Public schools have existed in America for hundreds of years. As our country has grown, so too has the demand for educated, skilled, and productive citizens who are perpetually called upon to protect our nation and break through seemingly impossible barriers.
American citizens, educated in our public schools, built the machines and weapons that ended World War I in support of free nations, saved the world from the threat of Nazism in World War II, won the Space Race, and led the way in creating the largest, most innovative economy in the world through the Information Age and beyond.
As a veteran, and an educator, I believe wholeheartedly that these great feats would not have been possible without a strong system of public education capable of creating an informed citizenry to protect our democratic institutions.
Today, America faces a wide range of related threats: hostile nations like Russia and China, a shrinking industrial base that leaves us vulnerable to aggression, a shattered middle class, and an atomized population whose divisions are sown and salted by our enemies. However, perhaps our greatest threat is the intentional undermining of our public education system.
This puts Alaska on the front line in protecting democracy, so for veterans and educators in our state, this is personal. We have watched with grave concern as years of state funding cuts and the blatant attacks on the Department of Education by the Trump administration combine to hollow out our schools. We must stand in defense of the institution of public schools which is so deeply connected to American success and reject the deeply unpatriotic rhetoric of Outside dark money groups who seek to undermine and privatize our school system and sell it for parts to billionaire backers.
Just as in every past national challenge, we would do well to remember that we’re all in this together. In the late 1800s, public education represented an audacious belief that every citizen’s life matters, and that every citizen has a legitimate voice in our nation’s future.
Children attending first and second grade this year will be the citizens defending freedom little more than a decade from now. Today’s middle and high schoolers’ understanding of our nation’s principles will be tested even sooner.
It’s no coincidence that enemies of freedom are attacking our public schools today, because they know that a nation divided cannot stand.
Parents and educators from across Alaska are leading the charge to protect all types of public education in our state. From homeschool, to charter schools, to the brick-and-mortar schools that are the heart of many communities, the base student allocation is the tide that lifts all boats.
Most legislators have risen to the challenge and are standing up to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who seeks to follow the president’s playbook of dismantling our constitutionally guaranteed system of public education.
We know that America faces serious threats over the coming decades, and we must be unified in our defense of democracy and the institutions that make us stronger, public schools being perhaps the most critical to our future success. Call or write your legislators today to make sure they are supporting the override of the governor’s short-sighted, harmful veto of public school funding.
Tom Klaameyer is a retired educator who previously served as the President of NEA-Alaska.
