JUNEAU -- A longtime state Board of Education member reappointed by Gov. Bill Walker flubbed a pair of basic questions in a confirmation hearing this week, saying later that she'd been "a little nervous" after being peppered with detailed questions about her past.
Esther Cox, who was originally appointed to the board by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2003, told the House Education Committee that she thought the state's student population is "some 50,000," when the number is actually close to 130,000.
Then, Rep. Liz Vazquez, R-Anchorage, asked Cox about the total budget for the state education system, which was $1.2 billion last year.
"Boy, I wish I had my commissioner here with me. He's my budget guy," responded Cox, the current chair of the board. "I would say, probably -- no, I'm not going to say, I'm sorry. It's several million dollars and I don't know what it is."
Cox's responses were highlighted by the Alaska Policy Forum, a conservative group, in a Facebook post.
Members of other conservative groups like the Alaska Republican Assembly have been campaigning to thwart Cox's confirmation by the Alaska Legislature.
Two Republican lawmakers representing parts of the Mat-Su, Sen. Bill Stoltze and Rep. Wes Keller, have already filled out surveys saying they will oppose Cox's confirmation, and several other Mat-Su legislators said they would consider rejecting her.
In a phone interview late Friday, Cox said she had been taken off guard by a series of questions from Vazquez about Cox's old job as principal of Anchorage's King Career Center from 1990 to 1998.
Vazquez asked Cox what the school's budget had been, how many students attended and how many programs were offered.
Cox called the questions "sort of off the wall" and said the questions didn't have anything to do with her qualifications to serve on the Board of Education.
"I retired in 1998. I have to tell you, I don't remember what my bank balance was in 1998," she said. "Why would I ever remember what the budget was in 1998?"
Cox said she'd made a "gross error" and mixed up the number of students in the whole state with the number of students in the Anchorage School District, which is, in fact, close to 50,000.
Cox said she didn't know why she'd underestimated the state's education budget. She declined to reveal her age beyond saying that she is "old."
A spokeswoman for Walker declined to comment.
Vazquez, in a phone interview from Anchorage late Friday, said she was "startled" at Cox's answers to the questions.
While Cox ultimately clarified her answer about the number of students statewide in a subsequent confirmation hearing in the Senate, Vazquez said Cox hadn't followed up with her.
Vazquez added that she would not support Cox's confirmation.