By WIN GRUENING

The calls for boosting education funding by increasing Alaska’s Base Student Allocation, while mostly well-intentioned, frequently miss the point.

Proponents often frame their proposals for a higher BSA in terms of how the increase would affect Alaskans’ Permanent Fund Dividend. This is a false choice and leads to emotional and unproductive arguments that do not address the root of the issue.

A recent column by Larry Persily does just that by implying that the only reason to question a proposed massive annual increase in the school funding formula is because it might lower your Permanent Fund Dividend.

Persily also compares the historical increase in the BSA (2%) to inflation over the last 10 years (32%). However, he entirely ignores annual funding increases that have occurred periodically throughout the same period. Actual Alaska education funding during that time period increased 14%, resulting in the seventh highest per-pupil expenditure in the country in 2024.

Most Alaskans I know don’t object to adequate state funding for schools. But definitions of “adequate” vary widely, especially when accountability is rarely required.

This year, the Legislature will consider an education funding bill, HB 69, which seeks to permanently increase the  Base Student Allocation. The bill would boost the BSA by $1,808 (a 30% increase over the current $5,960) plus projected inflation. 

Phasing in the higher BSA over the next three years results in total education funding of about $1.8 billion by year 3 – which would add over $500 million annually for schools – a 40% increase.

The question not answered is how will our K-12 student achievement benefit as a result?

Alaska ranked 51st of 53 U.S. jurisdictions in reading and math among fourth graders, and in reading among eighth graders, and 47th of 53 in eighth-grade math, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP).

Alaska is near the top of the nation in terms of education expenditures per student and at the absolute bottom in student achievement. No matter how much money Alaska pumps into education, it seems, student test scores continue to drop.

While it’s true that Alaska school funding hasn’t kept pace with inflation, that has been exacerbated by the continuing drop in student population and some school districts’ reluctance to consolidate schools when necessary. There has also been a significant migration of students from traditional school buildings to correspondence learning and home schooling. Buildings generate the same fixed costs regardless of how many students are in them. 

There is no assurance that pouring money into schools will result in better student outcomes. In some states, just the opposite has happened. In Oregon and Washington, for example, per-pupil spending increased 80%-110% since 2013, but their NAEP scores declined almost every year, and now are 10-15 points below where they were 10 years ago.

In contrast, Mississippi, with the highest poverty rate in the US, and ranked 44^th in the US in per student spending on K-12 education, leads the nation in 4^th grade reading scores for low-income students. Upper/middle-income Mississippi 4^th graders were ranked 2^nd in the nation for reading scores.

Mississippi demonstrates that the amount of money spent isn’t most important; it’s how it’s spent. It isn’t how many teachers you have; it’s what you teach. It isn’t the number of administrators that counts; it’s holding administrators accountable.

Deterioration of Alaska’s test scores has been going on for years, before funding issues and long before Covid impacted student learning. Those are simply excuses for an education system that promotes students regardless of their math and reading comprehension.

Commonsense reforms opposed by the education establishment should at least be discussed as a precondition of increased funding.

Consolidating underutilized schools, directing dollars to the classroom instead of administrators and non-academic curricula, teacher retention bonuses, cell-phone free schools, increased emphasis on reading and math achievement, open enrollment, and expanding charter schools are among the various ideas being discussed.

It is past time to stop blaming Alaska’s educational woes solely on lack of funding and begin to change the way education is funded and delivered. Otherwise, expect more of the same – no improvement and families continuing to flee the public system.

After retiring as the senior vice president in charge of business banking for Key Bank in Alaska, Win Gruening became a regular opinion page columnist for the Juneau Empire. He was born and raised in Juneau and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1970. He is involved in various local and statewide organizations.