What do you think the priority should be for Gov. Sarah Palin and the Legislature in 2007?
• Negotiating a natural gasline contract.
• Fixing inequities in the way schools across Alaska are funded.
• Finding a permanent solution to funding the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System.
• Developing a long-term fiscal plan.
• Other.
Selected comments:
• Being a student in an underfunded, unequal school system is just as frustrating as it can be limiting. Homer gracefully makes do with what it can, but a quality education will always be better than what can be pulled together using limited resources. Alaska is a natural resource and vocational skill based state. If we are to produce enough resources to provide a viable economy in the future, we’ve got to have the upcoming generations trained and competent in their fields, whether it’s educating the next set of students or welding the next pipeline.
— Hannah Harrison, Homer
• The United States is in 19th place in the world in education. We need to upgrade our educational system! We need to get our teachers teaching instead of worrying about raises and better retirement plans. Education should be about generations of children, not teachers and administrators, if we as a country are to continue to be a leader in the world.
— Rick Barrett, Kenai
• My husband and I are both Alaska Natives. He has worked in Prudhoe Bay for 20 years. I have been reading the local newspapers and the village schools are suffering. I was on the Chignik Bay school board in the ’80s. We struggled for funding. The villages need help.
— Laurie Lewis, Brinnon, Wash.
This week’s
online poll question:
What do you think the priority should be for Gov. Sarah Palin and the Legislature in 2007?
• Negotiating a natural gasline contract.
• Fixing inequities in the way schools across Alaska are funded.
n Finding a permanent solution to funding the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System.
• Developing a long-term fiscal plan.
• Other.
To vote: Go to
www.homernews.com
• Readers also can let us know the reasons behind their answers.
• Suggestions for future poll questions can be submitted through the Homer News Web site or by e-mail at news@homernews.com.
• Don’t forget to write. Please include your address and a contact phone number. Letters should be limited to 300 words.
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
