By DAVID BOYLE
Alaska school boards were invited to provide testimony to the House Education Committee on the status of their schools this week. All of them testified on the need for more money; little was said about the need to improve students’ scores, or how increased funding would help with that.
The Alaska School Boards Association also provided testimony focused on more funding, support for the defined benefit retirement program for teachers, and a more equitable broadband network.
The ASBA belongs to the National School Boards Association, which last year accused parents of “domestic terrorism and hate crimes” in a harsh letter to the Department of Justice. The NSBA letter was coordinated with the U.S. Department of Education.
On Oct. 18, 2021, Anchorage School Board member Dave Donley attempted to get a resolution passed by the Governance Committee that said, “The Anchorage School Board condemns in the strongest terms: The actions of the National School Boards Association in sending their September 29, 2021, letter to the Attorney General.”
School Board President Margo Bellamy participated in that discussion as an ex-officio member of the Governance Committee. The resolution went nowhere.
Bellamy is also on the Alaska School Board Association board. Bellamy testified on the need for a more equitable broadband. She stated that broadband is an “equity” issue. She credited the Covid pandemic with bringing “significant broadband inequities to the forefront.”
Bellamy regularly uses the word “equity” to push the principles of Critical Race Theory in the ASD.
Bellamy stated the need for a diverse workforce, saying, “Students do better when they see someone who looks like them,” referring to teachers. She stated the district is working with University of Alaska Anchorage to grow teachers, even though the UAA Education Program lost its accreditation in 2019.
Bellamy strongly supported bringing back the defined benefit retirement program: “We used to sell this state on Alaska’s adventure and retirement. Now we cannot do that.” She further stated, “We need teachers to retire with dignity.”
There was no mention of improving the curriculum or improving student achievement in math and reading from any of the testifiers.
ASBA President Pete Hoepner testified that if the State funded more mental health resources, student achievement would increase. There were no data presented to defend this statement. This statement comes after the districts shut down their schools, severely impacting students’ mental health; depression, anxiety, loneliness, and even attempted suicides have resulted. Now they want money for a problem they caused.
Hoepner said literacy is a fundamental human right and he supports efforts to ensure Alaska children read by 3rd grade. But he also wants universal Pre-K, insisting that is the missing link to improving literacy, when the national data do not support that. Another school board representative testified that teachers are not even taught how to teach reading.
All the speakers testified for legislation that would spend more money on K-12 education. This included HB350 which would require the state to begin reimbursing new school construction costs effective July 1, 2022. The reimbursement rate would also increase from the current 50% to 70%.
All the testifiers see the state winning the Powerball lottery with higher oil revenues, and they want a piece of the winnings. Unfortunately, no one mentioned improving student outcomes or accountability. They were all lining up at the trough, yearning for more oil money with no strings attached that would improve student achievement.
