Paul McDonough
69:01 - 70:28
"I think that if we put this amendment in front of our expedition forward about where do we need to go forward, I think it turns an olive branch into something with a fuse, a time bomb, and there's a condition set"
“I think that if we put this amendment in front of our expedition forward about where do we need to go forward, I think it turns an olive branch into something with a fuse, a time bomb, and there's a condition set”
- Speaker
- Paul McDonough
- Timestamp
- 69:01 – 70:28
- Community
- Alaska News
- Location
- Anchorage
- Captured at
- August 18, 2026
From the transcript
How do we put highly trained and qualified experts in art and music back in every school? That's what I think we need to decide about building use, because these buildings are not going to fill with children even when the state fills our coffers back with adequate funding. And I think that if we put this amendment in front of our expedition forward about where do we need to go forward, I think it turns an olive branch into something with a fuse, a time bomb, and there's a condition set, and it just loses the ability for us to actually build the exploration. I'm also then thirdly concerned that this inadvertently, but not indirectly, empowers the municipal government, either the mayor or the assembly, in this like negotiation that they have to essentially decide that we're going to be closing schools, um, or at least essentially decide that we are the school board's proclamation to nullify its own moratorium is in the hands of an outside body, and that doesn't sit right with me. I don't actually want to see the mayor thinking about, do I have the power to keep schools open or closed, when, when the mayor's office is deciding how do we spread resources around Anchorage.
Related Coverage
Anchorage will ship contaminated concrete to Oregon after the state tightened disposal rules, adding $850,000
The Anchorage School Board approved about $850,000 to send PCB-contaminated concrete from the old Inlet View Elementary to Oregon, after the state raised its disposal standards for the banned chemicals.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
The Anchorage School Board pledges no more closures next year, but one member says the last three were never explained
The Anchorage School Board voted 5-2 Tuesday to commit to closing no schools during the 2026-27 year except in an emergency, after rejecting 1-6 an amendment that would have voided the pledge if the municipality funds schools below the tax cap.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Anchorage School District adopts a single English curriculum for grades 6 through 10
The Anchorage School Board voted 6 to 1 Tuesday to adopt Savvas's My Perspectives as the English curriculum for grades 6 through 10. Member Paul McDonough cast the lone no vote, objecting to a selection process he said narrowed teacher autonomy.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI