate Education, latched onto the federal demands in their attempt to increase the base student allocation formula at any cost and lambasted the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s leadership, even though testimony to the Senate Education Committee from a national expert supported the State of Alaska’s position.
Earlier this year, Dunleavy vetoed an addition to the budget that had been made by the Legislature to resolve the dispute with the federal government.
“I swore to uphold the Constitution of Alaska when I was elected,” Gov. Dunleavy said. “As long as I am Governor, I will continue to enforce the statutes of the great State of Alaska, regardless of what unelected bureaucrats demand.”
Oh Boy! Another bandwagon for Dunleavy to jump on. He doesn’t stand for anything but milking the cow of government.
ALASKA IS IN STEEP DECLINE BECAUSE OF PALIN-WALKER-DUNLEAVY.
‘https://listondonn.ph/the-akph-challenge-of-poor-governance/
How strange that you would say that given the context of this article.
Unfortunately Donn has a serious case of DDS. (Dunleavy Derrangement Syndrome) He’s currently spending time overseas trying to find a cure.
The federal dept. of education was a huge mistake from the beginning, and it probably did more long-term damage to this country than any other federal agency outside of EPA and FBI.
Agreed. It did more for administrators than education, educators and students, imho.
It tried to establish standards to help us remain competitive on the world’s stage. Tried.
The US Department of Education is a socialistic, bloated bureaucratic behemoth, and a massive waste of taxpayer money. Return all education to the states where it can be more sensibly administered with more transparency. Good for Dunleavy.
Elizabeth, your statement would be perfect if you replaced the words “US Department of Education” with “US Government”.
Some states aren’t capable of deciding public restroom paint schemes though. I’m reminiscing of Alaskan politics.
What’s going to happen to all of the supposed DOE loans that Biden was supposed to forgive?
About half a $$trillion in student loans. Can a dismantled DOE still collect on outstanding federal student loan money?
Don’t know except that to 10 year of public service forgiveness is in stone.
It didn’t help you for sure.
Actually it did.
I think DJT’s idea is a lean administration to make block grants to states, with many fewer strings. It would make sense that there was a financial arm established to both receive and disburse student aid funds.
Once again, days late and dollars short.
Yep, way short Dunleavy is, standing tall for Alaska Children ? Nope !
Woke LGBTQ Queer theory indoctrination has and is being taught in School Districts from the Woke agenda and the book “ The Fourth R.
It is pure pornographic and grooming of Alaska children.
The parents in a Rural school district submitted a petition to have the pornographic literature and classes removed but that didn’t stop them, they just moved it online, meaning it is in homes now. This compromised Governor and his Attorney General have been contacted about it but they do nothing.
This Dunleavy is guilty of what treason to Alaskans ! With this open borders, compromised elections, and him funneling in tens of thousands of immigrants, many illegal from the border by the 737 load since 2021 and dispersing them all over Alaska is selling us out !
We see them by the thousands working in clinics, hospitals and school districts, many of them transgendered “ teaching “ our kids.
Alaska CANNOT take much more of this ! He, Governor Mike Dunleavy has also formed job training centers for Non-Alaskans only, immigrants !
Pray for Alaska folks, pray that those in power in Alaska will be held accountable for the great harm and damage they are doing to Alaskans and our homeland .
God help us all to fight against this great evil overwhelming the whole world !
Take a look at the Alaska statistics-as a sovereign state-what data are we being sheltered from?
The misuse and filtering of data by elitist “retiree-judges” appointed to positions of power that reduces my indigenous freedom to help us help ourselves is the exact reason no one trusts the mired judiciary.
Gross.
Use. Of.
Power.
The Alaska Victimization Survey for 2024 has been cock-blocked or in my MBA-speak – bottlenecked by a single retired judge who does not want his name attached to offending the natives.
Well sweetie, as a native. You are not qualified for your position – and you need to resign immediately.
If you are retired judge, I am so alerted to all your past judicial decisions if your first concern for data publication – is how you will go down in history.
Now I will find out what your judicial decisions were, through data.
The beautiful thing about data – retired or not. That is your legacy.
And believe me, I do not and never asked you to filter data to make your life easier.
You’re just making my life more interesting. Stupid ass.
Again potty mouth. Are you cross?
Great work, Big Mike! Since the Department of Education was formed, America’s school test scores have steadily declined. We used to be at the top of the class, now we are near the bottom of first world nations. The Department of Education alone didn’t do this, but they certainly contributed. Divide this department by zero and let it dry up and blow away like the educational turd it is.
Can you please provide the data that shows we were at the top of the class? We never have been as we test all students, where other countries exclude lower performing groups. Education started to go down hill when the text book companies started pushing the miracle cure for all students. They turned it into a corporate money making exercise. If you want to improve education empower the classroom teachers!
F Dunleavy – there’s a reason he’s not invited to the big boy table.
He may be a supporter- but he ain’t a winner.
He should be ashamed by the ongoing lack of leadership and ongoing lack of accountability he perpetrates.
How could our arrogant governor and legislature not see their collective failed place in world history?
We are on the world stage.
So like I said.
Get the F out of my way.
My goodness. Potty mouth.
Enforce the statutes save one…the PDF.
I’m not sure what the PDF is, but if you mean the PFD, he does and has. Look to your elected Lawbreakers on that one. They’re the ones that defy the statute and yet, refuse to change it.
Manda, The Governor is not following his oath he is not enforcing the statutes As 39.15.010 – 100 prove me wrong. Liberty Ed
You are barking up the wrong tree here Daryl.
The governor has requested and included a FULL Statutory PFD in every budget he submitted. Then the “we know better what to do with your money” greedy legislators gave you the crumbs from their table. Dunleavy can’t add anything to the budget and vetoing the little we still get, is counter-productive, as the legislators would just let the veto stand and then blame the governor for you getting zilch-zero-nada……
The public education bureaucracy in Alaska is a disgrace. As a whole, its product is an abysmal failure. Statewide average academic achievement scores rank among the lowest nationwide. Its a proven fact that money is not the problem. The bureaucracy is also the enclave of the state’s largest voting bloc. An absolutely corrupt horror show.
Yeah let’s hear it from the liberal left about upholding the Alaska Constitution !
Context?
You mean Greg cman and Frank?
Keep me out of it. I’m not in your fight anymore. Just a consciousness observer.
During the Biden/Whoever Administration the US Dept of Ed was used to promulgate and spread the DEI, Critical Race Theory, Transgender Ideology, ideas to our children. This pitted them one against the other so that they were taught to hate each other. Remember, according to DEI you are either “oppressed” or the “oppressor”. That is exactly what Marxism does–pit groups and individuals against one another to divide the nation. It’s too bad that board members in the Anchorage School District fail to realize the end objective–to destroy our K12 education system, our children, and our great nation.
Yes. When Biden threatened to kill a school lunch program if we didn’t bend the knee, I told my boss I’d have to be fired because I sure wasn’t going to abide by Biden’s little games. I was pretty proud of Mat-Su School District for standing up.
““I swore to uphold the Constitution of Alaska when I was elected,” Gov. Dunleavy said. “As long as I am Governor, I will continue to enforce the statutes of the great State of Alaska, regardless of what unelected bureaucrats demand.” What a profound statement if it was true! Mike you are a complete LIAR enforce As 39.15.010 – 100 Bond our APFC & all your Cabinet Executive’s as you should ! I have the evidence you will soon have to face. You are in complete VIOLATION of ART. III Sec. 16
Once again Dunleavy bites one of Uncle Sam’s hand while accepting $$ from another hand, Dunleavy is such a total loser he did not even qualify to move to DC to kiss Donald’s posterior daily
We do not need any federal agency’s except the military. The states can fend for themselves. They know what they need. Our bloated bureaucracy is our doom.
You want the pleasure of living here but you hate to pay up. Typical.
No Greg he just not a bootlicker! Our US Constitution is defined by it’s limitations, maybe you need to read it in detail! Liberty Ed
Bingo! Ed Martin Jr.
I stand by each and every comment.
Yes! If something isn’t specifically stated in the US Constitution then it does not exist, and it need not nor should not be recognized by any state or any political subdivision of a state. There is absolutely nothing in the US Constitution that authorizes the federal government to control or even opine on education in any state. Many of the problems in Alaska educational results, experiences and practices are derived entirely from federal government requirements.
Get rid of it!! There’s no value added in allowing the educrats to dictate to the states (and parents) what the children should be taught. All that money since it was foisted on us,, and what has it accomplished,aside from fattening sports and empowering lunatics’ fringe educational theories ( the alphabet soup, DEI, CRT and LGBTQ genderbending.
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