OPINION: Don’t support the ‘Hunger Games’ view of Anchorage schools

A recent commentary by Bob Griffin urged the school board not to allocate money for Inlet View Elementary School replacement, because “the voters rejected” the project.

The bond was defeated by 0.08%. Voters in the Inlet View attendance zone voted in favor by 67%. Several factors influenced defeat, including the recently announced ASD deficit of $68 million and declining bond debt reimbursement by the Legislature. Those who voted against the bond because of Inlet View were misled by a misinformation campaign by a few naysayers. The staff report to the Urban Design Commission found no merit to their arguments. The Commission unanimously approved the project and the Chair complimented the Building Design Committee on the excellent design and the amount of public engagement. Unfortunately, the UDC decision did not happen until after the election.

The Legislature gave the Anchorage School Board $100 million because the $111 million bond failed. The stated legislative intent was “School Bond Debt Reimbursement and School Major Maintenance Funds,” not tax relief. If the Board does not allocate these tax-free funds for Inlet View, it will go on another bond, which will result in a property tax assessment.

Griffin says the ASD should not be building a new school while closing other schools. By ASD standards, only schools that are not fully enrolled and have unsatisfactory academic performance are on the closure list. Not building Inlet View will not change those standards. Inlet View is a success story. It is overenrolled, racially and culturally diverse, made up of mixed income families and high-performing. We should reward success, not punish it.

Griffin’s statement that the “campus” capacity is 257 students is misleading. The campus can accommodate a building that has a capacity of 289 students, which is the capacity of the new school, based on demographic projections for the coming decades. The present building has a capacity of 170 students with over 200 consistently enrolled. Griffin says Inlet View would not be overcrowded absent zone exemptions. But many students in the Inlet View attendance zone get exemptions to attend other schools.

Griffin says Inlet View should not be replaced because there are buildings older than Inlet View still in use. The useful comparison is Inlet View to other schools in the district. Only Inlet View has multiple problems and deficiencies and does not meet the health, safety and educational design standards required by the Anchorage School District and local codes. A remodel will not remedy all deficiencies, will be more expensive than building a new school and will not accommodate the student population now and in the future. Inlet View replacement is a top priority in the ASD Six Year Capital Improvement Plan, 2018-2022. Inlet View parents don’t want a “Cadillac” school. We want the basics that the School District provides to other children — no more, no less.

Years of underfunding public education have resulted in what Griffin is encouraging – schools competing against one another – trying to get their projects and programs funded at the expense of other schools, creating a “Hunger Games” competition among parents. The way out of this funding debacle is working together to demand adequate funding for safe, quality public schools for all our children.

Griffin’s Alaska Policy Forum is a right-wing think tank supported by the Koch brothers. It has provided misleading information to the Anchorage School Board. It is anti-public education, supporting a constitutional amendment to allow state vouchers for private schools. Griffin wants to destroy Inlet View because it is an example of what public schools can and should be.

Bob Bundy and Bonnie Lembo are retired attorneys. They are an Inlet View family. Their daughters and one grandson graduated from Inlet View Elementary; another grandchild still attends.

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