NEA-Alaska Legislative Candidate Questionnaire
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Candidate: Peggy Robinson |
Office: House 19 |
Adequate Funding
1. Do you support a needs
based process for determining the level of school funding?
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Yes Explain: Educational costs vary widely throughout this state, so we need good
data on which to base school funding.
I have worked in rural schools and have seen the differing costs. |
If you support needs based
funding, how would you accomplish this?
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The American Institutes for Research's Cost Studey should be seriously
considered. Disagreements with their
data and analysis should be discussed, modified if necessary, adopted, and
used to adjust funding levels. |
2. Do you support a return to the instructional unit approach to funding schools?
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No Explain: It was confusing to not have funding based directly on individual student enrollment. The extra funding that some districts lost for ESL, SPED, and Vocational students have created hardships. |
3. The recent changes in funding for pupil
transportation have had negative impacts in a number of school districts. How would you address this issue?
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Districts may have special circumstances that
cannot be overcome by adopting efficiencies, i.e. homeless student
transportation. Going back to cost
reimbursement or allowing for supplemental funding should be done. |
4. Will you commit to working with NEA-Alaska
and other groups in developing a long-range plan to supplement current funding
levels and achieve adequate funding for schools within a decade?
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Yes |
Attracting & Retaining Quality
Educators
1. Fiscal uncertainty has caused many “new to
the profession” educators to leave Alaskan school districts and even leave the
state. What would you do to eliminate this annual event that has cost our state
so many valuable educators?
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The state should develop an educational endowment or other mechanism to
provide adequate and consistent sources of funding. The funding amounts need to come early
enough to avoid lay-off notices. |
2. Would you work to amend state statute to make
sure that district claims of financial shortfalls are verified by independent
third parties when dealing with the layoff of tenured teachers?
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No Explain: Statutes layout the steps and criteria
that need to be met. The projected
decreases in attendance and/or basic need should be verifiable locally and
are part of the layoff plan. |
Elementary
and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind (ESEA/NCLB)
1. Would you support categorical funding so educators (teachers and instructional aides) can receive professional development to meet the standards set by ESEA/NCLB?
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Yes |
2. What amendments to the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) do you believe need to be made
to make the law workable in Alaska?
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Drop required bussing. Develop alternatives for highly qualified
secondary teachers in small rural schools.
Allow alternative methods to show student improvement, especially for
special education. Lessen the
attendance threshold. |
3. What are you willing to
do in concert with NEA-Alaska and other organizations to amend No Child Left
Behind to be “Alaska friendly” and to gain full funding of the Act?
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I would work with our Congressional Delegation
and other states' legislative bodies to pressure the President and
Congress. I have seen many of these
issues firsthand. |
High Stake Testing.
1. This past year, some students did not receive
diplomas for the sole reason they did not pass the High School Graduation
Qualifying Examination (HSGQE.) Would
you support amending the law to allow schools to assess student knowledge and
abilities through a variety of means and not just through a single test?
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Yes |
2. Would you support funding for additional
programs/staff to specifically assist students having difficulty passing the
HSGQE?
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Yes |
3. Would you support categorical funding for
district-developed remedial programs for students who do not meet standards on
Alaska’s benchmark exams?
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No |
PERS/TRS
1. Would you support a single tier for each
public retirement system as a means of attracting and retaining quality
educators?
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No |
2. How would you see the state’s public
retirement systems meeting their increasing financial burden?
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Health care costs hsould be closely monitored and
savings negotiated whenever possible.
Investments need to perform better.
|
Vouchers
1. Do you support the use of public money for
private and religious schools?
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No |
2. Would you support vouchers?
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No |
3. Would you support tuition tax credits
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No |
Safe Schools
1. Students and staff must feel safe and secure
in our schools for learning to take place.
Would you support funding for programs/staff that have been demonstrated
to increase student and staff safety?
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Yes Explain: Many effective programs have been developed that need to be more widely disseminated. Besides staff training, tailoring them to individual schools requires additional staff time and community involvement. |
Note: …. indicates the
response has been truncated.