Parnell visits Wrangell to discuss education, budget

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell was in Wrangell Monday to discuss his proposed election-year education reforms with teachers and meet with select borough officials.

Parnell also answered questions about a wide range of topics. Parnell sought to use the speech to turn the 2014 legislative session into the "Education Session," and proposed a slate of educational reforms during his Jan. 22 State of the State Address before the Alaska Legislature. He also used the speech to declare his support for a constitutional amendment which would allow the state to establish a voucher program, though he was careful to say his proposed reforms and the amendment should be considered separately.

"Yes, I support letting Alaskans decide" on vouchers, he said. "I did not tie that to a (Basic Student Allotment) increase of $85."

The proposed bill would expand online teaching initiatives for students in remote districts, eliminate the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, replacing it with a combination of the SAT, ACT, or WorkKeys vocational test, allow students to test out of a greater range of classes, support technical education, expand funding for charter schools, and raise the funding allotment for each student by $85 per student.

Critics have said the funding increase isn't enough to accomplish educational objectives in Alaska. The proposed reforms are an attempt to split the difference between what he sees as two distinct camps in education policy and reform, Parnell said.

"I realize we're in a place where we're entrenched," he said. "We've got those on one side saying raise the BSA. We've got others saying show me the results for our kids for the money."

His bill proposed a much smaller allotment increase than some Democratic legislators called for as a starting point for negotiations, Parnell said.

"Show me which of these educational opportunities (listed in the bill) you support with me, then let's talk about the BSA," he said. "There is a large discussion going on – which I think is really very healthy - on education."

Charter school results in other states have shown mixed results. The Wisconsin Department of Instruction has reported that charter schools either meet or fail to meet minimum standards in that state and seldom exceed state standards, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Parnell cited a 797-person waiting list for Aquarian Charter School in Anchorage as a charter school success story. Many of the students on the waiting list are children of principals and teachers, Parnell said.

School systems currently have discretion over the amounts of funds transferred between charter schools and traditional neighborhood schools. His bill would standardize the amount transferred, Parnell said.

"These are public school kids in a charter school," he said. "This is not a separate system."

"I see greater performance in a number of our charter schools," Parnell added. "There's no reason in my mind why a charter school student should carry less money with them."

Parnell also answered a question proposed by a Sentinel reader about potentially forward-funding school systems to enable better financial planning.

"We already do," he said. "It's never enough. Every year, we take the formula and fund another year ahead because we've been able to do that with the money going on. That adds on to the money that's in the increase, but forward funding doesn't do what we thought it does."

"It's never enough for the needs and desires" of school systems, Parnell added. "People are going to realize it's irrelevant to school district operation because schools are always going to ask for more."

Parnell also accused Alaska Democrats of political opportunism. Democrats have sought to tie the publicly debated oil producer tax formula change known as 'S.B. 21' to limited budget resources for FY 2015. Budget revenues are tight this year because oil revenues are declining in part because of a global decrease in the price of oil, Parnell said. S.B. 21 changes a progressive tax rate on oil production – where producers pay higher tax rates as the price of oil increases – to a less progressive rate while increasing. Critics of the change say it amounts to an "oil industry giveaway."

"It's the price of oil, its down," he said. "We are so dependent on the price of oil, that we're in that belt-tightening mode."

"At about $104 a barrel, we bring in the same amount under" both systems, he said.

Parnell also discussed the recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to take steps to shut down construction on the proposed Pebble Mine, announced Feb. 28. His objections focus around the oft-contentious relationship between Alaskans and the Federal government, and did not represent a vote for the miners at the expense of the fishermen, Parnell said.

"I think there's a place for them, but it's in the permitting process," he said. "I think they're using a pre-emptive veto on this project before a permit has been applied for. In doing so, they're cutting off the public's right to participate."

"I did not take a position for or against the project," he added. "As the chief executive officer of the state, I have to oversee that process. It may be legal, but it smacks of overreach, and an egregious one."

Parnell referred questions about another locally prominent State-level issue – potential road development in the Bradfield Corridor to link Wrangell to the larger North American power grid – to the Alaska Energy Authority.

"The battle continues to rage whether we take care of local economies or tie in to Canada," he said. "That takes time and effort to work through."