What started out as a simple resolution opposing state cuts to education took on an entirely different look by the end of the Mat-Su Borough Assembly meeting on Tuesday.
The Assembly took public testimony for over an hour and robustly debated a resolution brought forward by Assembly member Dan Mayfield, which stated that a cut in state funding for education would create hardship for the local district. Amendments were added to the resolution and in the end, the Borough Assembly not only opposed education cuts, but is on the record supporting a full Permanent Fund dividend and a constitutional spending cap for the state budget.
Assembly member Matt Beck commented that the borough has a spending cap for the school district, so should the state. Assembly member Jesse Sumner said that state cuts necessitate a full Permanent Fund dividend because local governments will be picking up more of the costs of services, and those will be passed along to local taxpayers.
The amendments were put forward by Assembly member Ted Leonard.
