Education

Here are the questions and answers from my interview with Fairbanks Education Association. In it you will find my views on the state of education in Fairbanks:

1.      Briefly tell us about yourself, to include:

a. What do you see as your greatest accomplishment in public service?

The ability to engage the public, bringing forth items of importance for discussion and debate.

b. What do you hope to accomplish as a Borough Assembly member?

I hope to defend and restore private property rights, help diversify the borough’s revenue streams and help slow the overall growth of government.

2.      a. What are the major issues facing the Borough?

-Cost of energy is one of the biggest, although there is very little that we can do as an assembly to address that issue directly.

-The lack of diversification in the revenue of the borough, specifically in regards of using property tax to fund the lion’s share of borough spending.

-There is also a continuing assault on private property rights. Including but not limited to annexations, title changes and even discussions by the planning committee’s to require people with GU1 (General Use) Zoning to come to the borough requesting a permit to do anything on their own land.

b. How will you address these issues during your term?

-As I mentioned with energy, there is little I can do directly as an assemblyman, other than work with our legislators to help fix the problem at the State level.

-I have served on the alternative revenue committee for the borough in the past, we had some ideas that I would like to re-examine. Find some other ways of funding government. I would also like to look at the budget and find some areas where we can make some cuts as well.

-I will fight hard to curtail the planning department’s agenda of circumventing the private property rights of property owners in the borough. That includes discussions on road service areas, fire service areas, title changes, adhering to the ‘Vision Fairbanks’ plan and the aforementioned discussion on GU1 land as well.

3.      Who do you contact or who have you contacted when you need to gather information concerning education issues?

I have in the past spoken to school board members, Members of the Citizens advisory committee and serving teachers. 

More recently I have found myself questioning retired teachers, district employees and administration. I find that they speak with more candor about problems within the system and have no fear of retaliation or retribution for speaking out as some active teachers have.

4.      How do you believe the public rates education in the Fairbanks North Star Borough?

If the public is like me, not highly. With a dropout rate of over 30% I am not thrilled with our performance in Fairbanks. But I have consistently been disappointed in the performance of public education, not just in the borough, but nationwide. Over the past 50 years we have poured exponentially increasing amounts of money into our educational system, yet we consistently rate well behind 12 or more of our industrialized neighbors.

5.      Explain the relationship of the Borough Assembly to the School District.

The Borough Assembly is the gatekeeper on the budget that the School District spends. The assembly will make the final decision on how much money the FNSBSD eventually ends up with. The district may ask for the more, but the assembly, must decide if that amount is justified and make the decision for all taxpayers.

6.      What would be your budget priorities as a Borough Assembly member and why?

I would like to see a trimming of the budget, somewhere in the neighborhood of a %4 overall cut in the next three years. I think that we need to examine what is required of us by both borough code and state statute and use that as a ‘yardstick’ when we look at what the borough is currently funding. This will help us trim back on programs that we should not be funding.

 7.      a. Do you think the current mil rate is high, moderate or low?

I think that the current mil rate (tied with Valdez as the highest in the state) is too high. This doesn’t help attract new residents to Fairbanks, in fact, I have spoken to more than a dozen people who have moved from the FNSB in the last 15 months because of our high tax rate.

b. Do you support other forms of taxation in Fairbanks? Explain your answer.

           As explained previously, I would like to see other forms of revenue brought forth.

8.      a. What is your view of the current PERS/TRS situation?

I am happy to see that we have stabilized the unfunded liability of the PERS/TRS fund, without breaking the back of Alaskans.

b. Do you favor a defined benefit or defined contribution retirement plan for public employees?

We can see that across the country many municipalities, states and even private corporations are doing away with a defined benefits plan and moving to the defined contribution plan instead. I think that we are on the right track.

9.      Do you think that contracting out of public sector work to the private sector is in the best interest of the Borough?

I think all options should be weighed. With a federal deficit of over $1 trillion and many states and municipalities following in the feds footsteps, there will be many cases where privatization will be the only thing that saves these communities.

 There are several examples in the US, not to mention the almost total privatization of New Zealand’s government just 5 short years ago that show that it can work, for both the public who enjoy the services of government, and the private sector who would like to provide those services.

10.  a. What is your view of the Borough’s financial responsibility to education?

The Borough’s responsibility is to fund education, currently through property tax, up to but not exceeding the cap limit set out in State statute.  The funds are requested of the assembly by the school district and is then voted on by the assembly members.

b. The Borough Assembly currently does not fund education to the cap. What are your views on funding education?

More money is not the answer. We need to examine the system closely and see where it is failing. Once we have analyzed and admitted that there IS a problem, only then can we look at what it is going to cost to set the system right.