Welcome to the home page of the
CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES' ASSOCIATION
We are the Education Support Professionals of the
Matanuska Susitna Borough School District
July 1, 2026 🤝 Contract Negotiations UpdateThis spring, CEA and the District exchanged our initial contract proposals. As is typical, negotiations paused over the summer and will resume once everyone returns for the school year. In the meantime, we've been watching the teachers' negotiations closely. They have already met with the District several times, and so far there has been no movement on wages. Their initial proposal from the District is very similar to the one CEA received, so we expect many of the same issues to be discussed when we return to the bargaining table. CEA's proposal is focused on investing in classified employees by:
Remember, these are initial proposals. The real work begins when both sides return to the bargaining table and start negotiating each article. Your bargaining team is prepared for those discussions and remains committed to securing the strongest contract possible for CEA members. We'll continue to keep you updated as negotiations move forward. Well, summer is rapidly coming to a close, and even as the silvers begin to run, the countdown to another school year has begun. August 7 marks the day our regular staff return to their buildings. Custodians are racing to finish summer projects. Registrars are preparing for the madness. Maintenance crews are wrapping up repairs. IT staff are preparing thousands of devices, and Mat-Su Central is getting ready to serve thousands of students. Across the district, classified employees are already doing the work that makes the first day possible. Most people never see any of that. They just show up on the first day and expect everything to work. And because of classified employees, it does. Usually, this is when we begin feeling that familiar mix of dread that summer is ending and excitement about seeing our students again. This was a different kind of summer. It wasn't just one of the rainiest summers any of us can remember. After the closing of three school communities, the displacement of incredible staff, and a recall process that left some employees feeling frustrated and unfairly treated, many of us never really had the chance to rest. We spent the summer waiting, worrying, and wondering where—or whether—we would have a place when the school year began. It wasn't only our employees carrying that uncertainty. Think about the students and families preparing to enter completely new school environments. Friends may be gone. Bus routes may be different. The building is unfamiliar. The routines are unfamiliar. In some cases, many of the adults they knew and trusted won't be there. For some employees, it meant saying goodbye to a school they had spent years—sometimes decades—helping build. That's not easy. For many of our students, nearly everything about that first day will feel different. The Legislature's one-time funding bought us another year. Hopefully, that means we're not talking about closing more neighborhood schools next spring. But let's be honest. The bigger issue isn't just funding. It's enrollment. We're watching students leave our neighborhood schools for correspondence programs, and the funding goes with them. Every student who leaves takes resources away from the neighborhood schools that continue to educate the vast majority of Alaska's children. I don't have all the answers, but I do know this: if we want strong neighborhood schools, they have to be the schools families choose. I'd much rather spend my springs talking about opening classrooms and welcoming more students than wondering which school might close next. In the middle of all of that, another challenge came our way. The building that housed our office suffered a fire. While our office itself wasn't burned, the smoke damage was so extensive that the building became uninhabitable. Thankfully, no one was hurt. The timing couldn't have been worse. We were in the middle of layoffs, transfers, recalls, and preparing for another round of contract negotiations. Yet representation never stopped. Our Board kept moving forward because that's what our members deserved. The support we've received from our members, MSEA, NEA-Alaska, and so many others has meant more than I can put into words. Thank you. As we rebuild, we're looking forward to sharing office space with our friends at MSEA and continuing to serve our members together. Another challenge is staffing. While we continue recruiting great employees, we're also losing experienced ones. The Municipality of Anchorage recognized something we've been saying for years—that skilled classified employees, especially in Information Technology, are worth investing in. They've increased compensation, and many of our talented IT professionals accepted those opportunities. Honestly, I don't blame them. When someone can better support their family by driving a little farther down the road, that's a decision most of us would make. But every time we lose an experienced employee, our district loses years of knowledge and experience that can't simply be replaced. That's one more reason recruitment and retention have to remain a major focus as we return to the bargaining table. This time of year also brings new faces to our district. If this is your first year, welcome. You're about to discover something those of us who've been here for years already know. Classified employees don't just work together—we look out for each other. Then there are the people. Because at the end of the day, that's really what this has all been about. Budgets are easy to talk about. People aren't. A paraeducator who spent years building trust with students may now be in a different school. A secretary or custodian who helped define a school community is starting over somewhere new. Schools aren't just buildings. They're relationships. When a school closes, those relationships don't disappear, but they do change. Students lose familiar faces. Employees leave behind communities they helped build. That's something no spreadsheet can measure. The good news is that every employee on the recall list was offered a position. For most, that brought an end to months of uncertainty. A handful chose to decline those assignments and are now pursuing positions that weren't available during the recall process. For everyone else, the work now begins—building new relationships, becoming part of new school communities, and doing what classified employees have always done: showing up for students. That's what I've always admired most about our members. No matter what changes around them, they show up. They solve problems. They take care of students. They support one another. They simply get the job done. People ask me all the time what the union actually does. This is what we do. It's answering the phone when someone doesn't know where they're going to work. It's sitting beside an employee during one of the hardest meetings of their career. It's protecting rights, negotiating better wages and benefits, and making sure classified employees have a voice whenever decisions affecting their lives are made. Most of what we do, nobody ever sees. That's okay. We aren't here for recognition. We're here because people need someone in their corner. In just a few days, students will walk back through those school doors. They won't know everything that happened this summer. They won't know about the uncertainty, the transfers, the negotiations, the office fire, or the countless hours spent preparing their schools for another year. What they'll know is that their classroom is ready. Their bus is waiting. Their lunch is prepared. Everything they need is in place. That's because of classified employees. Our students are counting on us. Like they always have, we'll be there. Welcome back, and let's have a great school year. Rick Morgan President Mat-Su Classified Employees’ Association Follow our social media: Facebook page, Instagram, X (formally twitter) Youtube 6177 E. Mountain Heather Rd Suite 6 Palmer, Alaska 99645-8442 Office (907) 373-0800 | Cell (907) 355-6478 |
What are you waiting for??
Join CEA today!
Every voice is important and every education support professional (ESP) in our bargaining unit is needed. Whether you are a custodian, a paraprofessional, a nutrition service worker, clerical, or facility worker YOU will make a difference. I hope you will consider standing united with your fellow ESP's in the Mat-Su!
No other professional organization does more for Alaskan educators. With your support we can protect our profession today, and for the next generation of educators! Join Now! 
We have a great partnership with Grand Canyon University! Below is our contact who lives in Anchorage, give her a call!
Hannah Meneses (is our IN STATE contact!) University Development Counselor Grand Canyon University 907-201-1965 [email protected] |
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