Low Graduation Rate

More than one in three 9th grade students are not expected to graduate high school.  As an HR Director, I see kids with no education, no job and no career goals.  This is a crisis for families, our community and our country.  Technology is changing the work force.  Individuals, and communities, without the skills to compete will be left behind in a global economy.

We must ensure that all our children receive a high school education and are either ready for higher education or job ready.  That will require an expansion of our voc-tech options.  Timing to expand this option is critical.  The state has a surplus and we need a plan now to solve this problem.

It will take more than expanding voc-tech school options.  We need to have a better understanding why our children are dropping out if we are going to identify the best solutions.  We need to clearly understand the problem, analyze our options, develop a plan, and get all stakeholders on board. 

Classroom Size

Fifteen years ago Anchorage schools were overcrowded based on standards established by more than two thirds of all other states.  Today, Anchorage schools continue to exceed the maximum effective classroom size compared to most other states.  And in fifteen years from today it will continue to be overcrowded if we don’t develop and implement a plan for change.

I have met with teachers and retired teachers who talk about the impossible task of meeting some of the needs of their students.  Overcrowded classrooms contribute to the low graduation rate and lower test scores.  We can and must do better.

Cost of Public Education

There is a bumper sticker that states “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

I believe the public is supportive of fully funding education when they know their tax dollars are being spent wisely and they are getting results.  I also understand that many of friends and neighbors are skeptical of how their education dollars are spent.  They see “average cost” of educating a child and assume that is the cost of educating their child. That is not accurate.  For example, I understand that ASD may spend forty percent of the budget on ten percent of the students.  That may sound inappropriate to some, but those are children with special education needs and ASD receives extra funds from the State to pay for this cost. 

The Anchorage School District has done a great job of involving a committee of private citizens in the budget review process.  However, few people can devote the time to study the budget sufficiently to address their concerns.

I like to make complex issues simple.  I like to compare education cost by category to other public school districts to identify areas where cost may be excessive.  It is not acceptable to wait until we have a financial crisis to look for opportunities to cut costs or redirect funds into programs that are better for the students.  Every decision we make should be based on what is best for educating our children while understanding every dollar must be spent responsibly.

ASD Employees

I believe the public is fortunate to have all the talented teachers we have in Anchorage.  I am very concerned that recruitment and retention of teaching and support staff will become a very serious problem in the near future.

I was in Juneau meeting with Legislators last month and was told that every department reporting problems with recruitment and retention identified the lack of a defined benefit retirement plan as the primary reason.  As a HR Director with 30 years of experience, I know that recruiting and retaining a well qualified staff requires competitive salaries and benefits.  Long term retention of employees in the public sector is a higher priority than retention in the private sector.  Retention of teachers, fire fighters and police officers is very important to Anchorage residents.  If State government does not reestablish a defined benefit retirement system, it will have a serious impact on all government operations.

It is important to note the unfunded liability reported to the public regarding PERS and TERS.  As they say, numbers never lie but people can lie with figures.  There are different types of defined benefit retirement plans for public sector employees.  The first two types had already been discontinued for new employees and the third plan was a very modest plan by comparison.  The majority of all unfunded liabilities reported involve the first two plans.  These unfunded liabilities assume a worse case scenario (employees receive the maximum benefit). 

Resolving public and employee concerns

I have heard from very happy parents and those that felt their concerns were being ignored.  I have also heard from teachers who felt their concerns with education were not presented to the ASD Board.

Every large organization cannot help but become more bureaucratic.  But that does not mean that concerns are lost or blocked from being raised.  In addition to being accessible to those with concerns, I will support ideas that will help make ASD more responsible to staff, students and the public.  One idea that was suggested to me was an Ombudsman, similar to the idea used in general government.