I was disturbed to read about the continuing risk of large-scale teacher layoffs for the 2014-2015 school year. A quality education is the key to personal success and to Alaska's continued economic development. Educated workers are critical to staffing our oil fields, our banks and our other local businesses.
Education spending is not about building fancy new facilities or state-of-the-art equipment, it's about keeping good teachers in the classrooms. Everyone remembers that one teacher who could make a subject come alive. That is where our money needs to go.
For three years, the base student allocation has been flat while inflation has increased heating, labor and supply costs. To prevent the lay-offs, it is vital that the Legislature act to restore the lost funding.
As a voter and a citizen, adequately funding education is more important to me than any other policy issue. There is not a spending cut I would oppose or a tax increase I would not be willing to pay if I knew that it would result in increased funding for education.
— Lars Danner
Anchorage