Educated communities thrive because its members have the skills local businesses need to prosper. By extension, when we invest in public education, we are investing in our community’s property values.
That’s why on Nov. 8, I am supporting the NEAAlaska.org list of candidates. Alaska’s current leadership has divested in public education for years (adjusted for inflation, our public ed investment has decreased by 12%). Left uncorrected, ASD will start closing neighborhood schools. This is deeply disturbing to those of us who live in these neighborhoods: School buildings cannot be easily repurposed, as they are physically located in the heart of residential neighborhoods. Traffic and zoning restrictions prevent many other options.
Closing these schools will directly affect more than 1,600 students’ families and indirectly affect thousands more families in each neighborhood for years to come as property values decline and these large empty buildings become magnets for graffiti and crime.
Consolidation doesn’t always save money, and smaller schools have better educational outcomes. Also, ASD predicts they will only save 500,000 per school they close! Young families have choices where to invest their real estate dollars and energies. If we don’t increase our public education funding, these young families will likely decide to move elsewhere. Investing in public education means we are investing in ourselves and our future in Alaska.
— Kristi Wood
Anchorage
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