Newly reelected Gov. Mike Dunleavy last week unveiled his proposed state spending plan for the next budget year. By far, the largest single expense in the entire state budget is the Permanent Fund dividend.
The governor’s budget proposes no increase in state funding for public schools and a reduction in funding for the university system.
No significant increases for road repairs, snow removal, mental health services, or more staff to help the backlog of food stamp applications which has created hours-long hold times for callers needing help.
Less money for construction, renovation and repairs to public buildings and roads — state and municipal.
But the governor wants a record-high dividend, consuming about one-third of state general fund spending.
Dunleavy’s answer at a press conference last week was simplistic in its political honesty, but disappointing in its failure to address all the other needs of Alaskans. “It’s no secret that I support the Permanent Fund. It’s no secret that I got over 50% of the vote (Nov. 8 reelection) as part of that being part of the campaign,” he said in presenting the budget Dec. 15.
The message sounds like: “I won by promising a big dividend, and I see no reason to change that popular strategy. Nothing else really counts.”
It appears the governor is not swayed by any numbers other than the dividend and his reelection vote total.
While he is proposing a dividend three times the size of the 2017-2021 average, school districts received no increase whatsoever in the state’s per-student funding formula over those same years.
The University of Alaska system is losing students, in part due to limited course offerings. The governor’s budget puts the short-term political gain of fat dividends over the long-term gain of an educated workforce.
And his budget message last week made no mention of any need for improved mental health services for children. Then, just a day later, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that Alaska children are locked up for too long in psychiatric hospitals and out-of-state residential treatment facilities because no alternatives exist in state. Those missing alternatives don’t exist because of a lack of money.
Meanwhile, the governor proposes taking money out of savings so that he can afford to sign his name to even bigger Permanent Fund dividends, with nothing more for in-state residential care to help children with mental health issues.
“Each year, hundreds of children, including Alaska Native children in significant number, are isolated in institutional settings often far from their communities,” said Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Most of these children could remain in family homes if provided appropriate community-based services.”
In Dunleavy’s political world, the dividend is more important than anything else, even mental health services. That’s not leadership. It’s irresponsible. The Legislature would be smart to take the governor to school in how to help the state long term over short-term political gains.
— Wrangell Sentinel
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