00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16                                                                   
01 Proclaiming February to be Public Education Month.                                                                      
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS the founding fathers of the United States of America valued public                                      
04 education and considered it essential to the survival of the democratic form of government;                             
05 and                                                                                                                     
06       WHEREAS high quality public education is one of the cornerstones of the                                         
07 Constitution of the State of Alaska and a fundamental civil right; and                                                  
08       WHEREAS public schools serve every child in a community regardless of race,                                     
09 religion, or ability and provide the opportunity for students to learn from and understand                              
10 people with diverse backgrounds and cultures; and                                                                       
11       WHEREAS 90 percent of all American children attend public schools, and                                          
12 Americans must focus national attention on making public schools as good as they can be;                                
13 and                                                                                                                     
14       WHEREAS, every year, millions of American children across the country graduate                                  
15 from public schools, having completed the toughest curricula in our nation's history; and                               
16       WHEREAS public education provides a tuition free system in which parents can                                    

01 obtain detailed information about their children's schools, support their children, and be                              
02 involved in school activities; and                                                                                      
03       WHEREAS public education safeguards the quality of education offered to children                                
04 throughout the country and provides a safe and effective learning environment; and                                      
05       WHEREAS education in America involves a wide range of academic, social, and                                     
06 individual goals, and the principal responsibility for providing that education should be in the                        
07 public sector; and                                                                                                      
08       WHEREAS, in the public schools, the public interest in education is more                                        
09 deliberately and proactively represented and is more open to public scrutiny than in any other                          
10 schools;                                                                                                                
11       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature proclaims February to be Public                                
12 Education Month; and be it                                                                                              
13       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the state                                      
14 Board of Education and Early Development promote, publicize, and increase awareness of the                              
15 important role public education plays in the state's history.                                                           
16       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the                                 
17 Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative,                                 
18 members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; the Honorable Sean Parnell, Governor of                                   
19 Alaska; the Honorable Mike Hanley, Commissioner, Department of Education and Early                                      
20 Development; and the members of the state Board of Education and Early Development.