Hundreds of high schoolers across Alaska participated in an organized walkout April 4 in protest of the Legislature’s recent failure to override Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of an education funding bill. The bill would have included a historic increase in state money for public education.
Outside Eagle River High School in the Anchorage School District, more than 100 students stood outside in the blustering snow for nearly a whole class period chanting “Fund our education!” and “Save our arts, save our sports!”
Similar protests — all organized by students with the Alaska Association of Student Government Executive Board — took place across the state, from Utqiaġvik to Bethel to Sitka, Petersburg, Juneau and Ketchikan.
Wrangell schools were on spring break last week.
Had the governor not vetoed the money, or if the Legislature had voted to override his veto, Wrangell schools would have received an estimated $440,000 in additional state funding for the 2024-2025 school year, covering about two-thirds of the district’s budget deficit.
Felix Myers, a senior at Sitka High School, said the recent veto of Senate Bill 140, which included the largest boost to public school funding in state history, prompted the walkout. The state’s per-pupil funding formula has remained virtually unchanged since 2017.
Myers said the walkouts were organized by students, with no adult or teacher involvement.
“I realized the words and the things that students had been saying and communicating to legislators wasn’t enough,” Myers said April 4. “And I knew that at that point, there’s not much we can try to do other than take some action. Because it seems like action might speak louder than words.”
Eagle River senior Caitlin Corbett, 17, said she was worried most about the future impacts of flat funding, and said she has already noticed an uptick in class sizes since her freshman year.
“I know our class sizes have gotten dramatically bigger already,” said Corbett, who added that her largest classes have 40 students in them. “That’s ridiculous, kids can’t learn in that environment,” she said.
In Anchorage, about 125 students participated in a protest outside Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School. The group filled the corners and medians at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and Bragaw Street, some holding signs and others chanting before they orderly filed back into the high school just before noon.
East High senior Dorothy Armstrong, 17, said she found out about the protest a day earlier while scrolling through Instagram.
“I wanted to be a part of this because I have younger siblings, and our education system is failing us. Some of my favorite teachers left last year because of the way our district and government is treating our teachers, and they are the most important workers out there,” she said.
In Utqiaġvik, about 20 Barrow High School students also walked out of class to show their support for more education funding.
Despite the single-digit temperature, the students gathered at around 11 a.m. holding posters with slogans such as “Fund the future” and “Our education matters,” said Magdelina Stringer, a Barrow High School student.
In Juneau, around 100 students from Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé marched up the hill to the state Capitol, chanting “Raise the BSA” and “Fund our future.” A number of legislators who support an increase in state funding joined to support them.
The students flooded the Capitol, walking up the central staircase to each floor chanting loudly. They rallied outside the governor’s office and gathered quietly during a House Finance Committee hearing on an unrelated subject.
Dunleavy has said he vetoed the legislation because it didn’t include some of his priorities, including provisions aimed at encouraging more charter schools.
Reader Comments(0)