Resolutions
approved by
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
2000 Fall Principals Conference
Anchorage, Alaska
Resolution Committee
Vern Brenner, Region I
Jeff Holt, Region II
Sylvia Reynolds, Region III
Darold Kludt, Region V
Vivian Dailey, Region VI
Alan Fields, Region VII
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
Resolution #1
Statewide Property Tax Cap Ballot
WHEREAS, many voters in Alaska's cities and municipalities have already voted for locally established spending or revenue caps that meet the needs of their community; and
WHEREAS, statewide limitations would take away local voter control allowing people in one part of the State of Alaska to set mill rates for people in other cities, boroughs or municipalities,
WHEREAS, Proposition 4 proposes to cap assessments at one percent (10 mills) of
assessed value, which will impose Permanent, unnecessary and severe budget reductions, Thereby, gravely impacting the ability of local governments and school districts to provide essential services such as local funding of schools, public safety, emergency services, libraries, and recreational facilities; and
WHEREAS, passage of Proposition 4 will restrict Bond repayment by the 10-mill cap for
schools and other public improvements, making it unlikely that new schools or other Capital projects could be built, even if so desired by local voters; and
WHEREAS, passage of Proposition 4 will mean many families and workers may leave Alaska when employment opportunities are lost during the irreversible period of negative, downward economic slow-down while new sources of revenues are identified, voted upon, and implemented; and
WHEREAS, passage of Proposition 4 will create inequity of educational funding in larger towns and cities in Alaska, where property taxes are currently paid, because the current Foundation Funding Formula provides an area cost differential to school districts where no property taxes con be assessed; and
WHEREAS, schools will face the deepest revenue cuts, resulting in reductions in basic educational services to students, loss of programs, negatively impacting class sizes, remedial and enrichment programs, ensuring the safety and welfare of students, and the ability of schools to meet the goals of the Quality Schools Initiative; and
WHEREAS, passage of Proposition 4 will only add to the critical shortage of qualified teachers and administrators in Alaska, as conditions needed for educational excellence for teaching and learning will likely further decline.
THEREFORE IT IS RESOLVED that Alaskan voters are urged not to support the proposed Statewide Property Tax Cap Initiative because it would remove the power of local voters, and could effectively halt school and other necessary capital construction, would negatively impact community services and programs, and could create an inequitable system of taxation in which owners with equal property values could pay different amounts of property tax.
ADOPTED: Anchorage, October 17, 2000
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
Resolution #2
State Funding for School District Activities
WHEREAS, school district budgets cannot adequately fund both instructional and activity costs;
WHEREAS, participation fees are increasing to save programs, which is causing some students to be eliminated / not participate;
WHEREAS, research supports a direct, positive relationship between student’s academic success and their involvement in activities;
WHEREAS, activities are widely supported by parents, educators, and communities as healthy alternatives for students;
WHEREAS, interest in activities is increasing as demonstrated by additional state culminating tournaments in soccer, softball, and baseball;
WHEREAS, costs for activities has increased over the past decade while school district budgets have not;
WHEREAS, school districts are being forced to choose between eliminating classes or activities;
THEREFORE IT IS RESOLVED that AASSP requests the Alaska legislature develop separate formula funded allocation for student activities which supplement, but does not restrict the use of current foundation formula funds or local contributions effective the 2001-02 school year.
ADOPTED: Anchorage, October 17, 2000
Alaska Association of School Administrators
Resolution #3
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
WHEREAS, nothing is more effective at raising student achievement than quality teachers; and
WHEREAS, Alaska and the United States are experiencing a teacher shortage; and
WHEREAS, teacher turnover is at best disruptive and at worst disabling to education reform, and is an especially an acute problem in rural Alaska; and
WHEREAS, the need for committed, quality teachers has never been greater; and
WHEREAS, Alaska Student Loans serve a valuable public purpose by enabling thousands of Alaska students to attend colleges and universities each year; and
WHEREAS, Alaska Student Loan program terms have been higher than those available through private lenders and have only recently been reduced and remain more expensive than those offered by federal loan programs; and
WHEREAS, the current Teacher Scholarship Loan program serves only a limited number of students each year, and those are limited to rural districts; and
WHEREAS, the Alaska student loan forgiveness program that ended in the 1980’s enticed many educated Alaskans to return to our state where, by the time the forgiveness cycle had run its course, those young people had established homes and families; and
WHEREAS, Alaska benefits when Alaskans return to make their homes in our state; and
WHEREAS, the federal Department of Education now forgives the first $5000 of federal student loans for teachers who work five years in needy schools; and
WHEREAS, demographic trends make it unlikely that Alaska educational institutions will even under the best of circumstances, be able to produce more than one third of the teachers our schools need each year; and
WHEREAS, the investment needed to fund a teacher loan forgiveness program would pay great dividends to Alaska in the form of better schools, teachers, and more capable students;
THEREFORE IT IS RESOLVED the Alaska Association of School Administrators calls upon the Alaska Commission of Post-secondary Education, the Governor, and the Legislature to reinstate a loan forgiveness program for teachers and administrators working under contract in Alaska schools.
ADOPTED: Anchorage, October 17, 2000
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