Education commissioner supported BSA increase in September, but not in December

In the past, Deena Bishop made a clear case for increasing the Base Student Allocation to offset the bite that has been taken by inflation since 2017. Bishop wrote in the 2022-23 Anchorage School District budget that the purchasing power of state school funding with no increases had cost Anchorage $40 million over five years.

Along with declining enrollment, the flat funding “continues to negatively impact ASD’s ability to maintain smaller class sizes to better address student learning,” Bishop wrote.

But the former Anchorage school superintendent, now the state education commissioner, has realized that the state can’t afford to increase the Base Student Allocation. Smaller increases in specific programs would be better.

It’s no surprise that her new opinion is identical to that of Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

“There’s only so much money in our state. Already, the budget is at capacity, and every time that we increase one area of our budget, there’s an opportunity cost in others,” Bishop told the Anchorage Daily News.

Three months ago, just after she took the state job, Bishop had a different view.

In a 50-minute interview with Wesley Early of Alaska Public Media in September, Bishop said an increase in the BSA was necessary.

“It’s very evident that the BSA, and with the testimony, that we’re going to look at that,” Bishop said. “And that needs to be increased, especially when the CARES money in those fund balances go away.”

But when asked if she supported the education funds approved by the Legislature, half of which were vetoed by Dunleavy, she waffled for all she was worth.

“Did you want that money that the Legislature was putting toward education? Did you think that was a good idea?” Early asked.

Force yourself to read her answer to those simple questions and you’ll see the political roots of Bishop’s newfound opposition to any BSA increase.

“I want to let you know that If we have funding, just like if I have, you know money that comes to me, it’s like whoa, I understand the trials. I understand our state asking ourselves—we continue to put inputs into education and we don’t see a change in the output. That’s unacceptable. No matter, I don’t care who you are. Like, if you continue to pay for something, even if it’s a personal thing, and you’re not getting the value of the investment that you make, there’s a problem,” she said.

“And we have a learning, you know, we’re far below our peers in other places. And we know that we compete on a worldwide basis now. And so Alaska’s children deserve to have the inputs. But I believe that outputs are, should be just as expected as those inputs. And so I’m willing to work with our districts and work with state government to ensure that the value of investment made in Alaska’s education system is worth it because our young people are worth it.”

“And it’s not just in reading. It’s about having a plan, a transition plan for when you leave high school. Are you going to go to postsecondary? Are you going to go to work? Are you going to go to the military? Our kids need to have on-ramps and off-ramps about their lives. And some of our young people leave us and don’t know and take a couple years and that’s costly. That’s costly to us all as well. And so, you know, of course funding is important to education in Alaska. But it shouldn’t be more important and it’s not more important to me than student success and learning. And if we don’t have one, I don’t think that the other should necessarily be increased without a return.”

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