As the elected State Senators representing the Mat-Su Borough, we are honored to serve the fine residents of the Valley. We have been aggressive and successful in our efforts to advocate on behalf of the needs of our expanding communities. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about our Borough Mayor, Tim Anderson. We only hope that the Valley citizens are as disappointed as we are with the knowledge that Mayor Anderson made a monumental error in judgment by vetoing the opportunity to hold an April special election for school bonds.

A little over a year ago, the school board and the assembly approached us and asked for bond authority to build more schools in the Mat-Su. Since the Valley is the fastest growing region of the State, it wasn't hard for us to agree with our local officials that additional schools are warranted. Agreeing with them was the easy part, but securing the funding was a great challenge. Ultimately, we delivered and $40 million in bond authority was set aside for new schools in the Mat-Su.

The package we pushed through the legislature required the State to pay 70% of the cost of school construction as long as the voters approved the bonds before the statutory deadline. If the school bonds are not approved, then the State's future contribution to new schools in the Valley will be zero. When the State leaves the table, the only source of revenue for new schools will be local taxes. Is that what Mayor Anderson wants?

Time is running out. Holding a special election this spring is our golden opportunity to get the schools our children need while saving borough taxpayers tens of millions of dollars at the same time.

When the voters in the Mat-Su Borough failed to pass the school bond initiative this past October, they were trying to send us a message. But exactly what is the message is still unclear. Could it be that too many bond propositions were on the ballot and the pill was too big to swallow? This question could have been answered had the mayor allowed the special election this April. If the voters reject the school bonds again, and that is the only initiative on the ballot, then it will be very clear to everyone that the residents of the Mat-Su do not want new schools. That's the message, albeit prematurely, that Mayor Anderson's veto is sending to state officials and the community - "No More Schools in the Mat-Su."

Following the October 2005 municipal general election, Mayor Anderson said, "I think our ballot language was poor." Why should he put necessary projects at risk when the problem may be as simple as the original ballot language? The special election this spring was his chance to present better language and is a better venue for a simple, yet very important public solicitation.

More incongruous statements by Mayor Anderson include, "It's more an issue with timing." and "I think we should wait and see what happens with Su Valley (High School Roof Repair) before we move on the bond money." These two statements show us exactly how irrational our mayor's thinking has become. This approach makes no sense because his timing is terrible due to the fact we're in the middle of a legislative session, negotiating for appropriations on behalf of the Mat-Su.

The Mat-Su delegation is confident we will come home this spring with adequate funding to repair the roof at Su Valley High School. In regard to other worthy projects in the Mat-Su, we will continue our efforts to secure available funding regardless of being saddled with a mayor who has proven himself to be counter-productive to our efforts. We need cohesion, not division, amongst our elected officials to accomplish what's best for the Mat-Su. Unfortunately, Mayor Anderson's veto is equivalent to the poison pill for new schools in the valley.

We are still very proud, however, of our borough assembly members, our school board, our local mayors, our council members, our chambers of commerce, our teachers, our principals, and all the parents in the Mat-Su for their continued support. We encourage them all to stand up and be heard. This is a time to be united, not divided.

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