Rural Education Plan Advances

The Daily News-Miner printed an article titled Rural Education Plan Advances on the front page of Friday, April 2, 2010 issue. I couldn't find the link when I searched the News-Miner's website. The article is about a bill the Senate approved by a 19-0 vote to begin funding the construction for elementary, middle, and high schools in unincorporated rural communities. The money for this fund will be taken out of the budget that is usually given to schools in urban areas. The bill also address that it would cover up to 70% of the debt rural schools have due to construction. The senators that were interviewed all thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for Alaska and Alaska's children/students.

I agree with the senators that this is a wonderful thing for every qualifying rural school in Alaska and its students. Rural areas have been neglected for far too long, especially when many children are shipped out of their life long communities to attend middle and high school else where in the state. If there is adequate funding, schools, and teachers young adults won't need to leave behind the rural life style. Also, if there is no need for young adults to leave the village for school they may remain in their village or the rural setting for their lifetime which would mean that communities wouldn't decline and loose their young population to city life. To me this can be viewed as structural functionalism because the villages haven't been counting on federal money for many years now and with this new bill the cogs in the social machine have changed directions and this may revolutionize the structure of rural communities by having the minors present in the village.

While reading this article I started thinking that if this much needed and necessary money is being taken out of the budget from urban schools where will the urban schools get the money for their upkeep and other needed items? What kind of things will urban schools go without?