Haley Stevens: “I want to make it very plain that the Alaska position is, we want no strings on these block grants. We contacted the…”

“I want to make it very plain that the Alaska position is, we want no strings on these block grants. We contacted the Anchorage School District superintendent, for instance, Bob Christal. He told my staff to tell me, without any question, they prefer this block grant money without any strings. But he said if Anchorage did receive the block grant, they would use the money to keep the teachers who were hired and for other purposes. We also contacted the Deputy Commissioner of Education, Bruce Johnson. He said the Alaska Department of Education encourages the greatest amount of flexibility for small districts. There is no question that Alaska wants flexibility in this money.”