Last week while in Juneau, I met with several legislators to share that we are doing good work and deserve a modest increase in funding. Predictably, each of the senators and representatives was confident that schools would see more money next year, but no one was willing to say how much more. And so from now until the end of the session in April, we will do our best to convince our elected officials that without an increase we will be forced to reduce services. While this is not news to anyone, when I step away from the process I am amazed that year after year we are tasked with preparing a budget without knowing our level of revenue for the coming year. Wouldn’t it make sense to create a funding plan for education? Think of all the saved time and energy if the state were to map out what they will spend on schools ahead of time.
Section I of Article VII of our constitution states that the legislature shall by general law establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the State, and may provide for other public educational institutions. To do so requires sufficient funds. So while we are stuck in the current year-to-year model of funding, looking ahead, let’s encourage those in Juneau to create a funding plan to meet this constitutional requirement. Everyone except Alaska Airlines would be happy if this was the case.
Funding Plan
Last week while in Juneau, I met with several legislators to share that we are doing good work and deserve a modest increase in funding. Predictably, each of the senators and representatives was confident that schools would see more money next year, but no one was willing to say how much more. And so from now until the end of the session in April, we will do our best to convince our elected officials that without an increase we will be forced to reduce services. While this is not news to anyone, when I step away from the process I am amazed that year after year we are tasked with preparing a budget without knowing our level of revenue for the coming year. Wouldn’t it make sense to create a funding plan for education? Think of all the saved time and energy if the state were to map out what they will spend on schools ahead of time.
Section I of Article VII of our constitution states that the legislature shall by general law establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the State, and may provide for other public educational institutions. To do so requires sufficient funds. So while we are stuck in the current year-to-year model of funding, looking ahead, let’s encourage those in Juneau to create a funding plan to meet this constitutional requirement. Everyone except Alaska Airlines would be happy if this was the case.