
Paul McDonogh
33:43 - 34:49
"I appreciate the board's intent in this policy where we have basically two tiers. Um, I'll make a, a note for the record that the way this reads in the Intention of Governance Committee, seems that the, the top 2 numbers are indeed the maximum compliance thresholds, and we're, we're still not in compliance with those. But the second numbers are the scientific evidence-based numbers"
“I appreciate the board's intent in this policy where we have basically two tiers. Um, I'll make a, a note for the record that the way this reads in the Intention of Governance Committee, seems that the, the top 2 numbers are indeed the maximum compliance thresholds, and we're, we're still not in compliance with those. But the second numbers are the scientific evidence-based numbers”
- Speaker
- Paul McDonogh
- Timestamp
- 33:43 – 34:49
- Community
- Alaska News
- Location
- Anchorage
- Captured at
- June 13, 2026
From the transcript
And the original reading, using only the state's numbers, I felt was basically just passively giving them the ability to dictate our class size targets. And we know our district best, and we would have access to analyzing literature of school districts that most closely resemble ours. So I like— I appreciate the board's intent in this policy where we have basically two tiers. Um, I'll make a, a note for the record that the way this reads in the Intention of Governance Committee, seems that the, the top 2 numbers are indeed the maximum compliance thresholds, and we're, we're still not in compliance with those. But the second numbers are the scientific evidence-based numbers, and where this policy will likely come in some future case, if we have another governor tenure, much like our current governor, is we bring a lawsuit forward that says there is inadequate funding, the state is not meeting its constitutional commitments.
Related Coverage
Anchorage School Board adopts class size policy under state mandate
The Anchorage School Board unanimously adopted a class size policy Saturday that sets two tiers: the state's statutory maximums and lower, evidence-based targets the district cannot currently afford.
