Remove men from women's support. End of DEI and the federal government. Follow through on more promises. Supported criminal illegal aliens. Not just 100 days. Every day. Newsradio 650 KENI. Good morning. It is hump day. We finally made it to Wednesday. Today is April 30th. And it's 6.06 a.m. Oh, my word. Oh, my word. It is, you know, the problem is, y'all, when I start, I do my show prep late at night.
Well, not late at night. I like to be in bed by 9. That did not happen last night. I was on the phone last night. I don't even know what time. I mean, if you look at what time I sent you the show prep, it was ridiculously late. Because I was on the phone with person. I know, you know why? Because I spent like five hours last night on the phone with people from Juneau. No, I don't. Tell me. Some people from not Juno.
We won't isolate where. But it was, you know, I got to be honest with you. I told you this. Whenever I disagree with somebody, I will give them more time than somebody I agree with. And I had a couple legislators that I really wanted to talk to because I was trying to understand why they voted the way they voted when I so adamantly disagreed. Did they convince me? No. But did I give them the opportunity to? Yes. And do I appreciate the commentary? Sure, I do. But I've got to tell you.
We had some very candid conversations. You know how kind of blunt I am. That does not change behind the scenes. It probably gets worse, to be honest with you. It's a steel bar from a butter knife. Okay. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. We'll get into that conversation a little bit later. But, you know, I did give people the opportunity to change my mind.
You know, and so hopefully a little bit later today, we had some last-minute shuffles that were happening. So you notice on my show lineup, I have mystery guests potentially calling in at 7.05. It was supposed to be a legislator. And then at last minute, they're subbing out a legislator. They've made a sub out. And I think they're calling in reinforcements to try to make their point. So we'll see. We'll see who calls in. Maybe nobody at 705. We'll see.
But I do expect at least one legislator to call in today. So we'll see who actually calls in and see if we can make some conversation happen around what's happening in the legislature. But it'll be interesting. That's the word we're using right now. It'll be an interesting conversation. You know, I hope it's a fruitful conversation. But I give everybody the opportunity to bring me new information, change my mind.
And they can bring raisins for me because I like a fruitful conversation, too. Yeah, there you go. Love it. Love it. Well, what's your temperature in Anchorage right now? 40 degrees. Oh, I got you beat. Oh, really? 44.5 right now in Palmer. Great. Google Google. 44.5. Yeah, it's not bad. Kenai's checking in at 40. Big Lake's checking in at 40. Fairbanks is checking in at 37 degrees. Not too bad, not too bad.
It's going to be another one of those rainy days, a little bit of rain here and there. It is pretty windy. Last night when I came home, Palmer's been windy, and it's windy again this morning. I'm looking out right now as the trees are swaying back and forth. Not too bad. Wind gust right now about. 11.9 miles per hour right here at my house. So not too bad. Just a little breezy. So I decided to go double check my temperature. Yeah. Because you were so much warmer. Yes. I'm down to 39.
What can I tell you, Daryl? I can't help it. It's hot. It's hot. I exude heat. I'm going back to doing push-ups with my spider. I was going to say, I was wondering what he was doing. Daryl sometimes, you know, he's very entertaining. That is for sure. I wasn't sure what you were doing over there. Oh, yeah, that's a spider doing push-ups on a mirror. I was going to say, you definitely find ways to entertain yourself. Yes.
I love it. I love it. Well, speaking about entertaining, let's get into it. Let's start with our public announcements for this morning. So first up, the abbreviated plat that was scheduled for the Matsuburo this morning at 8.30 has been canceled. The Greater Palmer Consolidated Fire Service Area Board of Supervisors is going to have a meeting today at 9 a.m. at the Palmer Fire Training Center. At 10 a.m., the Board of Adjustments and Appeals, case number 24-03, has an appeal hearing.
That will be at 10 AM again. I'm looking at this for just a second. It's going to be in the assembly chambers located at 350 East Dahlia Avenue in Palmer. Of course, that's a big borough building. One o'clock today, the Board of Equalization has appeal hearings. That's going to be in the lower level conference room of the borough building. The Midway Road Service Area Board of Supervisors has a meeting today at 3.30 in the O&M Conference Room located at 1420 South Industrial Way in Palmer.
Also today, the Sutton Community Council has a meeting at 7 p.m. They meet at Sutton Public Library. 7 p.m. tonight Willow Road Service Area Board of Supervisors also has a meeting they meet at the Willow Public Library in the conference room. And that does it for the Mat-Su Borough. If you need more information on the meetings that are happening in the Mat-Su Borough for today, just go to matzugov.us.
I didn't see anything on the calendar for Palmer or Wasilla, so we're going to skip on over to the municipality of Anchorage. The only thing I see on their calendar today is there's a Quality Municipal Services Ethics and Election Committee meeting. That's going to be at 12. I know. I love how they changed it. They added quality on there like it's going to change the outcome. All those words going together, yeah. I know, I know, I know.
But that's going to be at noon today at City Hall in room 155, so the big conference room downstairs. And that's it for the Anchorage Assembly today. If you want more information on that, just go to muni.org and click on the Assembly tab. It'll bring you to their home landing page. And then as I am looking at other events that are going on, there's nothing today for the Kenai Peninsula Borough, City of Kenai, or Soldotna. So we're going to skip on down to Homer.
And the only thing on their calendar today is they have a Port and Harbor Advisory Commission work session. That's going to kick off at 5.30 tonight at the Cal's Council Chamber located at Homer City Hall. which is located at 491 East Pioneer Avenue in Homer. You can attend by Zoom or by phone. If you need more information, just go to cityofhomer-ak.gov.
look to the right of the home landing page and you'll see it listed right there under meetings that are happening. So straightforward today, not a whole lot on local government calendars. But of course, as always, if you know something that's going on that you think people should be aware of, I'm always happy to plug it.
just let me know. It doesn't have to be a government meeting. It can just be something fun. We're always happy to plug that, too. All you have to do is give us a call, 522-0650. We're going to go ahead and take our first break of the morning. We'll be right back.
Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Wednesday morning. Currently light traffic inbound on the Glen Highway still. No major stoppages out there. Traffic around town is looking pretty good. If you see traffic problems. Kids who've been waiting over a year and their wait. Sponsor a child with. We'll see cloudy skies. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Eric Morrison. 907-522-0907.
I'm 618. Well, you know, the other day when I was on the air, I laughed because it's kind of a blessing being able to go first. Because all these other national outlets and everybody hasn't really had a chance to figure out what, I mean, they haven't gone on the air yet. So they haven't been able to present what has happened. And I can't tell you how many times I have stories lined up in my show lineup that I just don't get to.
You know, I get distracted sometimes, and I will totally go down that rabbit trail. And I know that was me, Daryl. I left my computer on. Daryl was trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. It was coming from me. But anyways, so I laugh because when we come on the air and all of a sudden Trump has all the mug shots lining the White House lawn, like I couldn't help it because a lot of times I'll do the show and I have Fox News on in the background.
And, you know, I did remember just to mute it just now. I'll have it on so I can see it, and it has closed captions so I can kind of read it as I'm doing the show. And I laugh because you could see on the White House lawn they had all these mug shots of all these illegals that they had rounded up. And the media has no choice. But to cover it, because it's in the background of all their shots for the live feeds for that day. And man, I mean, Trump is at troll level 100.
He is like the greatest troll of all time. And the longer he is in the political game, the more blunt he is and the more people like him. He is just so direct. And I think it's refreshing because people know exactly what they're going to get with Trump.
They just ask him. And he's like, this is it. That's what's driving the MSNBC and all the rest, the Democrats, all of them nuts, is because it is. What you see is what you get. Exactly. And he doesn't mince words. He says, yep, we're going to do that. And he does it. And then everybody freaks out. Well, yeah, I said I was going to do that. Exactly. Exactly. So...
You know, I just sit there and I listen to them, and there were so many good things. Like I said, you know, it's been fun for me, and I will pull some of them, and I have done it. But watching everybody kind of dissect Trump's first 100 days. Listen, he's been in office since January 20th. Just over three months. Not very long. And he has accomplished more than some presidents accomplish in their entire term, I think.
Yeah, but it's unbelievable. He was at a rally in Michigan yesterday, and I will say, I think there were pieces and parts of his speech that were on fire, and I think he did a great job in that one. But I had to laugh because the White House also released yesterday to coincide with, you know, the first 100 days. White House lists dozens of hoax pushed by the media.
and Trump critics in the first 100 days. I just was chuckling when I said it. They went on to list 57 different purported hoaxes spread by the critics and the media and Democrats. You know, and I was just chuckling as I listed it because he keeps re-exposing the media for what they are. It's a propaganda tool of the left. That's what it is. Everybody knows it.
Anybody who has any bit of critical thinking realizes you can't trust the media. I mean, that's just the reality. You have to do your own digging. You have to say, okay, look at everything. with some, you know, colored glasses and say, okay, let's have a filter on here and say, is this legit? I mean, and it's so funny. One of them, he said,
The hoax by Representative Eric Swalwell. He's a Democrat from California. He claimed no president presided over more plane crashes during their first month in office than President Trump. Well, easily refuted. In the first few weeks of President Biden's term, there were 55 aviation accidents in the U.S. between Biden's inauguration on January 21, 2021, and February 17, 2021, compared to 35 during the same period for Trump. See, these are easy things to fact check.
You know, when they started questioning him about whether, in fact, U.S. taxpayer dollars were going to study transgender mice, they tried to say that wasn't true. That was true. All of them, they threw a big narrative, like when you were talking about the airplane crashes. The narrative was Donald Trump fired every air traffic controller. It's because of him that the planes are crashing. The mic.
We're not making transgender mice an experiment. Well, actually, you are. It's like, this is what you're doing. You're making them act that way. Well... But that's not what they're meant to be used for. See, we're going to use them for this. Changing words. Exactly. It doesn't matter. I mean, the facts were true. Governor of Illinois, J.B. Prisker, tried to claim. without even looking to see if it was true that ICE agents had conducted a raid at an elementary school. It was false. Not true.
Uh... That was the FBI coming for some meeting. It was the Secret Service. That's what it was. Yeah. So Mayor Johnson went on to correct, of all people to correct the record, Mayor Brandon Johnson. He said today's Secret Service agents, not ICE, were present at John Hamline Elementary School. While people across the city are worried about heightened immigration enforcement, it's imperative that individuals not spread unverified information.
I mean, but that's sad when Brandon Johnson's the one correcting the record. But it just goes on and on and on about, you know, all these different faults. stories that the media spread and I laughed because I was thinking about Trump and I grabbed this audio clip it's really really short But this is why people love Trump. So Trump sits down with ABC in the White House. He sits down with ABC for an interview in the White House.
And he just starts, look, I've got to be honest with you, if you're a politician these days, You could take a couple cues from Trump on how to deal with the media. Because I'm telling you, if you're showing up to interview Trump and you're a media personality, you better come prepared. ask succinct questions, Because if you ask questions like this guy from ABC here, Trump's going to call you out on it. And this is why I think the American people love him so much. Go ahead, girl.
Fraud is a crime. There have been no referrals to the Justice Department at any. Well, you don't know that, do you? How do you know that? Have there been referrals? How would you know that, that there were no referrals? I think there were referrals.
No investigation from the... How do you know that? I'm asking you, sir. No, you're not asking me. You made a statement. Now I'm asking you. There was a statement that you made. I'm asking you. Have there been? Yes, there have been. So there have been referrals for fraud from the... Take a look at some of these things that took place. Millions of dollars were given to people for no reason whatsoever. See, that was a great little exchange. Beautiful.
Really, and this is what they do. They start with a statement. They don't know what the heck they're talking about. They start with a statement of, you know, basically trying to criticize the Trump administration for outing doge efforts and finding fraud, waste, and abuse, right? Because that's really where they're saying, well, you say there's all this fraud, but there's been no referrals. How do you know that? You never ask the question.
And he's like, well, there's been no investigations. Well, how do you know there's been no investigations? Yes, there have been. And Trump just kind of calls them on it. And this is my point. I've seen Trump a couple different times now with, well, not just a couple, dozens now of times.
because he's given that many, you know, interviews. But he will take the hostiles, and he brings them in. And I didn't pull the part where he talks about how bad ABC is, and this is why you guys are so bad. But I'm telling you, I mean. Look, if you're going to interview Trump and you're a reporter, you better be bringing your A game because his patience level, he's not taking it anymore. He is not having it. He's calling them out and he's making them look stupid.
Right there, as you were pointing out. So he makes a statement. There's been no referrals into this. And Trump says, there haven't. And then he's like, Have there? So he all of a sudden starts interviewing TrotPod. Have there been this? Have there been those? Oh, well, I made the statement there wasn't, but have there so... They don't know, and they're asking the questions after they've made the statements. A, first of all, that is not journalism. Not journalism.
No, it goes back to this. They want to load their question, so they have to get their commentary up front, and they're trying to put them in a position. You know, when did you stop kicking that puppy? You know, when did you stop beating your wife? You know, it's kind of like one of those questions about, you know, people who beat their wives are terrible people. And, you know, when did you stop? Wait, wait, wait.
Are you done bankrupting the company? Are you done bankrupting this company? Exactly, exactly. But this is the kind of – that's why I kind of chuckle because, look. Media does it all the time. People do it all the time where they front load questions. And sometimes, look, sometimes I front load questions. I'll readily admit it. I mean, it's a natural tendency of people, especially when you're trying to set up a question, for example.
If I'm trying to give somebody an assist, see, this is Amy 101. Look, every time I invite somebody onto the show, it's like inviting them over to your house. You want to be polite and respectful. You want to give them an opportunity to get their perspective out. And sometimes I might give somebody a little hint. I might give somebody a little hint. For example, it's not really complicated with me when it comes to legislative spending. I am going to ask you, where did the money come from?
and what are we going to get for it right people know calling into this show people know calling into this show That I expect if you're going to take money out of my pocket to spend on something, there better be something of value we're getting in return for it. So you know that going into it. So you know going into the interview, that's what I'm going to ask you. And so you might say, look, this bill passed with a very large price tag on it.
what is the benefit we're going to get from it? So people, that is a loaded question a little bit, right? But it's a softball. In my opinion, it's a softball. It's a set of questions. It's a, hey, I'm signaling to you that I think this is a lot of money. Now I want you to justify for me why you spent it. Now, I feel like I'm a lot nicer than some interviewers. Dan Fagan, I will tell you, he's the king of gotcha. He was the king of gotcha. This is why a lot of legislators...
you know, would shy away from calling into Dan because he would always put him in a corner. And he would put him in those situations where they're like, oh, this is a bad place to be, you know, for example. You know, I'm going to call a sitting legislator and have him come on the show, and then I'm going to have him, you know, talk trash about the governor. It's never a good place for legislators to be during session. Never a good place.
So I always try to be a little cognizant of that because, look, we want to have the dialogue. We want to have the conversation. But I'm not going to shy away from my values. But if I genuinely don't know the answer to a question, I'm not going to start like this ABC reporter and say, well, there's been no referrals to the DOJ for fraud, but you're saying you're finding all this fraud. Why haven't there been?
So you're making a massive assumption there. So there's a difference in, I think, how you present the question. And the ABC reporter, again, half the time, you don't ask a question you don't already know the answer to. frankly politics 101 in my view I mean I can't tell you how many times
I was in hearings, and I had people coming to testify in front of me. I've already read the material. Nine times out of ten, I already know the answer before I ask the question. What I'm doing is I'm laying foundation for my argument. Now, do I always leave myself open for more information? Yes, 100% of the time. Maybe there's something I'm missing. And that's why it's a dialogue. You try to ask pertinent questions. that are relevant to the topic and hopefully the person calling in
will give you information that maybe you didn't have, or maybe that will change your mind. Okay. And other times, maybe it's just going to solidify your position. But I kind of laugh because with Trump, oh, it is a new day in American politics, I will tell you. And the fact that they're letting so many independent journalists now jump into the White House gaggle.
It is a beautiful thing because now the mainstream media can't control the narrative because there's so many independent voices that are in the White House asking questions, good questions, hard questions. I will tell you, DC Drano is there. This week, and he's asking them straight out, okay, you guys gave us the precursor here, the first round of the Epstein stuff. When's round two coming, and when are we going to get to some substantive type of information? I mean, it was a good question.
And it came from a Trump supporter asking them an actual legitimate question. We'll see. Obviously, there was no firm answer to that. But the fact is you have independent people that aren't part of the establishment propaganda machine that are asking questions, and I think that's a good thing. All right, let's go ahead and take a quick break. If you'd like to call in, 522-0650.
Police in Anchorage are investigating the death of a juvenile whose body was found in a car. Officers found the body near the intersection of East 13th Avenue and Carlick Street after someone called 911. Police say the body was that of a male juvenile but have said little else.
Lawmakers could send an updated school funding bill to the governor by today. The state Senate on Monday passed an amended House Bill 57 that added a $700 based student allocation to a bill related to student cell phone use. The bill passed by a 19 to 1 vote, although the Senate will have.
to revote on the bill due to a technical error and the deadline for removing studded snow tires from vehicles in south central alaska is coming up drivers need to change their tires by thursday of this week under state law it's illegal to operate a vehicle with studded tires from may 1st Through September 15th on paved roads north of 60 degrees of north latitude, DOT officials say studded tires on dry pavement can cause heavy damage. That's the latest. I'm John Fink.
Looking at your Alaska Total Traffic cameras on this Wednesday morning. Reach out to Amy now. Welcome back, current time, 6.39. Well, you know, we moved it up a little. All right, so this is what happened. Last night, I get a text message from a certain senator saying, hey, I'm going to call in tomorrow. Because so-and-so wants us to, you know, clear the air on HB 57.
And I said, sure, but you're going to get two questions from me. You need to know. I'm very skeptical. You're going to get two questions from me. Question number one, where's the money coming from? Question number two, what is our ROI? What is our return on investment? What actual policy changes are going to improve student outcomes? Silence, right? A few hours go by. Then I get a phone call last night from another senator. I'm on the phone for an hour, and I say, look.
This person is calling in tomorrow, and these are the two questions I'm going to ask because I don't believe in sandbagging people. These are the two questions I'm going to ask. And then 20 minutes, they're like, oh, okay. 20 minutes later. I get a text message. Instead of so-and-so calling in, we're going to have Bob Griffin call in. So I told you, Daryl, I expected this call at 7.05. But my dear friend...
Somebody that I look up to. Somebody that I respect immensely. He has the dubious task of trying to convince Amy that passing... HB 57 is a good thing. So, okay, with that lead-up, Mr. Griffin, you've been forewarned. I'd love to hear your take on it. Well, good morning, Amy. Hey, thanks for taking my call and letting me weigh in on this hot topic. I have a piece that's going to get posted to Must Read Alaska, kind of backing up some of the things that I'd love to talk to you.
on this, but, you know, I've been following this twisting road that we're getting down, and it's getting near the end of the session, and I think that the The good idea of fairies are... are kind of late for jumping in and adding more things to the pie at this time. It's very important. You said, you know, how are we going to pay for this? This is a huge fiscal note that's associated with this, and clearly that's in the court of Bert Stedman.
Something is going to have to be diverted away in order to... to pay for this. And there are some benefits. I see the key one for me is the incentivizing good behavior with the reading incentives. This is one of the key elements of the... Florida plan that they originally had, they incentivized things they like, they incentivized money for good reading scores, they incentivized for improving reading scores. incentivized schools by...
giving them an A through F score on their schools. It wasn't always for having the best scores. You got higher scores for having rapidly improving scores because we know we have some scores, we have some schools, and it's going to take a long time to bring kids up to speed. What we haven't had happen is move the needle in the right direction for a long time. And that element, I think this is very important.
But getting down to, I guess, the nuts of it, the strategic problem that we have is that if we're not able to come to some sort of compromise agreement and we have to keep on pulling out the The trump card of vetoing things that come true. It just feeds into the burn the house down crowd who would love to see this session end with nothing happen and no additional funding to go to K-12. And, you know, I've documented that we've funded K-12 to the help over the years that we have.
In the last 20 years, we've beat inflation by 30 points in our K-12 funding. 2010s, we have It's been much flatter than it was in those earlier years, and I think we kind of spoiled the school systems by... you know, pumping up the amount of money we gave to them earlier on and created that expectation that that was going to go on forever. And it's obviously...
Can't go on forever. Yeah, and I think, you know, for people that maybe aren't following politics this close, let me kind of give you the political setup. So, first of all, there's definitely been a move, and it's been reported to me by multiple legislators, that Willikowski is kind of in that camp of, let's burn it down this year, put no funding towards education. And what it'll look like is Republicans hate children and they don't want to be part of the solution.
why they put an unfunded $1,000 BSA in front of everybody. because they knew it wasn't funded, and they knew the governor would veto it, and they knew it would make Republicans look bad, like you're not supporting education. So that's the political game that is at play. So, Bob, let me get past the politics of it for people for just a second. And this is where I go back to.
So the reading grants that they've instituted, I think we're all in agreement. It's great. People, we have to have policies that are going to improve reading. So this is an incentive for school districts as they improve. that K through 6 grade reading, they will get extra money basically to incentivize it. The problem you have with this bill is they've tied that funding.
to Senate Bill 113, I think it is, which is the digital online tax. So basically it's a corporate tax to anybody who's selling anything online. they're going to be taxed. So, again, I mean, it's basically a form of a sales tax that's going to be taxed on because it will be passed through to consumers. And we expect. That is going to see a lot of Republican resistance, and the governor is probably going to veto it. That being the case, this portion then is unfunded.
Yeah, no, and I saw significant problems with that. Not a big fan of that tax. I've always said in the past that we need to, you know, reallocate resources. into things that we want to prioritize and that we're starting to turn the corner. We're seeing the first... You know, glimmers of success of the Alaska Reads Act. But we've just taken examples from places that have excelled, like Florida. Things like Florida, they... They incentivize the kids to pass AP tests.
And they've gone from one of the lowest rates of AP testing to the second in the nation. in a very short period of time. And it's a really good indication of the quality of high school graduates they're creating, that the rate of AP... Kids passing AP tests in Florida now is triple that of Alaska. And incentives really work. So I'm excited about the incentives. I'm not so excited.
about some of the other elements that came along. I agree with you. I think, look, I'll tell you what I like conceptually. Conceptually, I like the concept that we should be limiting cell phones in schools because I think it's a big distraction. I think that's a good thing. I think incentives. That's a bipartisan one there. Yeah, and I think that's a good thing.
I think the idea of incentivizing improvements is a good thing. I think investments in CTE is a good thing. These are all things that I generally support, but what I don't like, and this is where Amy's stomach goes in knots. I don't like it when they pass unfunded bills. And the reality is, number one, again, where's the money coming from to increase the base student allocation $700 per student? It's going to come from the PFD. We know that.
Number two, where is the money for these grants, these grant incentives coming from? They're coming from a bill that hasn't even passed the legislature yet and is likely going to be vetoed. That's a problem. Yeah, no, that's absolutely true, and I think there probably will be a different source of funding for those education grants. in the end, and I think those are definitely worth saving.
But you still can't lose sight of the strategic aspects of this. You know, all of the great reforms, all the... that are happening in the states that are having the best improvements in student outcomes, the Floridas, the Mississippis, the Indianas. They've had huge, huge Republican majorities for a long time. that we need to be working on here. No, I agree. I agree with you.
No, I totally agree with you. And I will say this, you know, I've been a big fan of, I think money should follow the child. I think parents should have way more choices and options. of where their kid goes to school because not every kid is the same. And that's why I'm a big proponent of CTE. You know, when we talk about Vogue Tech Education,
Not every kid is destined to be a neurosurgeon. Maybe, you know, they're going to have a great life and be a productive citizen as a welder. And I think that's a good thing. And so I think there's a lot of different things that happen. But what I'm seeing, the last waning moments of this legislative session, is I see, and I'm just going to say it bluntly because I said it very bluntly to the legislators I was talking to yesterday. They're covering their butt for 2026.
This looks like the Republicans caving to try to placate the NEA, and I personally, when I read this bill, I do not. I see a lot of squishy language. They may do this. They may do that. Nothing in here is locking them into it. They have to do it. And then they have an unfunded incentive in here.
I've got to be honest with you. I think this bill misses the mark. I think it's going to be a challenge. Bob, I'm running away late on my break. I'm going to put you on hold for just a second. I know you're being very patient with me because you're calling in from Europe. But I've got to take a quick break. When we come back, I'll let you respond to that. Because, again, you know, I'm struggling with this one. As I told my senator yesterday, I'm very disappointed.
in this particular legislation. I don't think it's going to do what people think it's going to do or they're saying it's going to do. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back. Despite the drier conditions, we will still hold on to some isolated to scattered showers today with highs warming into the upper 40s back in the 50s this weekend. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Aaron Morrison. Now back to...
Welcome back. Current time is 6.54. We have about two minutes. So I want Bob Griffin to have the last word because, like I said, I have a great deal of respect for Bob. And if anybody can talk me off the ledge, it's Bob Griffin. So, Bob. Please help change my mind on HB 57. Well, you are quite the community influencer because during our conversation I've been texted by several people and one big reliable source has told me there's
They found a path for funding. If that particular funding stream is vetoed, there's a secondary path. But, again, I have to get back to the... The bigger strategic issue, you know, we've got to split government. We've got to work. figure something out until we can figure out a path to get the majorities in both the House and Senate and the governor's office.
It's going to be tough to do major reforms, and sometimes could be better is just the enemy of good enough, and we just do not want to feed the burn-the-house-down crowd. Yeah, well, I'll tell you, you know, this was my expectation going into this second round. When I heard Lyman Hoffman be asked by Senator Kaufman, did you speak to the governor about this? Because we don't want to be back in this situation again. And he said, well, I've spoken to the other body.
That tells me they are putting the governor... and his real desires for effective policy change to the side so I was concerned about this and I thought well we're gonna be back at round three and maybe they'll actually sit down and talk to the governor and actually have a mediated solution I just don't think this bill
I think it falls short, and I feel like it's, you know, we'll see what it looks like out of the House. It's going to go over to the House for concurrence. If they don't concur, then they'll go conference committee. So maybe, maybe they'll change my mind. Maybe. I'm leaving the door open. for possibility Bob I know you are over in Switzerland right now so I hope you have an awesome trip and a safe flight home thank you so much for calling in this morning
Hey, thanks for letting me chime in there, Annie. Absolutely. Always the voice of reason. I appreciate it very much. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Hi folks, I'm Scott Jansen, the mushing mortician. I've run the Iditarod sled dog race seven times and was honored to receive the sportsmanship award in 2018. My wife Debbie and I, along with our son-in-law Jordan Eastman, own Jansen funeral homes. When families experience death and need to make arrangements,
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It is point counterpoint. My dad used to drive me crazy when I was a kid because he would agree with me on a topic, but he would never tell me that, and he would be devil's advocate. He would argue the other point to make me defend my argument. And I think when we're talking about substantive issues, it's good to have multiple perspectives. It doesn't mean we can't be friends. It just means that sometimes we're going to see things a little differently, and that's okay. It's fine.
I want to welcome to the show now somebody that I've known for a very long time, Representative Jamie Allard. Good morning, ma'am. Good morning, Hutch. How are you? I am very good. I'm very good. Well, you know, I will tell you, last night I spent about hours on the phone with legislators talking about HB 57 and kind of getting a feel for
Either it was why they voted the way they voted or why they were going to vote the way they were going to vote. And I heard from people on both sides of this issue last night. So I would love to get your take on... You know, what you think about HB 57, if you have concerns, if you're supporting it, what are your thoughts on HB 57? You know, there's.
There's a... Well, I'm just going to say it. There's nothing that mandates anything in the bill except that if you... decide that the one thing that is most important is the reads portion of it is linked to taxes i mean that that's not okay so right there i can't support that portion um and i would not assume i would assume the governor
approve of the bill to Lincoln. It was SB 113, isn't it, Amy? Yeah, I think so. I think so. It's a digital tax. In order for our children to learn better, you're saying to the governor, you have to approve taxes in order for that to happen. So that's a direct link. So right there, I can't support this bill. I know others are, and that's up to them. I'm not.
Everybody has their own reasoning. And also, it doesn't mandate the cell phone. I know I heard you say that. It really doesn't. It's up to the school district. to come up with a policy about how they're going to have the phones in the school. Well, they already do that. So that doesn't do this either. There was amendment put through, the amendment passed, and the amendment said a whole bunch of reasons why they don't have to do it.
There's that. And I'm trying to think of other things that are... There's nothing in the bill that's moving my needle. Well, you know, and I think that's fair. So for those just joining us, when we talk about House Bill 57, it started as a bill from Zach Fields that was to ban cell phones in schools, right? And then it has now been used as a vehicle to shove in a base student allocation increase to the foundation formula. So basically...
What it's going to introduce is it's going to go from a $5,960 base student allocation for school funding per student to $6,660 per student. But the funding is very unclear for me. So I always ask people, you know, when we see these bills, like, where's the money coming from? Well, it's going to come from the constituents' dividend. And we also have to realize, too, is that
When we're doing these type of bills, who has brought the bill forward? So although I voted for the cell phone bill, which was that, He also was the constructor for the Democrat Party, and we're going to give him this tremendous win. And it's not just about win. This is not, in my opinion, a good bill.
So I'm not going to be able to support it with the increase. There's other things in it. The buses, that's probably the only good thing. But the charter schools and the correspondence kids, they're not getting any of that. Yeah, so what you're talking about.
Go ahead. Yeah, sorry, I was just going to say, so for people that don't know what you're talking about with the buses, so there's, in this bill, there's a 10% increase for transportation. And so the way I look at this is you have a $700 per student BSA increase. And then you have potentially an incentive that, in my view, is unfunded of the READS Act. It's to incentivize reading improvement. But you're linking into taxes, so that's questionable for me.
But number three, the other thing is this 10% for buses, it's increasing. It's giving school districts a 10% boost for transportation, but that transportation money, for example, Anchorage, They don't share that with the charter schools. They keep that money. So it's basically a backdoor way to give them basically a 10% boost in funding. I mean, that's what it is.
Well, yeah, and there's also this tracking thing up to 20 years. And so I think with the tracking thing, a lot of people, you don't get to just opt in. You have to opt out. And they have no plan on how that's going to take effect. Who's going to pay for it? Who's going to fund it? What will end up happening is they're going to, in my opinion, they'll start another little small department or get a whole bunch of other.
government workers to start trying to track people it's going to cost money it's going to either one fall by the wayside but they can still track you if they want to or they're going to end up funding it, and it's going to cost us a lot more money. I don't know about you, but when I left high school, I was like, tooth, see ya, I'm out.
Yeah, yeah. I don't know how this is going to improve anything. This is not a scientific study. They graduated from high school. Did they go to college or did they go into a trade school or did they go in the military? It's ridiculous. There's no reason for us to do that. Well, you know, and that leads to my reasons. I'm sure other people have their reasons why they want to vote for it. That's up to them and their district. You know, I know my senator voted for it and I just.
I'm just not that. And by the way, the senators brought some really good amendments forward and the Republican senators, they were all shot down. Yeah, you know, I had a very long conversation with one of them last night. And, you know, and I just wanted to understand it. And I voiced my displeasure.
You know, and I think it goes back to this. I think you see people on both sides that do believe there needs to be an adjustment of some sort to the base student allocation. Would you agree with that? I think there does need to be, but I'm still on the same wavelength I've always been. How are we going to keep throwing money at a system that's clearly broken? We gave them $680. One Democrat voted for that last year.
And that was Neil Foster. We gave the 680 and guess what happened? They're further in debt. They want more money and they're going to keep doing this. The NEA is the largest union in the world. The world, the NEA is the largest union in the world. I'm not going to take a knee, I guess I'm going to call them this, I'm not going to take a knee to the overlord.
I'm not going to sit there and say, oh, my God, I'm scared of my election in 2026. I know others might be. I'm not putting them down. I'm just saying for me. I know what my district voted for. I know who they voted for. So I'm going down to Juneau, and I'm not going to keep moving the goalposts. We have enough Republicans to say no and vote the right way, and none of this would be passing. But that's not what's happening.
So I'm not going to be one of the persons who vote yes because I'm scared of my election. If I don't get reelected, I don't get reelected. But at least I know I stood for what I needed to. That's just that. well you know representative allard i think there's a lot of people out there that that are struggling right now. And this was what I said yesterday on the air. I said it in private conversations yesterday.
I am very disheartened. I'm a very engaged Republican. I donate a lot of money to Republicans and to Republican causes. I volunteer. I spend my time trying to help conservatives get across the finish line. And right now when we see, you know, people want, I think on both sides of the aisle, I do believe people want to have quality education for kids.
But when you look at the data over the past 20 years and you see the more and more money that we invest into education, and then you turn around and you see the results don't track and they don't correlate with the investment, it becomes very frustrating. And people like me, Say, why do we keep throwing good money after a broken system? You have to fundamentally change things that are going to change the outcomes. You're right. The policies aren't in the bill.
Nothing is mandated except for the one thing I said was in regards to the tax. That might happen. It might not happen, which I hope it doesn't, frankly, because then we're all going to be taxed some more. And also, we have oil. Was it $75 a barrel when we were working our budget? It's not. It's $66 today. So when you're looking at that, that's just shy of $10. Where's the money going to be coming from? And the oil prices per barrel are going to be going down for temporarily.
but it's still going down. So, no, I'm not for it, and I wish all my other colleagues the best, and I hope they make whatever decision works for them in their district. And I just know what I have to do for mine. And, well, frankly, I don't just represent my district, right? I'm one of a whole that represents the entire state. So I'm kind of trying to look out for everybody on this. But, yeah, I don't want... I don't think people realize who I have in my district.
I have that president of the NEA in my house district. So if you think you got a lot of pressure, you should be looking at my emails. But I also know that I represent all of my constituents. But I vote with the majority. And I will tell you, the majority is telling me, do not vote for this. Do not move forward with this. We got you. We're here for you. And I'm here for them.
So I think that's something we all have to remember. So the pressure's on in my district, too, but I also have to remember who elected me and who voted for me. And I hope everybody else does, too. But if this is what those particular... legislators are saying is right for them. Okay, but I do know, and we all know this because the tall guy made it public. You know, the governor said over and over, he will veto this.
So if I vote yes, and then what am I going to do, overwrite? He's the leader of the GOP party for the state of Alaska. He is the lead elected official. So voting no is the right thing to do because I'm not going to turn around and override him either. Well, you know, I appreciate your candid response, and I know just to put it out there, I may have pressured you a little bit to call in this morning. Because I really wanted to hear both sides of the argument, because I think it's...
It's a good conversation to have publicly. It's not saying that somebody is evil because they voted for it, but it is putting out there the pros and cons of as you make your decision. kind of the things that you're thinking about. And I appreciate you being willing to do that.
Yeah, and I don't think this is to put pressure on my fellow colleagues. This is telling my district and others who have supported me, donated to me, and who... been in my camp this is where I'm going you don't have to worry this is how my boat's going to roll and I'm here for you and if they have any questions they can always reach out. But I do appreciate you.
Putting the pressure on me. I don't know what it's going to feel like going into the Capitol today. Hopefully nobody will be mad at me. Just let it happen. They'll be just fine. They'll be just fine. Representative Allard, thank you so much for calling in this morning. I appreciate your candid comments. All right. Bye-bye. All right. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll take your calls. 522-0650.
sunshine. Despite the drier conditions, we will still hold on to some isolated to scattered showers today with highs warming into the upper 40s back in the 50s this weekend. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Eric Morrison. welcome back her time 724 I'm gonna go straight to the phones and John is with us good morning sir Hey, good morning. That was an excellent interview with our former assembly member. I've got a question.
And it's not for her, it's for everyone in Anchorage. Does anybody know where the NEA's president's kids go to school? I've heard it's not a public school. No, it's in a charter school because he knows that we're number one in the... in our charter, private, and homeschools. So he refuses to put his kids in public schools, but yet he wants the funding to go to a dismal abyss that, I mean, look at it this way. It's like having a Lambert.
parked in the driveway and you can't afford your mortgage, what do you think you're going to sell first? Yeah, yeah. You're torn. Exactly, exactly, 100%. You know, and John, you know, I always love it when you call in. I was telling Daryl this during the break because. You always have like this BS sniffer and you very clearly can succinctly distill things for me. I am trying to be very open because there's people that I like, that I've supported, that I've given a lot of money to over the years.
that I disagree with on this topic. And then there's people that I, I just go back to the basic thing. Look, When we add $700 to the base student allocation formula, that's going to bring it up near $7,000 per student, and that's before any escalators.
And then on top of it, I always ask them, where's the money coming from? Of course it's coming from your PFD, right? So that's where it's coming from. But what are we going to get for that money? And that's where I'm struggling because I look at this.
shore up 2020 everybody right now i'm telling you right now the legislators i've been told by legislators this is the conversation they're all looking at 2026 to try to neutralize the nea if you're a republican the nea is never going to like you If we are going to throw your neighbor's money at more education spending, I think it's fair to ask, what are we getting for it?
Exactly. And that brings up some of the legislators like Kaufman, who used to be in the oil and gas industry and knows about... matrix is and what is the best decision for the right solution. If we're going to drill and make money, we're going to make this decision and act on it. He used to work with my father-in-law at BP, so he knows exactly what this means. You're not going to throw money at a
Losing situation. It's per investment. It's a loss. And right now, our... numbers in their graduation rates or test scores everything in the above were dead last that's ridiculous if we're if we're throwing the most money in the nation across Alaska education our school districts And trust me, they do a good pony dog trick show up there while they're legislating. But this is what I ask every legislator out there. Dunbar, do you have kids?
How many of you have kids and are personally invested in this decision? I guarantee you not every one of you. And the ones that are saying no, do you have kids? They'll want to throw more money at this and they're saying no to Dunleavy. They're not personally vested in this decision. And, of course, the NEA president is definitely not because his kids aren't going to public school in the Anchorage School District. You know, I think it's ironic they're going to charter schools because...
You know, again, the NEA has pushed so hard to limit charter school options and to slow down the growth of charter schools. And yes, charter schools are publicly funded, but at the end of the day, the NEA doesn't have such a lock hold on the curriculum and what is being pushed. in those charter schools and and frankly what's the difference between charter schools and and regular public schools a brick and mortar that we would think about is the parent involvement is huge in charter schools
And again, you know, you see from the NEA on so many levels that you're trying to separate kids from parents, and I think that's part of it, personally. Right. Oh, exactly. I just want to leave all you Anchorage parents out there one thing to take note of. We have the same number of students as 1978, but we have millions of more square footage.
In fact, it's over like 300 million more square footage, which equals 15 to 9 ascenders, but we have the same amount of students. And over a third of our schools are only at 60%. I get it. You don't want your kids not leaving your neighborhoods. They got to now go two more miles, you know.
The bus route's got to change. It's going to work out in the end. But in the end, your kids are going to get a better education because you know why? You're holding the school districts and the NEA on their toes. Do better at your job because we're firing you at this moment. I couldn't have said it any better. John, thank you for calling in this morning. I appreciate it. All right. That's John. You know, I will tell you, Daryl, so.
Like I said, I spent a lot of time last night. I did not intend for today's show to be all about this. That was not my intention. But I think it's important to highlight both sides because How do I say this? You know, I said it very plainly last night to one ledger cider. I really, really hate it.
When legislators get down to Juneau and they tap us on the head and they say, you just don't understand. Well, you're just not down here. You just don't understand. Nothing will tick me off more than treating Alaska voters like they're dumb. The reality is I see it very clearly. I understand the politics that are in play here.
Do I appreciate everybody who spoke to me yesterday? Absolutely. I appreciate you sharing with me your perspective and why you voted the way you voted or you're going to vote the way you're going to vote. I appreciate all of that. But have I been convinced that there is appreciable policy change that is going to lead to significant educational outcomes?
No, I have not been convinced of that. But I did say, we'll sit back if this passes and the governor doesn't veto it. In two years, I will go back to the data. I will look at it and say, did we see a change? Because what they're doing is they're going to take $185 million annually a year, and that's the base, right? I mean, I think it's actually going to be closer to $200 million by the time you're done. But let's just round it off and say $200 million in annual spending, thereabouts,
if that's the number, and what are we going to get for that? Are we going to get extra charter school authorizers? No. Are we going to get improved curriculum? No. Because the curriculum is really controlled largely by local districts. But I will say this. Let's not forget.
When they start saying, well, let's see reading improvements, how are we going to measure those improvements, and what standard are we going to measure? Because last year, there was an article up. Suzanne, I pulled it up from last year because she had this article up last year. But last year, the State Board of Education lowered the proficiency standards for Alaska students. So again, are we actually going to measure
actual success, or are we just going to lower the standards so people can hit these targets so they can get more money? I have concerns. I have concerns. And I am an average Alaskan voter. I may have an overly... a higher than average interest in politics, but I am an average voter. I'm an average mom who put two kids through the Anchorage School District. I was a product of the Anchorage School District. I know the games that are played. I understand politics.
And you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. We all know what this is about. We have people that I fully expect are afraid of the NEA. They are looking at 2026 right now, and they're in CYA moments right now to try to shore up their 2026 elections. Now, they can tell you otherwise, but I know for a fact. These are some of the conversations that are happening right now in June of behind closed doors.
For a fact, that's what they're talking about. They're talking about the 2026 elections. They're talking about the governor's election. They're talking about their individual elections. And right now, what they don't want, some of these Republicans don't want the NEA on their tail. But I'm going to tell you this, and this is the advice I gave to one of my friends last night. The NEA, if you're a Republican, is never going to love you. They're always going to have a candidate against you.
But what you risk by taking more money out of people's PFD and choosing to cover your butt with bad legislation that's going to cost Alaskans millions of dollars. What you're going to risk is losing your base. So the Alexi Moors that live in Wasilla, You know, the Julie Colombs that are in South Anchorage in Midtown. The Sarah Vance's that are in Homer.
You should think really long and hard about how you vote on these bills when you're choosing to take money out of your constituents' pre-PFDs, because that's the choice. When I ask the question, how are you going to pay for it? I'm not asking because I don't know the answer. I know the answer. What I'm waiting for is to see if you're going to tell me the truth
We know you're going to take it from the PFD. That's a fact. We know that's where that's coming from. And the other part of it is a new task. So if you're not honest with your constituents, you don't risk losing. You risk losing in a landslide because they know you're lying to them. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. Your morning cup
of Sean. This is the Sean Hannity Morning Minute. If you look at it, very similar to where we were with the campaign, 92% negative coverage of Donald Trump through the first I mean, it is, if you analyze World News Tonight, NBC Nightly News, the CBS Evening News from January 20th through April 9th, 900 stories, 899 to be specific, discussing Donald Trump, the Trump administration.
And they found 92.2% of the coverage is negative, only 7.8% positive. And it's just 100 days in the second term. The broadcast evening news landscape is even more lopsided. The morning shows. Do you think Georgie Stephanopoulos is actually any better than that? I don't think so. The conservative underground meets later today. Now, don't get suckered into the same old free phone game by big wireless.
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and Pure Talk's U.S. customer service team will help you make the switch in as little as 10 minutes. Again, pound 250, keyword, save now. Get your free Samsung Galaxy with a qualifying plan when you switch to Pure Talk. wireless by americans for americans The NTSB continues to investigate the deadly plane crash in Nanwallic this week. Investigators say it's possible that the pilot of the small plane was trying to avoid a dog on the runway before going into a fatal stall.
The crash near Nwalex Airport Monday killed two people and sent a third to the hospital with serious injuries. Fairbanks Mayor David Prews is taking heat from Alaska native groups over a Facebook post. Some are calling offensive. Cruz said he meant no disrespect by comments he posted Friday morning about his morning walk through Golden Heart Plaza. Cruz told Alaska's news source he was responding to what he called a very discouraging, very disparaging post.
And, quote, if you deem that as racist, I do apologize. And Alaska is now the first state in the nation to require warnings about alcohols linked to certain types of cancers. Under new legislation that became law late last week, Alaska bars and liquor stores will be required to post signs warning of alcohol is linked to colon and breast cancers. That's the latest. I'm John Fink.
What happens next happens here. News Radio 650 KENI. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Wednesday morning. Traffic's still moving real well all around the Anchorage Bowl. Starting to see those big yellow school buses, though. So get ready for the kids heading for this radio. Welcome back. Current time 740. today that that conversation it's not even a debate it's just conversation trying to understand both sides of the argument around increasing education funding and HB 57.
That's going through the legislature right now. A $700 per student increase. would add to the tune somewhere in the neighborhood of about 185 million. Then you add on top of these education incentives that they're talking about. And again, right now, the education incentives tied to a new digital online tax, which we're hearing the governor is going to veto. But now, you know, there's a potential constitutional issue.
So rather than saying that the education incentives shall be tied to this, now they've changed it to maybe tied for this, but nobody has really articulated where that money is going to come from. Again, my philosophy is very standard. So all those legislators that are listening right now, if you want to get to know Amy, this is what you should know.
My policy has never changed. My philosophy has never changed since the first day I served in elected office. I'm always going to say, before I support any new tax, I'm going to say as the money we're spending, are we spending it well? If the answer is no, how could I possibly support a new tax? The second question is, okay, if I choose to take money out of my neighbor's pocket, what am I going to get for it? Is it worth it?
To me, that is a huge burden. It is a huge bar to pass. And when I look at this particular bill, you have yet to convince me I'm going to see appreciable educational outcomes. for the amount of money you're going to take out of people's PFD. You have to make the case. If you're one of those proponents of this bill, you have to make the case. These are the expected ROI, return on investment, that we're going to get by taking your permanent fund.
Anything less than that, you have failed the test. You have to be able to explain it. All right, let's go to the phones, and Amanda is with us. Good morning, Amanda. Good morning, Amy. These shows have been amazing. Oh, my goodness, the coverage. Thank you so much. I'm definitely going to share it. Well, education is near and dear to your heart. I know it's your bailiwick.
Again, but as a teacher, do you not think we should have more of these critical dialogues where people get to hear both sides and decide for themselves? Yes, definitely. And what's just been really disheartening is how I feel that NEA-AEA bandwagon has really suppressed a lot of those two-sided conversations. And I am speaking from experience. For a hot moment, true confessions, I was on the NEA Peace Committee.
And I thought I could make a difference as a conservative, right, just to have another point of view, ask them reasonable questions. And no, it was shut down every time they pick their candidates from the national level down. And, you know, really, I wanted to share how teachers can stop. funneling that political one-sidedness. I would love to hear it. How can teachers... So is it an opt-out option?
Yes, so it's really, and today is the last day of the month where you can do it to be able to affect your May paycheck. So give yourself a little, you know, a little paycheck bonus there by not paying May dues. And you just go to optouttoday.com, optouttoday.com, and then you can pick Alaska, and it will show all the unions that give you the paperwork for it. I just brought it to payroll desk.
And they were really, they were kind of happy to see me like drop it off. I think they, they know that they want those teachers, right? To have those higher money. And it's, I gave it a good shot. Like I. There's good people, good teachers in the union, but I just feel they're misguided. They don't really see how 90% of those union dues go to this political machine that ultimately hurts students.
Well, you know, and I've said this before, and maybe I'm off base. I don't think so. The NEA exists to advocate for its membership. It does not exist to advocate for student outcomes. Am I right or am I wrong? Um, it's like, it's only, okay, my experience, I can only speak from my experience and what I've seen. It's that it's advocating for a very narrow slice of. the quality of benefits for its membership. So salary, just money, it's like it's advocating for a higher...
pay and retirement benefits for its membership. It's not advocating for better work life. It's more stressful, and this is what I told the president of AEA last week. Like, look, when you make salary increases that the district can't really pay for, when you demand those, it increases our student-teacher ratios. And that's stressful for teachers to have more students in the classroom.
That's a good perspective. I mean, so, again, you're looking at it a little bit more holistically, and I appreciate that. Amanda, as always, I appreciate your insight. So if they are teachers and they want to opt out of the NEA, they can do that. They just go to optouttoday.com, and the paperwork is right there. Just pick Alaska, and it'll walk you through the process, right?
Yes, and they need to bring it into the payroll office and drop it off. And by the end of the month, otherwise, next month, it will be on June paycheck. Oh, great. queue for union benefits so you can research that are NEA. But thank you, Amy. Perfect. Amanda, thank you as always. I hope you have a great day at work today. I appreciate the call. All right, we're going to take our final break of the day. When we come back, we will continue with your calls, 522-0650.
Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Wednesday morning. Traffic's still moving. More than 1,000 free online resources for youth and high school sports coaches, parents, students, and administrators. Visit pcadevzone.org. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Aaron Morrison. Welcome back, current time, 751. I'm going to go straight to the phones and Birchwood Bill is with us. Good morning, sir.
Good morning. Good morning to Daryl as well. Listen, I look at the NEA like a slot machine, okay? With the payout, the winning, being quality education for our kids. But we all know the odds against winning. are very slim. And if we just put another 20 in, you might win. You might win. And it's designed to make money for the house. So, you know, until they tell us what are our odds at winning, i.e. producing quality students, you don't know. You're just throwing 20s in it, hoping you win.
that's a good that's a good analogy you know and that's why I always go back to like what are we going to get for it like Here's the thing. We've been throwing money at education here in Alaska and increasing the spending. When they say we need to adequately fund education, what they're talking about is raising the per-student base.
to $6,660 per student. And that's before they even put the escalators on there. And I think it's a fair question for us to ask, what are we actually going to get for it? Show me. Show me. The policy change, what is the policy change that is going to lead to results? And what they're telling me, this is the response I got, was, well, we're going to ban cell phones from schools.
And then the other one that I think might have some merit is they say, well, we're going to give incentives for them improving the reading scores. If they do a good job, we'll give them more money. Right. Your previous caller was spot on. I mean, you can use my same analogy for these teachers. Teachers, what is your payout? What is your win by being in the union?
Yep, you're getting a little bit more on your paycheck, which they take back in dues, and you're getting larger class sizes. So what is the payout? I guarantee if you guys strike, the NEA isn't going to pay you any kind of strike funds that are going to support your family. So what are you getting out of the union? It's a good question. It's a good question. And each person needs to ask themselves that question. You know, what are my benefits? for paying out union dues.
Us, what are our benefits for paying tax dollars to support this education system? Let you guys go. I don't want to go all the time. That's all right, Bill. Thank you for the call. I appreciate it very much. No, fair question. And I think this is what it comes down to is, you know, we have to understand this as taxpayers and voters. We have to understand.
There's multiple forces in play here. It's not just what does the policy say, where are they going to get the money. We have to understand that there is a political game afoot. If we pretend it's not happening, all we're doing is we're going into the fight blind or with one arm tied behind our back. The reality is legislators have their own agenda, too. They're human, right? So they get down there, and they're in the Juno bubble.
And all of a sudden, they start getting the little whispers, oh, you know, well, this is going to be a real problem. You know, they're going to use this against me saying I don't support education in 2026. They're human. So they're going to turn around and they're going to say, let's just placate the NEA. Let's just go ahead and add the $700.
Let's just add it. Let's just add the $700 this year, and we'll just quiet them down, and then it won't be. We're going to take that issue off the table in 2026. That is the thought process that's going on right now. And if anybody says it's not, they're really fooling themselves. That's exactly the conversations that are going on right now. And my point to you, legislators, is you're never going to make the NEA like you. They're always going to come at you with money and a different candidate.
All you have the potential to do right now is to alienate your own base. I think that's a problem. So, you know, there we have it. All right, let's go to Tom real quick. Tom, we have about a minute. Go ahead. Are you talking to me, Bob? Yes, sir. Go for it. Okay. Okay, I'll tell you what...
People have done them. I'll tell you what, our educated kids, they spend all this money to educate these kids, but by golly, you know, you go down here and they can't count out change when you go to buy something. You go to McDonald's and they can't even count out change without a calculator.
That's what they've done to the education of our kids. You know, Tom, I couldn't have said it better. You know, the reality is the basics matter, right? Reading, writing, and arithmetic, the basics matter. I couldn't have said it any better.
Unfortunately, that's the end of our show. Tom, thank you so much for weighing in this morning. I appreciate it. I appreciate everybody who weighed in. I appreciate everybody who listened. And I truly do appreciate the legislators who are willing to have the conversations with us. I know it can be uncomfortable at times.
So realistically, this is a big state, small town, and we appreciate the conversation. All right, that does it for us today. Daryl and I will be back with you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Until then, stay safe. God bless.