Budget Cuts
Dear Editor: As Sitka, the State of Alaska and the U.S. government face proposed drastic cuts to a number of items in the annual budgets we (members of Delta Kappa Gamma, Iota chapter of women educators) want to share with you a brief rundown on some of those cuts and how the readers can share their thoughts with the elected representatives of the local Assembly and School Board and the state House of Representatives and state Senate.
Because DKG represents educators, let’s look at the proposed cuts to education. The Sitka School District could lose as many as 20-plus teaching positions, increasing class sizes at all grade levels, and faces a deficit of funding from the CBS of about $750,0000. The local school board has done its part with several well-attended meetings where input was welcomed. Add to that, the impact of the cuts to education at the state level, the tight Federal budget and about all you see are “red figures.” This is where “we, the voters” have to step up and engage in careful, thoughtful discussions to help the SSD make painful decisions. No ranting, shouting, accusatory statements needed; just civil, rational discourse to reach a satisfactory compromise!
Indirectly, negatively affecting the education community are the crippling cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway system, with several vessels marked for sale and stops such as Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell either eliminated or reduced to inadequate service for all or part of the year. Competitive sports, music and debate groups from local schools will have to raise funds to participate with other groups by air travel.
We believe it is past time for voters to study and inform themselves BEFORE rather than AFTER elections. The info is out there, neighbors! Use your local paper, your computer/phone/TV, the local meetings of the Assembly and School Board, the local Legislative Information Office which has contact names, email addresses and phone numbers for elected state officials as well as scheduled opportunities to testify on budget items or submit written testimony. Ken Fate is always ready to help with information and aid in finding info you need to become informed.
We do not want or need outside, self-interested organizations with questionable intentions instructing state officials or making decisions with red pens for elected officials or for us. We have a duty and a responsibility to be heard publicly rather than just expressing our wishes over a cup of coffee, followed by months of self-pitying complaining when the decision is not what we wanted. We can and must do better than perpetuating ignorance and anger! Our democracy is at stake! There’s an old, somewhat funny saying “We have met the enemy and it is us.”
Dorrie Farrell for
Delta Kappa Gamma
Music Matters
Dear Editor: I am hearing way too much about the economy. The economy is just something we have to do. This goes along with the overemphasis on technology. Are you seriously telling me that an iPhone is the crown of creation? Sorry. No way. Long ago, this was narrowed down to a contest between string and wind instruments.
It is no song and dance. Humans will make music long after the last dollar is gone. Humans made music before anyone had the questionable idea of a dollar. In Sitka, we pursue the humanity of music in the school music program. It probably is the most important thing our schools do. Math, science, and the aspiration to communicate started when good listeners realized that music contains everything that is worth knowing. When we evaluate school activities, we must remember that the kids will find a way to make a dollar, but music is the primordial humanity that will most guide and enrich them.
John Welsh, Sitka
