School buses drop students off at Thunder Mountain High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2015. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

School buses drop students off at Thunder Mountain High School on Monday, Sept. 21, 2015. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Opinion: Cutting education, public safety funding is an ‘outrage’

“Our children and grandchildren deserve better.”

  • By NATHAN SOBOLEFF
  • Friday, February 1, 2019 9:42am
  • Opinion

How can our newly elected governor deobligate $20 million for education and $3 million for the vital Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) programs? What happened to the “man who chose education as a career, because I love helping kids and I love learning and teaching”? Those words are quoted from Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s State of the State address last week. What happened to that man? He also declared a “war on criminals.” How can you declare a war on criminals and then defund the first line of defense in remote communities?

“We all feel a deep sense of gratitude to the men and women who served as emergency responders. They are Alaska heroes. There were countless examples of Alaskans who made us proud … School teachers kept kids safe and evacuated them from unsafe buildings … Neighbors helping neighbors. That’s what Alaska is all about,” Dunleavy said in his address.

So what about Alaska’s heroes, Gov. Dunleavy? What happened to neighbors helping neighbors? Isn’t that what Alaska is all about? “Our children and grandchildren deserve better,” Dunleavy also said.

[Gov’s bills include $20M slash to education]

If any legislator has children, grandchildren or great grandchildren, you owe it to your descendants and the future of Alaska to fully fund education and make Alaska the highest performing state in the nation. Excellent schools create strong communities, which reduce the numbers of suicides, prevent school shootings and reduce violence and crime. Schools create citizens, business people and leaders. They instill principles and character into people who will in turn grow up to become great Alaskans. They will become great Alaskans who will fight for our great state.

Finally to quote our governor again, “And when it comes to sexual assault, Alaska stands alone. Our sexual assault rate is the highest in the nation … Anchorage, which has 132 sexual assaults per 100,000 people. That’s almost five times that of New York City. Let that sink in … This is an outrage. Plain and simple. The women and children of Alaska, must be made safe, and we have an obligation, all of us in this room, to do everything we possibly can to stop this scourge in Alaska.”

Governor, to pull funding from education and the VPSO is an outrage. We must do everything we possibly can so I am calling you and your administration out and holding you to a high standard to keep Alaskans safe, and to create the best possible future for Alaskans by not cutting from these two programs.


• Nathan Soboleff is lifelong Alaskan who resides in Juneau. My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire.


More in Opinion

Web
Have something to say?

Here’s how to add your voice to the conversation.

The headquarters of NPR in Washington on April 20, 2020. (Ting Shen/The New York Times)
Opinion: Why Trump wants to kill public broadcasting

He expects the networks to misrepresent any truth and censor any opinion that makes him look bad.

Juneau Empire file photo
Letter to the Editor: Please celebrate responsibly

This past July 3 our neighborhood experienced an “earth shattering” and noisy display of extremely loud fireworks

Ken Post. (Courtesy photo)
My Turn: It’s time for a seasonal sales tax

There is no perfect seasonal sales tax, but it’s hard to pass up an opportunity to help CBJs fill its coffers

Children are photographed outside their now shuttered school, Pearl Creek Elementary, in August 2024 in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Photo provided by Morgan Dulian)
My Turn: Reform doesn’t start with cuts

Legislators must hold the line for Alaska’s students

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks to Anchor Point residents during a community meeting held at the Virl "Pa" Haga VFW Post 10221 on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Big beautiful wins for Alaska in the Big Beautiful Bill

The legislation contains numerous provisions to unleash Alaska’s extraordinary resource economy.

Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Department of Education and Early Development, discusses the status of school districts’ finances during a press conference with Gov. Mike Dunleavy at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: The fight to improve public education has just begun

We owe our children more than what the system is currently offering

The author and her husband carry an American flag during the Fourth of July parade, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kate Troll)
My Turn: Claiming the flag on the Fourth of July

Now, here cheering the flag were other immigrants with an uncertain future. What were they cheering about?

Doug Mills/The New York Times file photo 
President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018.
Opinion: Mistaking flattery for respect

Last Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated President Donald Trump for… Continue reading

Most Read