We’re losing huge bucks daily. Yet these legislators keep spending like they actually have a printing press. They’re handing out permanent increases to the Unions two different ways. First it’s the yearly Increase for steak and lobster no strings attached feast for the BSA, which is directly a cut from the PFD, with a side order of spending hinged on a new tax that’s going to drive everybody’s internet orders higher in cost, if the companies don’t just quit shipping to us all together.
Secondly with oil prices plummeting and the PFD vanishing in the same manner as the CBR, SBR and $8 billion from the ERA, the legislature keeps mindlessly seeking nirvana for their campaign funders, the Unions. No need mentioning that they’ve held the middle and lower income brackets at near gun point, by stealing the PFD, to grow government and protect the Top 20% and the oil industry from paying an equitable percentage paying for the cost of government.
No no, that’s not about to happen when the Administration can go to the bargaining table and come back with a new three year contract that gives the chosen 40,000 Employees a 11% pay increase along with a $2000 bonus this coming year and a $2500 bonus the following year. Yeah, employees will get pretty much a full PFD while us peons are stripped to the $1000 participation level.
The legislators that got us into this financial death spiral are still smarter than the other 680,000 they stole the PFD from… Naw, not hardly, they’ve just had decades to use your money to fill everyone’s pockets that can help them buy their seats back every election.
Term limits is the first step to fixing the spending problem in Juneau.
P. S. They’re basing this new budget on $68 a barrel and the budget cycle we’re in until June 30th is based on a $75 a barrel average. Yeah, we’re losing ground, in a big way and the corrupt keep stuffing their pockets. Even though oil futures is at $61 a barrel on Mother’s Day.
Willy Keppel
Quinhagak, AK
Strong Policy, Proven Results – Why Policy and Funding Go Hand in Hand
Today (May 9th, 2025), the Alaska Superintendents Association (ASA) issued a statement responding to the Governor’s recent meeting with superintendents from across the state. While ASA speaks for its members, it is important to clarify—the Governor met directly with Alaska’s superintendents, not with the association’s leadership.
As a former superintendent, I know firsthand the value of hearing directly from those closest to the work—those who partner every day with teachers, parents, students, and families to meet the real needs of Alaska’s communities.
At that meeting, the Governor’s message was clear: strong policy matters. And Alaska’s students are proving it. In the first year of the Alaska Reads Act—a policy ASA once strongly opposed—our students achieved measurable gains in reading. In fact, Alaska posted the highest reading growth in the nation last year for kindergarten, first, and second-grade students. That’s the power of strong policy—creating the conditions for success and delivering real results.
The Governor has expressed his support for increased education funding. But he has also been clear that funding alone is not enough. Investments must be coupled with strong policies that expand opportunity, increase accountability, and put parents in the driver’s seat of their child’s education.
That is why the Governor has asked the Legislature to strengthen HB 57 by including open enrollment between districts and expanding due process opportunities for established charter schools—two student- and family-centered policies that put choice and flexibility in the hands of Alaska’s families, not systems.
The Governor also supports reading incentive grants to reward progress in literacy, but he has made it clear that these incentives should not be tied to other revenue-raising measures. Literacy support should stand on its own merit—not be dependent on separate political debates about new taxes or revenue mechanisms.
Alaska’s students deserve both meaningful investment and strong policy. We cannot afford to separate the two. Our students, families, and educators deserve a system that not only funds schools, but also demands results and gives parents meaningful choices.
I remain committed to working with superintendents, legislators, and education partners to ensure Alaska’s public education system delivers on its promise—for every student, every day. But that requires more than funding. It requires leadership and the courage to advance policies that make a difference.
Because when strong policy is in place and parents are in the driver’s seat, Alaska’s students win.
Commissioner Deena Bishop
Alaska Dept. of Education and Early Development
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