Alaska Policy Forum “researcher” Bob Griffin has spent much of his career criticizing Alaska’s public education system, arguing for the kind of “school choice” that uses public funds to send some kids to private and religious schools. He’s also been a close ally of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, playing a key role in lobbying legislators to uphold his veto of a landmark education bill earlier this year.
On Tuesday, legislators soundly rejected Griffin’s appointment to the Board of Education with a 21-39 vote. He was one of just three appointments rejected by legislators during the annual joint session to consider the governor’s appointments to boards and commissions.
Legislators also rejected the appointment of Dunleavy ally and conservative radio personality Mike Porcaro to a well-paid seat on the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission on a narrow 30-30 vote. They also rejected the appointment of Mark Sayampanathan to the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Board on a 10Y-30N vote after Republican Rep. Kevin McCabe raised concerns over his language in an email.
Legislators accused Griffin of not having the best interest of all public schools at heart, noting that during his previous term on the Board of Education, academic achievement and school maintenance have only gotten worse. They also pointed out that Griffin voted against the school major maintenance list because he objected to the cost of rural school projects.
“Mr. Griffin, as a member of our state board over the last five years, should be very familiar with (the caselaw) that obligates the Legislature to maintain a system of public schools open to all students that are safe, that do not have black mold on the walls, that have operable toilets and in which fire suppression panels are working,” said Sen. Löki Tobin, the chair of the Senate Education Committee. “We are bound by state law and the constitution to ensure our public schools are adequately funded, and Mr. Griffin has not shared any insight or thoughts on how that might happen during his five years of tenure on the Board of Education.”
Sen. Tobin also outlined concerns about his failure to convene a committee tasked with implementing the recently passed Alaska READS Act, which she said has led to middling implementation of the reading program, as well as his tendency to blur the lines between official and personal business. That includes his efforts to advocate for the use of home-school allotments to pay for tuition at private and religious schools, a scheme that was found to be so constitutionally flawed that it brought down much of the home-school laws.
And the headaches for legislators haven’t stopped there.
Griffin also aggressively lobbied legislators to uphold the governor’s veto of an education bill. Legislators fell a single vote short of overriding the governor, but a make-up bill that many promised has not made meaningful progress this session. This situation has become a grave political liability for several Republicans heading into the next election.
Still, several conservative legislators pushed back against the criticism of Griffin, arguing that his perspective was critical on a board that is already wholly appointed by the governor and has, outside the student representative, acted in lockstep to implement the governor’s agenda on issues like trans athletes outside of legislative approval.
Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, argued that rejecting him would make Griffin “one more victim of cancel culture.”
It’s not the first time the Legislature has rejected someone associated with the Alaska Policy Forum, a right-wing think tank that has largely focused on education and anti-union efforts. Last year, legislators soundly rejected Alaska Policy Forum CEO Bethany Marcum for a spot on the University of Alaska’s Board of Regents over her support of vetoes that targeted the university and her attempts to gerrymander a Republican advantage into the state’s election maps during her time on the Alaska Redistricting Board.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.