A group representing Alaska’s public school principals wants lawmakers to eliminate a bi-partisan law that has resulted in markedly improved reading skills for K-3rd grade students over the past couple of years.
In an Oct. 30 presentation to the Democrat-dominated Legislative Task Force on Education Funding, the Alaska Council of School Administrators recommended that lawmakers rescind the 2022 Alaska Reads Act, a law that has seen K-3rd graders go from 41% reading at the benchmark level in 2023-24 to 60% in 2025.
Despite these gains, the principals’ group claims the Alaska Reads Act is an “unfunded mandate,” which should be abandoned.
“Eliminate unfunded and underfunded initiatives. Example: Alaska Reads Act,” the presentation stated. “Don’t pass education legislation unless it includes sufficient funding.”
While the Alaska Reads Act was the only suggested cut, the principals’ group did want to see more funding allotted for so-called “enrichment and intervention programs.”
The recommendations were part of a larger presentation asking lawmakers to increase spending on government run education through higher per-student funding, more benefits and higher wages for educators, staff housing for teachers “where costs are high,” and increased spending on numerous capital improvement projects.
Of all the public school initiatives, the Alaska Reads Act is arguably one of the most effective. Signed into law in 2022, it helped establish reading curriculums, screenings and a retooling of reading programs across the state at a time when Alaska students are among the nation’s worst when it comes to basic reading skills.
Composed of six Alaska legislators, the task force has been criticized for excluding parents and students in favor of relying on the input of entrenched educational establishment groups and unions, the very entities that have presided over Alaska’s failed government education system for decades.
To date, much of the recommendations to the task force have simply been to pump more money into education without requiring meaningful accountability measures.
The task force is set to meet next on Nov. 10, but it only hear testimony from invited groups with no wider public input from Alaska residents. Click here to contact members of the task force.
6 Comments
How much money does it take to teach the same lesson plans over and over until kids know how to read? I would think they could shake a dollar or two from the $20K per student we already pay to buy a few worksheets. Just sayin’.
Anything to disrupt the basics skills the kids will improve in. Shame on the principals. The better the kids do gives no reasoning to more money and other positions because new teachers are not needed.
Here a novel idea, why don’t we just open up the State Treasury to the Alaska Council of School Administrators. I’d be willing to bet that they would still biţch and moan they don’t have enough money. We’ll never be able to satisfy their lust for the public treasury.
The real problem is that the Reads Act was a bi-partisan work between the conservative Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy, a retired teacher, school administrator and school board president, and Democrat State Senator Tom Begich. Those school administrators can’t tolerate something that works with a Republican name on it anywhere.
SHELIA, THE FACT THAT YOUR HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH GOVERNOR PUMPKIN HEAD DOESN’T AFFECT YOUR COMMENTS IS LAUGHABLE!
If it is working leave it alone!! And they wonder why parents want to homeschool their kids!!