Dunleavy wrong again: There is no 'education cabal'

In a state propaganda piece marked by the recycling of his bonehead talking points about public education, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has nothing new to say, other than a fresh insult for those who don’t agree with him—the “education cabal,” which he repeats four times.

“Let’s call them what they are: the Education Cabal.”

“But shockingly, that very same Education Cabal helped kill the incentive. They claim to support teachers — until real solutions are offered.”

“Why does this cabal demand that your children attend failing schools, while some of them quietly send their own children to elite private institutions?”

“These are not rhetorical questions. These are the hard truths that need to be answered. And if the Education Cabal won’t answer them, then we as Alaskans must answer with action.”

Dunleavy, and perhaps the state employees who put words in his mouth, probably think they are onto something with the cabal crack. They aren’t. It’s a sign of desperation.

On social media, Dunleavy attacked the “NEA Cabal,” but someone must have decided to tone him down.

In the past he has attacked “special interests,” meaning the unionized teachers he claims are not interested in kids.

Dunleavy is lying. There is no education cabal. There is no NEA cabal.

But there are legislators, school boards, school administrators, teachers, parents, students and all sorts of people across the state who want to support public education and see it as essential for the future of our state.

That’s not a cabal. That’s public engagement.

As a legislator and governor, Dunleavy has consistently shown a lack of respect for the opinions of others and presented himself as the expert.

He never stops complaining that those with other ideas about education simply want to spend money and don’t care about education policy.

He can’t get this lie out of his head.

In a press conference in January, he claimed that reporters have failed to make it clear that he cares about policy, while what he called “the other side” only cares about money.

“I have to be honest with you guys, the narrative, the story is not complete. And it's not being written, I think, to be honest with you, in a complete fashion,” he said.

“I've been talking about policy and money for years. We put money in. We continue to put money in. We're putting money in this. Money, money, money’s going in. Money. So, let's just make sure we understand. Money is going in. Okay? So, thank you,” he said.

Dunleavy motioned to a reporter.

“She's going to write that down. ‘Dunleavy says money’s going in.’ At least somebody will. OK?”

He asked reporter Sean Maguire of the Anchorage Daily News if the reporter was OK with the poor performance of Alaska on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, with marks near the bottom of the nation. He asked Maguire if he would be excited about those scores if he ever has a child in school.

“Are you okay with that? Yes or no? Are you okay with this? Are you okay with this? Yes or no? There we go. There we go. No answer. No answer. No answer. Gotcha,” said Dunleavy.

“Is anybody in this room OK with us being at 51, 51st in our NAEP scores? Is anyone here, raise your hand if you're saying that's great. And then explain to me why because it might be a different universe I dwell in. We’re doing money. We’re not just focusing on charter schools. This is a complete package.”

“The other side just wants money and they want us to shut up about this,” Dunleavy said.

“That’s the problem. You can’t shut up about this, it stares you right in the face. I don’t know if people here in this room have children or are gonna some day. I can guarantee you this. You’re not just gonna kick them out the door, I hope, and just hope they come back home after four o’clock. I got a feeling you’re gonna try and figure out what’s the best environment for those kids.”

“My job, the moral imperative is for me to put policy forth that changes this paradigm. So I focused on neighborhood schools. I focused on charter schools. I focused on home schools. I focused on mission schools. I’m focused on tech schools. I’m focused on language immersion schools.”

“Just get your friends on the other side that are just focused on money to also talk about this,” he said, pointing to the poor Alaska showing on the NAEP charts.

He ranted on and on, pretending that in Alaska Dunleavy occupies one side, in pursuit of the best educational policies.

And the other side just wants money.

“So do me a favor, make the headline this: ‘Dunleavy asks why it’s just about money? And why there’s not just as strong as an effort to get policy? Ask. Can I pay you? I’ll buy, I’ll get a subscription to your newspaper if you put that headline on it.”

I wrote here in January that Dunleavy would not accomplish anything this year on education policy unless he stopped acting as if he had all the answers. He hasn’t stopped.

His delusion about “the other side” and the “Education cabal” is insulting to the many people in Alaska who believe in public schools and are making a sincere effort.

No one believes that money alone is the solution. A competent governor would understand.

Dunleavy appears ready to veto the education bill approved by the Legislature. The Legislature should override the veto.

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