 Education a Minority Priority When it Suits Them May 01, 2003
It was the hope of the majority that an education commissioner would be in place before the arrival of Secretary Rod Paige, on Saturday, May 3, for a four-day visit, so that productive relationships could be formed and earnest discussions about the federal "No Child Left Behind" mandate could be addressed. Secretary Paige is touring not just Alaska, but many parts of rural America so that he can make recommendations to Congress about possible changes on areas of flexibility in implementing the mandate. The governor has stressed that the State must have the leadership and vision of a new commissioner in order to address this pressing issue. The Alaska Republicans noted in a news release that the Democrats have said repeatedly that the No Child Left Behind program has significant ramifications for rural school districts in particular, but failed to be constructive when they had an opportunity to address this issue in a responsible manner say . "I can not figure out or understand why the Democrats would block this piece of legislation other than for political vanity," said Senator Gene Therriault. "But we were not deterred and we did what was right for all of Alaska and re-worked the bill so that Secretary Paige could meet with our State's Commissioner of Education during his visit. It will also get the acting Commissioner the assistance she has desperately needed." Despite the attempts of the minority to politically damage the governor at the expense of education, the Alaska Republicans said the Senate was able to return to second reading on HB 140 and get a retroactive effective date that did not require the minority vote. This means the governor is free to fill the Commissioner's position. Therriault has said many times that for a Legislature to be truly effective all groups must work together and that it disappoints him to see the Democrats working in this extremely petty and clearly partisan manner, which carries heavy ramifications. "I think the Democrats believe that by obstructing the work being done here in Juneau it will paint the majority as being unable to get the job done in a responsible manner," said Therriault. "We will continue to get the job done, as we did today [Wednesday] - without succumbing to the blackmail tactics of a few members of the minority. At the start of the session I said I wanted to work with the minority to assure that we move Alaska forward in a positive and responsible manner. That is an invitation that remains open to the minority."
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