By ROBERT SEITZ
Recent news from Juneau has Rep. Rebecca Himshoot of Sitka introducing legislation, which if passed, would increase Alaska’s public school funding by more than 35%.
House Bill 69 represents an increase of nearly $464 million each year to the state general fund. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is reported to have said that he would support increasing Alaska’s education budget by about $200 milliion, provided it is tied to some policy reforms.
Rep. Himshoot has responded that she would not support the push for the policy reforms “because in my mind we have an obligation simply to fund.”
I have stated in other commentaries that the funding of Alaska’s education system must be tied to some criteria so that Alaskans, who are paying the bill, can be assured they will get good value for their money.
The public education system is failing Alaska. Reading and math scores a still way too low and have been for a long time. There are indeed some good programs within various school districts, which produce students who excel.
I was educated in the Alaska public education system, in the 1940s and 1950s, in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Homer. I remember being told a number of times when I was in high school that Alaska was first or second in the nation academically.
I have tried to confirm that but cannot find any articles that address much about the Alaska school system at that time. I do have some confidence that there is some truth to that claim.
Many of my teachers were World War II veterans. I never had a teacher who taught anything that was contrary to what was common knowledge or understanding. Parents were very involved in their students school work and activities. We learned to read and write and do arithmetic. We studied American history, world history, finances, English (literature and grammar), algebra, trigonometry, general science, biology, physics, and chemistry.
I was taught truth, was exposed to literature that was generally not degrading, and generally positive about formation of America, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. All that I was exposed to in school way back then gave me confidence that America was a good place, a place worthy of pride.
During my education I was made aware that there were those who were evil, who deprived people of their just due, who were dishonest and unjust in dealings, and who prevented citizens of their opportunity to “pursue happiness.” It is my experience that the evil in the land is due to the actions of individuals who consciously intend to do wrong. There is nothing systematically wrong or prejudiced with American, but with some of the individuals who live here.
Since my time in public school I have watched the school system deteriorate as many focused on teaching what is wrong with America, rather than what is good and right. I have seen relaxed standards of performance for students under the guise of compassion for those who struggle with school work, when the struggle is where the value is. New math was not a miraculous development, as it was not easier to learn or to teach and no parent, who learned arithmetic and math the old way, could not be a help. Memorization was discarded. I have spent the last 40 years or so encouraging young students to memorize the multiplication tables, but have met resistance because their teachers did not promote that activity.
Now we have public school teachers pushing Marxist philosophy, that gender is fluid, and that America is a land of white privilege. Anyone who teaches in this manner does not deserve a defined benefits retirement package. I have talked to many people about who their favorite teachers were, and all named the one or ones who made them work the hardest. My recommendation is that the retirement rate for each teacher should be by the vote of their former students.
I have said all of this to say that anyone who thinks that “because in my mind we have an obligation simply to fund” is on the wrong track and is totally dishonest in the discharge of their duty to the State of Alaska.
So again, I strongly urge legislators to consider criteria that would have to be met to allow an increase in funding for the school system. One of the problems may be that the teachers in place are not qualified to teach what needs to be taught and should be replaced with teachers who are veterans or who have demonstrated great capability and understanding, who have a love for America and an understanding of the struggle that was made to form this republic.
The burden is going to have to be laid to the local school districts and their representative school boards. Many of the school boards in this state have accommodated or advocated for some of the misguided policies which are now in place in many districts. Many classes, when I was young, had significantly more than 30 students, yet the students learned because the teachers knew how to control their classrooms and the students did their work.
Gov. Dunleavy is right in his insistence on reviewing and changing policies for the Alaska school system.
Robert Seitz is a very long time Alaskan and engineer.
Genuine reform requires burning it down to the ground and rebuild.
Anything else is just burning money.
Hmmm(????) … as per Ms. Himshoot: “because in my mind we have an obligation simply to fund.” Seems like her first ‘obligations’ should include one or all of the following … Responsibility, Integrity, Frugality, Fiduciary, and/or Humble Representation.
A 35% increase in funding towards a failed initiative producing failing results is absolute lunacy, emblematic of throwing good money into the raging fire-pit.
Why doesn’t she think we simply have an obligation to fund the full PFD?
It’s essential at this time to evaluate consolidation of many of the small school districts in Alaska. Many districts have less than 100 students, yet have highly paid administrators. Many teachers in small rural schools are just biding their time until they can transfer to a larger school. Teachers in small schools and small districts often are required to teach outside their subject matter, leading to a reduced quality of instruction.
Add the fact that Unorganized boroughs pay nothing into education and are FULLY FUNDED by the state. Just saying that is an unbalanced situation. No idea of the total $$$$ involved, but it must be huge.
Cheers, Johnson-Ketchikan
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
We keep talking about demanding accountability and reform in our school administrations…BUT…we keep giving them MORE money without the changes we know we need.
Please…NO MORE!!!
No more money until quality of education rises. How come the charter schools are in the top 10 in our nation, yet public education falls in the bottom 5? We are not getting a return on investment with public education.
Have you actually read the report? How many students opted out of testing at the charter schools? Even the report stated that further examination needed to happen, but that is not what Dunleavy and his ilk have reported. Charter schools have the ability to choose who they admit, and who to dismiss from their program. Often time not serving the special needs students, the impoverished students, the chronically absent student, etc. then claim look at how wonderfully we are doing. Governors and legislatures have stripped the ability to retain students who are not meeting a standard whether it be academically or an attendance threshold. They no longer trust the classroom teacher to actual deliver quality lessons, they must follow the text book that was produced by a for profit corporation. They supply the text, make the standardized tests, and then have the remedial supplements when the students to meet the standard. When was the last time you actually in a school to see what is being taught, what standard teachers are trying to have students achieve? If you strip enough money away which has happened in this state you eventually create the failure that you want. The right wants to go back to the days of “Separate but unequal” days of public education.
No more money for a failed education experiment. It’s time to move on and abandon the tired and worn dogma and rhetoric and replace it with something radically different!
and that would be what?
That would be accountability. If the student doesn’t meet the certain benchmarks by grade level, they cannot move on and must be taught till they make improvements. If a child does not attend enough class time or disrupts their classes, they must be repeated. The schools are not meant to be a daycare, and parents must be held accountable as well.
Replace it with new requirements to be a teacher, of course. Education degrees for elementary school, subject matter degrees for high school. A degree in math to teach math, a degree in biology to teach biology, and so forth.
I don’t think anyone knows what tired and worn dogma and rhetoric you are referring to. I certainly don’t. Reading, writing are arithmetic are still worthy things for anyone to learn. I hope you not not saying to let AI into the classroom. I advocate for reading from books and hand writing so that everyone can still communicate when the iphone goes dead.
Great article. Funding should be based on results. If these schools, administrators and teachers were in the private sector, they would be fired for failing. Results have been poor and have been falling in Alaska, and in Anchorage in particular, for the past 40 years. This cannot continue. Spend less time convincing moody hormonal teenagers that they’re really boys trapped in girls’ bodies and spend more on education that matters. Anchorage teachers failed my children, so we pulled them out and homeschooled them. Same happened when ASD nitwits joined the Branch Covidians and forced our grandkids to learn via Zoom, but also to mask up while doing so. On Zoom. Insane. Between that and the stealth trans movement, we’re now we’re teaching our grandkids at home instead of retiring. NEA and AFT are failing students and failing parents. Hey, but at least teachers are getting raises with hopes of reinstating TERS, right?
No more money until scores improved and education and graduation rates increase. We should drain the pool of unqualified educators and poor curriculum and get back to the basics. Get rid of NEA, tenures and unions.
When do we consider that perhaps the parents play a crucial role in all of this? Thats the one part that is never discussed.
Seitz makes some valid points but obviously hasn’t stepped into an average public school classroom recently. Student behavior is out of control and policy does not support staff with any tools (consequences) to remedy. Parents always blame everyone but their precious child.
There was no greater threat than for the principal to tell me that he would contact my parents if I did not improve my behavior. But when teachers are covering material far from what most parents would approve of, that’s a problem beyond the parents. My teachers generally could control the classroom.
Reforming the state education system can only be accomplished with allowing for competition.
Every family must be able to use the value assigned for their child(s) in any school, correspondence or homeschooling of their choice. The best schools will flourish and the failing schools will fall away.
We are talking about the future of our youth, society, state and nation. This is the most important issue for long term benefit for the citizens of this state to change now.
There must be accountability. Period.
Full agreement with Robert’s statement.
As a past school board member of a board that was dedicated to academic achievement, we knew first hand the plight Robert speaks too. To the point, five of seven board members, myself as one, were recalled by the group think led by militant teachers, stopping our efforts to stage an improvement.
When Robert speaks to “Good Teachers” gives me pause as when I personally discovered a elementary teacher obviously teaching in the dark of her (Never found a male teacher to reward) room, teaching recognized un- approved local curriculum ,(A portion of the challenge this board was addressing) I’d present then with a flowering plant to show my admiration. Within a couple of months these
proven teachers asked me to not do any gift presentations, as when one was given, the militant teachers would then label that teacher as “A Pal of Al’s”
which proved embarrassing.
In Closing, I would say that academics improvement will not see the light of day in any additional education base increase, but what you WILL SEE, is the reduction in your annual PFD as that is the only bucket I am aware, available to fund anything within the state’s needs as perceived by the legislature.
cheers, Johnson-Ketchikan
One of the important things for the current legislature to work on this session enabling oil and gas producers and mining companies to get new work on the books to encourage rapid development of facilities that can provide an increase in revenues from extracted resources. Fill the treasury through industrial development, and maybe they” leave the PFD alone. Anyone who thinks the only way to fund anything in the State of Alaska is by robbing the PFD, they are myopic. We need people with vision.
Teachers and government employees need Defined Benefits, move to Nevada.
Their casinos are apparently a richer investment than a declining oil patch…
So the kids can’t read and write or add and subtract–it’s only money that we’re talking about! They will be following the footsteps of their parents who followed the footsteps of their own! Hell, throw the money at ’em and keep the cogs turning: they need only know who their betters are! If we need good workers, there are plenty south of the border! And if we need scientists and technicians, they can be procured in India and China!
The “SCHOOL” system has become a huge hole in the ground to throw money into, with near zero regard for the education of the students. If it continues down the current course, it will continue to be more dysfunctional. The reality is, the school system needs to go back to basics, teaching science, math, and English. The history classes have become political indoctrination tools and, if the actual history can’t be taught, it should be left out Biology has apparently been bastardized as well, so the human biology should also be left out, if it has to be taught with some idiotic bent to it, as well. Foreign language speaking students should be required to take English as a second language classes, where they have to speak English all day, before they are incorporated into the other classes.
This will bring a big fight with the teacher’s
unions. This is the evil that holds kids from getting a great education. Teachers unions should be blown up and demolished.
No more money for a failed public education system.
Well said Robert! When I first met you in the 8th grade, you were attending school in Homer and I was attending school in Ninilchik. Your description of school during the Territorial days accurately describes my experience. It is strange that we had better schools in those days, when funding was very small. I agree with all of you points. Keep up the good work!
Robert Seitz, as usual, is absolutely right. Failed education in Alaska is not a money problem, but a responsibility problem. Parents, teachers, and students need to take more responsibility for education. I believe that should start with returning to the basics, and getting rid of most of the absurd things going on in schools today, like: The “new” (special ed) math. it “fixed” a problem that didn’t exist. Political/trans activism. Teachers or administrators who bring this BS into schools should be fired. They are a large part of the problem. CRT/revisionist history. This garbage should be banned in schools. Actual history should be taught, starting with American history. Phones should not be allowed in classrooms, only tablets or laptops with school material, closely monitored.
A return to the basics is needed.