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Senate’s Ukraine-Israel bill moves along, but without border funding

Suzanne Downing
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Senate’s Ukraine-Israel bill moves along, but without border funding

The U.S. Senate moved along what is now a $95 billion bill to aid package for Ukraine and Israel on Thursday. Missing from it was a $20 billion amendment that would have been used for security along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Earlier, Sen. Lisa Murkowski expressed frustration with her fellow Republicans for blocking the advancement of the bill on Wednesday over conservatives’ concerns for how the border section of the bill was worded and whether it would actually help secure the border or just guarantee a continuing crisis. She described herself as “pissed off.”

Murkowski to CNN: ‘Today I’m just pissed off’ about Ukraine-Israel-border funding package failure

After hours of negotiation, the Senate voted just after noon on Thursday to keep the bill alive, 67-32. The majority of Senate Republicans opposed it, but during this round of voting, Sen. Dan Sullivan joined Lisa Murkowski in voting yes on a procedural motion that allows negotiations to continue.

The bill. now has $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel, and $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians being caught up in global conflicts.

Republicans are still negotiating to get meaningful border security back in the bill. This is a developing story and is likely to change rapidly.

Meanwhile, the White House has blamed Donald Trump and Republicans for the border crisis, and said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency will reduce deportations of illegal immigrants if the bill isn’t passed.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a gaggle of reporters that Republicans were “choosing partisan politics over our national security” because they do not support the bill.

“Here is what that means — ICE would be forced to reduce its removal operations, its total detention capacity, and more,” Jean-Pierre said. “When ICE can’t conduct these operations, our national security and public safety will be harmed.”

The response from conservative Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee was to the point: “Is Biden the President or a mobster? Attempting to shake down Republicans for a bad immigration bill won’t secure our southern border. It shows Biden can fix the problem that he created.”

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called the White House statement “extortion.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, on the floor of the Senate, said, “We’re going to keep working on this bill until the job is done.”

Murkowski to CNN: ‘Today I’m just pissed off’ about Ukraine-Israel-border funding package failure

Suzanne Downing
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Murkowski to CNN: ‘Today I’m just pissed off’ about Ukraine-Israel-border funding package failure

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of four Republicans who voted in favor the massive Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan-border bill that failed on Wednesday, is having a hard time with her Republican colleagues who voted against it, presumably including Sen. Dan Sullivan, who was a “no” vote.

“I have a difficult time understanding again how anyone else in the future is going to want to be on that negotiating team — on anything — if we are going to be against it,” Murkowski told a CNN reporter.

“I’ve gone through the multiple stages of grief. Today I’m just pissed off,” Murkowski told reporter Manu Raju.

The bill failed in the Senate, even though Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma was one of the lead negotiators on behalf of the Republicans.

Murkowski a yes, Sullivan a no on border-Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan bill that failed in Senate

Murkowski lingered on the Senate floor during the hours-long vote, spending her time chatting with Sen. Krysten Sinema, the Arizona independent (formerly Democrat) who was one of the sponsors of the foreign aid package that would have provided $118 billion in taxpayer money for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

Just $20.2 billion was set aside for the border security that Americans have become so concerned about, but the language was concerning and appeared to actually set no real parameters for the Biden Administration in securing the border.

Credit: USA TODAY

As the vote appeared to be going against the bill, Sen. Sinema lashed out:

“If you want to continue to use the southern border as a backdrop for your political campaign, that’s fine, good luck to you,” she said. “But I have a very clear message for anyone using the southern border for staged political events: Don’t come to Arizona. Take your political theater to Texas. Do not bring it to my state.”

But conservatives have cautioned that the bill is a border sieve, allowing millions of illegals to come through unimpeded.

Liz Wheeler, host of the Liz Wheeler Show, wrote, “Hilarious coordinated narrative from all Democrats: ‘Republicans demanded a border bill & when we gave it to them, they killed it!’ No, you idiots. Conservatives demand border SECURITY. Your monstrosity of a bill allows ~2M illegals in every year, gives $60B to Ukraine (versus only $20B to the border), enables phony asylum claims, & allows Biden to stop a border shutdown if he wants to. THAT is not border security. That’s open borders & it’s dangerous.”

Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, said, “The first “border bill” allocated 3x more money to protect Ukraine’s border than our own. Now that failed, so they’re trying to push the same funding bill for Ukraine to while allocating ZERO to protect our border – which reveals what the whole game was about the 1st time anyway.”

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said, “Democrats kept their border bill text secret for four months because of the terrible provisions that don’t fix the border crisis. It would have normalized 1.8M illegal aliens per year, taxpayer-funded lawyers for illegals, and immediate work permits. This is why the bill was dead within 24 hours.”

Bradley Devlin, writing for The American Conservative explains what happened in greater detail:

“Since September, a revolving group of senators have been negotiating behind closed doors on a supplemental funding bill that would tie Ukraine, Israel, and Indo-Pacific aid to border security. For months, members of the Republican conference were asking for more clarity and detail on what was going to be included in the overly-hyped border deal. Claims made in various statements, leaks, and reports on the negotiations—which primarily involved Senators James Lankford of Oklahoma, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut—were wide ranging. One day, reports would claim talks were heating up or progress was being made. The next, negotiations were on ice and negotiators were at an impasse, particularly when it came to the president’s parole powers, which ultimately were not addressed in the final version of the bill.

“All of a sudden, negotiators dropped the full text of the bill like an atomic bomb on Capitol Hill. The final product spanned 370 pages and would cost American taxpayers $118.3 billion. Sixty of the $118.3 billion supplemental was directed towards supporting Ukraine. Another $14 billion was for aid to Israel, and $20 billion was to ostensibly secure the southern border,” Devlin writes. 

Read Devlin’s report at this link:

McConnell’s Leadership in Jeopardy After Sending Lankford on a ‘Suicide Mission’ in Border Negotiations

Gov. Dunleavy gives press corps an education on high-performing charter schools in Alaska

Suzanne Downing
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Gov. Dunleavy gives press corps an education on high-performing charter schools in Alaska

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who was a decades-long teacher and school superintendent before going into politics, pulled no punches at a press conference on Wednesday, telling reporters that Alaska has tried to fix its bad education system by increasing the base amount that school districts get from the state coffers per student, known as the BSA. And yet, school districts don’t respond with improved outcomes at neighborhoods schools.

The press conference was unusually long, running for an hour. The governor was unusually animated. Reporters asked about 20 questions in all, on things like Cook Inlet gas shortages and other topics. But Dunleavy’s heart was set on helping Alaska students, and that was clear from the outset.

“We’re deeply involved in an educational discussion right now, which personally I think is fantastic,” Dunleavy said, calling education one of the most crucial issues of our time. He described the urgency around education as feeling like “the last couple of days of the session,” presumably because of the intensity of the energy in the Capitol right now.

“And that’s the way it should feel, that we’re involved and we’re engaged in heavy-duty issues that I think can help Alaska, certainly can help our kids and help our teachers.”

Dunleavy has been pushing a bill he offered that has bonuses for teachers for up to $15,000, but the education industry is rejecting those bonuses and instead wants lump sum payments to districts to use however they want, in the form of a base student allocation increase.

That increase has been suggested by Democrats and education industry lobbyists at anywhere between $300 to $1,500 per student more than the current BSA, which gives districts $5,960 for each student. Districts also collect local taxes and get major support from the federal government, and spending on students in Alaska is over $20,000 per student per year.

Bob Griffin: The claims that Alaska public education needs more money does not hold up to scrutiny

Dunleavy turned his attention to charter schools and a recent Harvard study of these schools, which are part of the public school system, and are not private schools, as some education union members have characterized them.

“Unbeknownst to a lot of folks, because this is the first study that’s ever been done that measures outputs through the NAEP scores — lo and behold, we’re tops in the nation! You would think you’d hear parade music and people dancing in the streets,” Dunleavy said.

“But in some sectors, this has cause a problem because it doesn’t fit the narrative.”

Then, he verbally channeled the thinking of the education industry: “How could this be? How could Alaska be performing well? This is going to screw things up because we have our usual approach to education in Juneau: Don’t do much about it until the last couple of weeks. Turn up the heat. Declare it a disaster if a large sum of money is not deposited somewhere. And then once that happens, everything goes back to normal, things are good now.”

But things aren’t good, Dunleavy told the small band of reporters in the conference room on the third floor of the Capitol.

Part of the funding issue is that Alaska is in a demographic challenge — losing student population.

Paulette Simpson: The ticking demographic time bomb

“We need more people. We need more kids. We need better performance … And I gotta tell you, for the life of me, I am stunned at this idea that you have the best performing charter schools in the world … Any moment I’ll be called to go talk somewhere nationally about our charter schools,” Dunleavy said.

But the educational establishment is trying to torpedo his education bill in favor of the fixed increase to school districts that education unions prefer.

In the end, Dunleavy said, if he just shoved money into the BSA, “I would be lauded as a hero.”

“But I didn’t run on that ticket … I didn’t knock on people’s doors and say ‘Hey this is Gov. Dunleavy, I’m running for governor and I want to give a ton of money to the educational establishment, and we’re not going to worry about your kids, they’ll be fine. I didn’t run on that.”

Dunleavy had held forth at the microphone for over 8 minutes, and was now reminding reporters that he has more educational experience than any other previous governor.

“In some corners that’s a problem. Why? Because I know education. I know it inside out. And I can tell you this, and I would bet my retirement: If you just put money in the BSA, there will be no change of performance. Because we’ve done that year after year,” he said.

It’s time to target to problems like getting more money to classroom teachers, and helping grow more charter schools.

“This idea that people are speaking on behalf of the parents, the teachers, and the kids of charter schools, that aren’t part of charter schools, [and saying] that charter schools are somehow a negative? That’s insane. We know we have performance issues in our neighborhood schools,” he said. “It’s not the parents’ fault. It’s not the kids fault. These schools have become politicized over the decades. It’s a fact,” he said, adding that if Alaskans want more charter schools, they should be able to have them.

The entire press conference can be viewed at this link:

https://www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/governor-dunleavy-press-availability-2024021085/?eventID=2024021085

Anchorage superintendent contract is extended, after school board tries sneak approval tactic

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Anchorage superintendent contract is extended, after school board tries sneak approval tactic

By DAVID BOYLE

The Anchorage School Board on Tuesday approved a one-year contract extension of Superintendent Jarrett Bryantt. The item was initially put on the “consent agenda,” so that it would automatically be swept through in a batch approval with a dozen other routine items, and a separate vote would not be required. 

A consent agenda is a meeting tool used to streamline meetings by collecting routine, non-controversial items into a group, and all are passed with a single vote. Anything that is non-routine goes on the regular agenda.

Board President Margo Bellamy sets the agenda and would have had to know that she buried the controversial superintendent’s contract extension in a place on the agenda where the public would not be provided the opportunity to comment.

Board member Dave Donley asked that the item be pulled from the consent agenda and place on the regular agenda so members would at least have to vote on the contract extension.

Bryantt’s current contract doesn’t expire until June 30, 2025 — a year and a half from now. Why was the board in such a hurry to extend his contract?

When hired in 2022, Bryantt did not meet the minimum qualifications to be a superintendent. He had only two years of classroom teaching. In Alaska, three years are required by Alaska Administrative Code 4 AAC 12.345.

To get around meeting the minimum requirements, the Department of Education & Early Development issued Dr. Bryantt a Limited Type B certificate. This Limited certificate is only valid for two years. Bryantt must complete the Alaska studies and multicultural education if he wants his Limited Type B certificate extended.

Anchorage school superintendent doesn’t meet basic qualifications

Why didn’t the school board note this in the discussion of his contract extension?  There was no public discussion at all on his contract extension and whether Bryantt had met the state requirements. 

The board was forced to vote on the matter separately.

Voting “yes” were Bellamy, Andy Holleman, Dora Wilson, Kelly Lessens, Pat Higgins and Carl Jacobs.

Donley was the lone “no” vote.

The contract extension has a couple of notable errors. The contract extension memo states “The Superintendent shall be employed through June 30, 2026, subject to earlier termination of this agreement as set forth in Section 13 and any other provisions of the Employment Agreement”.

However, Section 13 covers indemnification, not termination. Section 12 addresses termination as noted in the contract extension.

Another error in the current contract is paragraph 8, “Mutual Obligation to Communicate”, states, “The Superintendent is also responsible for timely informing the Board or individual Board Members of any concerns she may have about Superintendent/Board relations or Board Member conduct.” Note the pronoun “she.” It may be a cut-and-paste from the contract of the previous superintendent, Deena Bishop.

One of the board’s five stated values is accountability to the public: “The board believes the district should be open, transparent, and accountable to the public, ensuring a high-quality education while remaining fiscally responsible. Our budget, policies, guidelines, curriculum, and district performance data will be easily accessible (unless protected by law) and understandable. Parents will always have access to what their child is learning and how they are progressing. The district will promote strong community partnerships and public involvement.”

If the board is not proficient in transparency in hiring a superintendent, perhaps it will be proficient in student achievement at some point in the future.

Only 42% of Anchorage School District students are able to read proficiently at grade level, the second-lowest district in the nation. The district has a goal of reaching 80% proficiency in reading by 2026, according to goals set in 2020, but recent test scores show little progress toward that goal.

Bryantt, who made $250,000 a year at the time of his hiring, was brought into a district that spends over $19,000 per year per student, according to the ASD’s audited report at the time of his hire in 2022. His contract is now $280,000 plus an $8,400 auto allowance.

Dr. Ben Carson, banned from Anchorage schools by superintendent, now on short list for Vice President
Bob Griffin: The claims that Alaska public education needs more money does not hold up to scrutiny

Murkowski a yes, Sullivan a no on border-Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan bill that failed in Senate

Suzanne Downing
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Murkowski a yes, Sullivan a no on border-Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan bill that failed in Senate

It was a “no” in the Senate on Wednesday to a massive Lernaean Hydra of a bill that would have provided weapons for Ukraine, aid to Israel, support to Taiwan, and a border package that many said was intentionally flawed in a way that would allow millions of illegals to continue to cross the border.

It started out as a border bill, but before it hit the Senate floor, there was something for everyone, including a $118 billion bill for American taxpayers.

The bill needed 60 votes to pass, but only received 49. Among the Republicans who voted for the bill was Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, along with the Republicans’ lead bill negotiator Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitt Romney of Utah.

Some Democrats voted against it: Sens. Alex Padilla of California, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, and Bernie Sanders, who is technically an independent, of Vermont.

Credit: USA TODAY

Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska issued a statement about the bill and why he voted against it.

“On day one, the Biden administration created this border crisis with their self-imposed open border policies,” Sen. Sullivan said. “In the last three years, Americans in all fifty states have felt the impacts of this administration’s decision to do nothing, month after month, year after year, as the crisis on our southern border quickly became the largest invasion of illegal aliens in American history. It is a humanitarian, health, and national security crisis of epic proportions. President Biden has refused to act and use the tools already at his disposal, and now, Senate Democrats have refused to force his hand.”

He said the time frame for evaluating the bill was inadequate for lawmakers.

“Despite the hard work of Senator Lankford, this bill appears to give broad discretion to the President, leaving open the possibility that President Biden will not secure the border as intended by this bill. Indeed, the last three years are strong evidence that he won’t,” he said.

Biden told reporters that it was Donald Trump’s fault that the bill didn’t pass.

It’s doubtful that the bill could have passed the House, where support for Ukraine is a contentious issue.

Alex Gimarc: Suzanne LaFrance is the Assembly’s favorite candidate for mayor

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Alex Gimarc: Suzanne LaFrance is the Assembly’s favorite candidate for mayor

By ALEX GIMARC

We are about five weeks from the Municipal Clerk (who works for the Assembly) mailing out ballots for the Anchorage Municipal Election in 2024.  Voters will have until April 2 to return them for tabulation, so it is time to start considering candidates for mayor this year.

Mayor Dave Bronson completes his first term in office. He has nine challengers as of this writing. While I don’t want to discuss the entire field, I do want to mention a couple Democrats running this time around.

The two democrats with the best name recognition are former legislator Chris Tuck and former Assembly Member Suzanne LaFrance (who is technically independent). Both have strong union support. Both present well and are not publicly the typical frothing at the mouth Democrat we’ve come to know and love in recent years (Forrest Dunbar, Zack Fields, Chris Constant, you know who you are).

But any time we elect a seemingly moderate Democrat, awful things seem to happen. Our last Democrat mayor, Ethan Berkowitz, was one such example, needlessly locking down Anchorage for over a year, forcing mask mandates, social distancing, presiding over the wanton, senseless destruction of small businesses across town during that time, creating the current Homeless Industrial Complex, and spending as much money as humanly possible, all before resigning in disgrace over a sexual peccadillo that went public.

What has Suzanne LaFrance done to demonstrate that she would be a decent mayor?  As with any political question, it all depends on which side of the political divide you are working. While on the Assembly, she did very little outside showing up for the meetings and being a reliable leftist vote until installed as Assembly chair in 2021.  

LaFrance distinguished herself three ways during her two years as Assembly chair. She presided over contentious public comments triggered by the shutdown and attempts to put homeless shelters in residential neighborhoods. She also spent a lot of time conferring with her vice chair at the time, Chris Constant.

Public pushback against the Berkowitz hunker-down and masking mandates was significant and grew over time, especially when it became apparent that the public was simply being told to sit down, shut up and color. 

Small businesses in town were particularly hard hit (Kriner’s Diner became a flashpoint), something of little matter to the union-backed Democrats supporting Berkowitz and his Assembly majority.

One of the few ways available to express that displeasure was public comments at Assembly meetings. The Assembly majority wasn’t much interested in public testimony that called them out and the Assembly took every avenue to limit or eliminate it. Assembly Chair LaFrance, in consultation with her vice chair, spent a lot of effort obstructing public testimony so they wouldn’t have to hear any or it.

The Berkowitz-Assembly effort to install a number of homeless shelters in various neighborhoods also triggered significant public pushback which expressed itself as very contentious comments by the public at numerous Assembly meetings, and two unsuccessful recall attempts for Assembly members. LaFrance and her majority weren’t much interested in this sort of feedback and did everything they could to make sure they didn’t have to hear it.

Somehow, it never occurred to LaFrance, her majority, or Mayor Berkowitz that if you don’t want the public to yell at you, don’t intentionally do what they don’t want you to do. What a concept.  

Most notable during her time as Assembly Chair was LaFrance’s endless consulting her Vice Chair during meetings, particularly before ruling on anything. It gave the impression that she was not Assembly Chair at all. Rather, she appeared to be a conduit, a “Mini Me,” for whatever Chris Constant wanted her to do at the time.

From here, it looks like the Assembly majority and the unions that installed it are attempting to use LaFrance as their vehicle to regain control of the Hill Building.  As her political career has paralleled that of Peter Sellers’ Chauncey Gardner character in Being There, I predict she would bring little to the office other than another compliant Democrat at the beck and call of the Assembly and the unions that put them in office.

If you want an actual mayor, there are a few good candidates this time around, starting with the current one, Dave Bronson.  If you want a potted plant in office, Suzanne LaFrance would be a good, albeit expensive, choice.  

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.A

Robert Seitz: Let’s use positive motivations to encourage renewable additions to power grid

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Robert Seitz: Let’s use positive motivations to encourage renewable additions to power grid

By ROBERT SEITZ

Senate Bill 101 and House Bill 121, left over from last year are again being touted by those who want to rush into adoption of renewable energy sources whether the Railbelt can properly accommodate them or not.  

Until there is a real plan for the modification of the Railbelt energy system, a RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) will be of no practical value, and in fact would be quite harmful to the ratepayers for the Railbelt utilities. There needs to be a plan for moving forward and not just some scenarios of possibilities, but with some specific plans for the replacement base source of energy and the particular long term energy storage that would provide storage for all the excess renewable energy generated.   

Please read Rick Whitbeck’s “Red states should run far, far away from Renewable Portfolio Standards” published Jan 31, 2024 in Must Read Alaska.

Rick Whitbeck: Red states should run far, far away from Renewable Portfolio Standards

In consideration of possible energy storage for excess renewable energy, I have been following various studies and reports concerning the Eklutna Lake Hydroelectric project over the last five or six years. I attended one of the recent hearings about the Elune Lake project and was greatly disappointed that no effort was given to the idea put forth by Kerry Williams for the Eklutna Complex to be a Rechargeable Battery, (a hydraulic battery).  

Kerry Williams and his co-authors, Ceal Smith and Bretwood Higman, published a report (Feb 3, 2020) at the request of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, entitled “Pumped Energy Storage for Alaska.”  When I enquired about how the report and concept of the Eklutna complex was accepted, I was told that it was too expensive and there was no current renewable source to run the pump, so it was given no real consideration. 

In my opinion, the Eklutna Lake complex is a much more positive incentive than Susitna Dam could ever be. The Eklutna project could begin storage excess wind and solar energy no matter where on the Railbelt system it might be generated. This would provide good incentive for further wind and solar installation.

The authors of the report laid out a plan so that it would be a four-part project, so that the full expense did not have to be made at the front end of the project.  It should not have to be considered as too expensive, just to study how it could be fit into the overall energy plan for the State. One of the benefits of the proposal is that Eklutna Lake would be able to maintain a higher level than it does now as it would be filled from below by the pump. This might allow the salmon to return to Eklutna Lake, a consideration definitely worth looking at.  

Looking at costs, converting the existing system to pumped energy storage was estimated to be $29 million. This first step would be necessary to allow excess renewables to immediately be saved for use much later. The estimate for the total conversion of Eklutna Lake and the upper lakes to form a pumped energy storage complex was $855 million. Such an investment in long term energy storage would go a long way to provide encouragement to private sector IPP (Independent Power Producers) to install more wind and solar farms. With this positive motivation, there should be no need to resort to mandates (such as the Renewable Portfolio Standard), and fines and extra rates for exceeding demand limits. The study also included two more proposed pumped energy storage facilities, which would add another 300 megawatts to the Eklutna Complex power. 

The capacity of the Eklutna Complex was estimated to be 426 MW power and 507 GWh energy storage. This would be an excellent start to a long term energy plan, and might have been the easy way to get salmon back into Eklutna Lake. There are currently plans for more than 300 MW of wind and solar energy projects in the near future, so with such progress in the works why do we need the Renewable Portfolio Standard?

So as we develop our long term energy plan, the first two things that need to be done are 1) Secure future Cook Inlet natural gas production and distribution and 2) Get a start on pumped hydro installation. These steps will help secure our energy reliability and resilience, and allow proper engineering for whatever the future Railbelt system needs to be.  Encourage you legislators to find solutions to our Cook Inlet gas supply problem and to resist entanglement with an Renewable Portfolio Standard for our Railbelt electrical utility.

Robert Seitz, PE, is an Electrical Engineer and lifelong Alaskan.

Kassie Andrews: Alaska ‘Green New Deal’ lurks as a camel’s nose under the tent

Dave Donley: A call for greater transparency in Anchorage School Board meeting minutes

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Dave Donley: A call for greater transparency in Anchorage School Board meeting minutes

By DAVE DONLEY

On May 31, 2023, I wrote a commentary emphasizing the need for more public notice when the Anchorage School Board takes major spending actions. I am again calling for more transparency from the school board.

Months ago, the school board leadership decided to change the way meeting minutes are prepared. They suggested going to “action minutes” to reduce the burden on the board’s secretary. In the future, only “actions” would be mentioned in the minutes. This seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. However, the board majority’s definition of an “action” differs from the common meaning of the word.

It was recently announced that from now on only motions that are seconded will be recorded in the minutes. This is problematic because having a complete public record of what happens at school board meetings is vital. Many times, extremely significant motions die from the lack of a second member voting in support. During the past six years, dozens of my budget amendments to reduce administrative spending have died for want of a second. Amendments I have offered to protect parents’ rights have also failed this way. From now on, it will appear in the minutes as if these types of actions never occurred.

The Anchorage School Board uses Robert’s Rules of Order regarding meetings. The Robert’s Rules Association is the nationally recognized interpreter of RRO. On the Robert’s Rules Association’s website, Interpretation 2006-7 states:

Question: It is my understanding that a main motion that dies for lack of a second is not to be recorded in the minutes because it never really came before the assembly and, therefore, need not be recorded. Is this correct?

Answer: No, it is not correct. Under the rule as stated in (Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised), on page 452, lines 21 to 23, minutes should record all main motions except, normally, any that were withdrawn.

Interpretation 2006-7 goes on to explain that:

We tried to state it a bit more forcefully in (Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief) where, on page 148, we said:

“All main motions which are moved during the course of a meeting (excepting only those which are withdrawn by the maker) should be recorded in the minutes.”

William J. Puette, Ph.D., Professional Registered Parliamentarian, states on his website that minutes should include: “all main motions (10) or motions to bring a main question again before the assembly (6:25–27; 34–37) that were made or taken up — except, normally, any that were withdrawn.”

Even “Robert’s Rules for Dummies” states that minutes should include: “All main motions (except ones that are withdrawn), along with the name of the member making the motion.”

In the past, the Anchorage School Board has used a Seattle-based group to help interpret Roberts Rules of Order. That group conflicts with the nationally recognized experts and believes unseconded motions do not need to be shown in minutes if the organization decides, but adds that to do so requires a vote by a two-thirds majority to not follow RRO. But according to a recent search, no such official vote is in the records of the Anchorage School Board.

The Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Mat-Su, Sitka, and Kenai Peninsula school boards all record unseconded motions in their minutes. I have been advised that the Alaska Association of School Boards (AASB) may suggest other boards follow the Anchorage example. But in a recent conversation, a representative of the AASB denied that.

In fairness to the school board, I have learned that the Anchorage Assembly also does not record motions that die without a second. But there are important distinctions between the two bodies. The Assembly has 12 members elected from districts, while the school board has only seven members elected citywide. Failing to record motions by a member, only because they are not seconded, can seriously distort the record. This effectively disenfranchises one-seventh of the Board and the people who voted for them.

In fact, some Roberts Rules of Order experts opine that smaller boards of less than 12, should not even require a second for motions. A seven-member board is considered just large enough to possibly require a motion to be seconded. The danger of requiring a second on a small board is obvious — if there is a political imbalance you can effectively shut out a minority opinion.

The only justification I have heard articulated as to why seconded substantive motions should not be recorded in the minutes has been that people can watch the meetings on YouTube. Does that surpass the importance of a complete and fair written public record? The voters deserve to have an accurate historical record of the actions their elected school board members took.

Of additional concern is that as of Feb. 1, the November and Oct. 17, 2023, board meetings were not available on YouTube. The Dec. 5 meeting was a partial recording of the work session that day. The Oct. 17 meeting forced the viewer to wait through more than four minutes of commercials to access an incomplete recording of not the meeting, but instead the work session for that day. Most of these deficiencies have now been corrected, but clearly, relying on YouTube is failing to adequately provide a reliable official record.

At the Dec. 19, 2023, meeting, I moved to amend the Nov. 21, 2023, meeting minutes, to include two amendments I offered to the upcoming April 2024 bond proposition. One was to reduce the bonds by more than $19 million. The other was to ensure full information was provided to the voters about the cost of the new Inlet View Elementary School.

Unfortunately, my motion to include these amendments in the minutes and the debate regarding it will not be recorded in the minutes because they failed without a second.

Former Alaska Sen. Dave Donley is a lifelong Anchorage resident who served 16 years in the Alaska Legislature. The father of twins in the Anchorage School District, this is his third and final term on the Anchorage School Board. He writes this as a member of the Anchorage School Board, not on behalf of or intended to represent the School Board or the Anchorage School District.

Must Read Alaska Show: Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau

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Must Read Alaska Show: Sen. Jesse Kiehl of Juneau

By JOHN QUICK

Sen. Jesse Kiehl complimented Gov. Mike Dunleavy on his teachers’ bonus bill and thinks it is doable, if Dunleavy was open to a couple of tweaks.

The bill, a pilot program that would pay teachers bonuses of up to $15,000 a year, is something Dunleavy sees as an investment in the classrooms across Alaska. Some education leaders say they would rather have a per-student investment in the form of “base student allocation” money.

Read about the governor’s pilot program here. The bill, HB 106, is here.

Kiehl says he understands the conservatives’ perspective as it relates to more money for districts, without accompanying accountability. As an example, someone in the Juneau schools misappropriated money (and was fired subsequently).

This new episode of the Must Read Alaska Show with host John Quick features an in-depth conversation with Sen. Kiehl, shedding light on the distinctive role and experiences of representing Alaska’s capital city, Senate Seat Q, which also covers the northern half of Southeast Alaska, including communities of Haines, Gustavus, Klukwan, and Skagway.

Kiehl discusses the unique challenges and advantages of serving in a location only accessible by air and sea, emphasizing the importance of the Alaska Marine Highway for connectivity.

Sen. Kiehl outlines his key objectives for the legislative session, and elaborates on the urgency of enhancing Alaska’s energy infrastructure. The conversation also covers Juneau’s path to tourism resurgence post-pandemic, particularly the impact of the absence and return of cruise ships on the local economy.

This dialogue offers a look into Sen. Kiehl’s legislative priorities, the intricacies of governing Alaska’s capital, and the broader implications for the state’s future.

You can also listen to this episode on iTunes or wherever you pick up your podcasts.

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