Throughout Making Sausage: From Illinois Farm to a 45-Year Career in Public Service in Alaska, Jim Duncan returns to one issue that remained constant during his legislative career: public education. Whether serving as a teacher, a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, a State Senator, or teaching legislative courses later in his career, Duncan consistently believed that education deserved careful attention and strong support.
His commitment was not based on politics alone. It grew from his own experience as a student, a teacher, and a legislator who believed Alaska’s Constitution placed a clear responsibility on the Legislature to provide a quality education for every child in the state.
A Foundation Built Through Education
Long before entering public office, Jim Duncan chose education as his profession.
After attending Sheldon Jackson Junior College and later completing his education, he became a teacher. He also later taught courses at the University of Alaska Southeast, where he explained the legislative process and state budgeting to his students.
Duncan writes that teaching gave him an opportunity to hear directly from students instead of remaining inside what he describes as the legislative “bubble.” Those conversations helped him understand different perspectives and reminded him why public education was so important to Alaska’s future.
A Constitutional Responsibility
In Chapter Eighteen, Duncan points to Article VII, Section 1 of the Alaska Constitution, which requires the Legislature to establish and maintain a system of public schools open to all children of the state.
For Duncan, that responsibility extended beyond simply creating schools.
He believed the Legislature also had the obligation to provide adequate funding so schools could deliver a quality education. Throughout his years in office, he considered funding public education one of his highest priorities because, in his view, a school system without sufficient financial support could not fully meet the intent of the Constitution.
The Challenge of Adequate Funding
One of the recurring concerns in Making Sausage is the difficulty of maintaining stable funding for schools.
Jim Duncan explains that during the 1980s, education funding declined even while student enrollment remained steady. He believed these reductions created larger class sizes, shortages of materials and supplies, and lower morale among students and teachers.
Rather than blaming educators, Duncan argued that the real issue was inadequate financial support.
In a speech to NEA-Alaska in 1988, he emphasized that quality in public education depends on providing schools with the resources they need. He believed restoring funding priorities was more important than criticizing teachers who were working within limited resources.
Supporting Long-Term Solutions
Jim Duncan also describes his support for Governor Steve Cowper’s proposal to create an Education Endowment.
The proposal would have used a portion of Permanent Fund earnings to provide stable funding for Alaska’s public school system. Duncan believed this approach offered a practical way to reduce uncertainty by helping ensure that school funding would not depend entirely on annual legislative decisions.
Although the proposal passed the House, it ultimately did not receive enough support to become part of the Alaska Constitution.
Even so, Duncan continued to believe that stable funding remained essential for public education in Alaska.
Standing With the Education Community
Throughout his legislative career, Duncan worked closely with organizations that supported Alaska’s schools.
His efforts were recognized by Robert Manners, Executive Secretary of NEA-Alaska, who wrote that Duncan had consistently supported the issues important to public education and school district employees because of his commitment and belief in education.
For Duncan, this recognition reflected years of work rather than a single legislative victory. It reinforced his belief that education deserved continued attention from both legislators and the public.
One of His Greatest Disappointments
Near the end of the chapter, Jim Duncan reflects honestly on the outcome of these efforts.
Although he spent many years advocating for stable funding, he writes that the failure to establish a long-term system for adequately funding Alaska’s public schools became one of the greatest disappointments of his legislative career.
More than twenty-five years later, he believed schools and students were still affected by inadequate state funding. Duncan concludes that the responsibility to support public education remains an important obligation for future legislators and for the people of Alaska.
Lessons From Jim Duncan’s Commitment
Several ideas appear throughout Duncan’s discussion of education:
- Education is a constitutional responsibility.
- Adequate funding is essential for quality schools.
- Teachers should be supported rather than blamed.
- Long-term planning benefits students, families, and communities.
- Public officials should continue working toward stable education funding.
These principles guided his work throughout many years of legislative service.
Conclusion
Jim Duncan’s commitment to public education was shaped by his experiences as both a teacher and a legislator. In Making Sausage, he presents education not simply as another policy issue but as one of the Legislature’s most important responsibilities.
His reflections show that strengthening public education required more than good intentions. It required consistent support, responsible funding, and a willingness to think about the future of Alaska’s students. Although he considered the lack of long-term funding one of his greatest disappointments, his commitment to improving public education remained unchanged throughout his career, making it one of the defining themes of his memoir. (Visit Our Website)
