Staff of Governor. Mike Dunleavy quashed the publication of an upcoming Department of Labor and Workforce Development report that examines the quality of teacher pay in Alaska this week, an action which former and current staff members say could hurt the reputation of the department that produces state economic information.
“This information normally is readily available to the public at large, and it’s not a good idea to keep secret reliable, objective data,” said Neal Fried who resigned in July following nearly 45 years of working as an economist in the department.
This report was the headline story in the current issue of Alaska Economic Trends, concludes that teachers in Alaska earn higher than the average for teachers across the country, but it also notes that Alaska’s “pay cost” has decreased substantially since the 1980s.
In the year 1980, Alaska teachers’ pay was just 170% of the average for all teachers. In 2022, they made 111% of the average and fell from the top of the nation to 10th out of all states as well as the District of Columbia.
The Beacon has obtained a copy the article from an outside source outside of the Department of Labor and independently verified the content.
Joshua Warren, the report’s author, has not commented regarding the decision to defer publication and neither the report’s editor, Sara Whitney, editor of Alaska Economic Trends.
Trends has been released monthly in various forms from January of 1961 which makes it an excellent source for economic information.
Dan Robinson, chief of the section of research and analysis which publishes Alaska Economic Trends, said that he’s not seen an article removed from publication of this kind in his 20 years in the department.
Fried stated that he’s never seen any case of this either although it could have happened with knowing about it, he claimed. Fried who was the state’s economist from 1978 until the beginning of this year, penned about 300 Alaska Trends articles.
Robinson who provided an opinion piece in The Anchorage Daily News about the decision to not publish He made his comments subject to an agreement that said his remarks be kept secret until after publication of the column of opinion.
He also expressed his concern over the image of the department that handles economic data such as unemployment and numbers of population.
The concept of objectivity is “kind fundamental to what we do and our contribution in the eyes of our state.” Robinson said.
“We each governor is treated in the same manner as we did the governor before,” he said, “and this is why I believe it’s important. It’s either that you’re nonpartisan, or not.”
An outside party not affiliated with that of Department of Labor provided copies of an exchange in emails regarding the decision to not publish.
According to the messages which were independently verified and independently verified, the Trends editor sent a preview version of October’s issue to officials from the Department of Labor and the governor’s communications director Jeff Turner, on Friday afternoon on Sept. 29, just after the issue was scheduled to go out electronically.
It’s a standard practice, Robinson and others said that it’s standard practice to send an advance copy of the decision to the governor’s office. However, this doesn’t usually require publishing or not.
Turner replied later in the morning: “Please put a HARD HOLD on this issue of Trends. The DCOS Rachel Blysma needs to talk to commissioner Munoz in the first instance.”
The deputy Chief of Staff Bylsma, the name of whom was incorrectly spelled in the email that was sent The deputy chief of staff did not return an inquiry from a reporter on Monday. Turner was on leave for personal reasons, was not immediately available via email or phone.
In a follow-up email sent later in the day, Department of Labor Commissioner Cathy Munoz said to various employees including Robinson who was also involved, that “I believe a large portion of the heartburn is due to what the headline of the piece says. The GO was very clear in her demand that the article be pulled however, I’m willing to discuss with them on another look should we alter the title.”
This effort has been not working: The October issue of Alaska Trends was published late and did not include information about the pay of teachers.
The decision to halt the article comes at a time that Alaska schools report difficulties in hiring teachers. This year Dunleavy rejected $87.4 millions in additional education funds which is half of the $175 million boost that was that was approved from the Legislature.
A few state lawmakers are pushing for an increase in education funds, claiming that the state’s aid has not kept up with the rising cost.
“I am able to see how the those who oppose the current administration could interpret the cover title incorrectly to claim we have lost our once substantial wage advantage was Governor Dunleavy’s fault.” Robinson said in an email sent to The Beacon. “Anyone who examines the article or at the graph of lines on the front page will realize that’s not true.”
On Monday via email in response to a question by The Beacon, Munoz said, “There was a concern that the piece originally planned for the issue of October deviated from the Beacon’s standards of neutrality. As Commissioner of the Department it is my duty to ensure that the information we release is impartial and fair. This is why the report is not available as it was written in the October issue of Trends.”
The story was originally published in Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission.
