By Rick Morgan, President of the Classified Employees' Association

​The Mat-Su Borough School Board recently approved a budget that includes closing three schools and cutting both certified and classified positions.

For the families and employees affected, those decisions feel sudden. But they are not. They are the predictable result of years of pressure placed on public education from multiple directions.

This is not about assigning blame — it’s about understanding how we got here and what it will take to fix it.

Public education in Alaska is not collapsing on its own. It is being squeezed.

Start with the State of Alaska.

For years, the cost of operating schools has risen with inflation. Utilities cost more. Insurance costs more. Materials cost more. Recruiting and retaining employees costs more.

But the state’s education funding system has not kept pace.

Each year that funding remains flat, school districts lose more purchasing power. Districts are expected to maintain the same services while the real value of education funding shrinks.

Flat funding over time is not neutral policy. It is simply a slower way of cutting.

Over roughly the past 25 years, the Base Student Allocation has increased by about 66 percent, while inflation has risen closer to 85 to 90 percent. That gap is not theoretical — it shows up in school closures, larger class sizes, and reduction-in-force notices for the people who keep schools running.

At the same time, policy decisions in Juneau continue to reshape education without addressing that underlying gap.

Senate Bill 277 is one example. While it includes adjustments to funding and programs, it largely shifts how money moves through the system rather than fixing the structural problem districts are facing. It adds complexity, places new constraints on correspondence programs, and does not provide the long-term stability schools need.
But there is another path.

In December, I submitted a proposal to members of the Senate and House Education Committees, as well as the Governor’s Office — the Alaska Education Freedom and Educator Rights Act of 2026.

This proposal starts from a simple premise: if we are going to change education in Alaska, we should do it in a way that actually works.

The plan creates a student-centered funding model through Education Savings Accounts tied to the existing Base Student Allocation, allowing families flexibility while maintaining accountability for how public dollars are used.

At the same time, it ensures that every school receiving public funds — whether public, charter, or private — meets the same standards for transparency, oversight, and performance.

Just as important, it protects the people who make schools work.

The proposal guarantees collective bargaining rights, preserves existing union agreements even if schools are restructured, and requires participation in Alaska’s retirement and benefit systems. Expanding choice should not come at the cost of the workforce that serves students every day.

It also addresses a reality we can no longer ignore.

School districts cannot continue operating buildings that are significantly under capacity. The proposal includes a requirement that schools maintain reasonable utilization levels or develop plans to adjust, ensuring resources are used responsibly.

At the same time, it protects access — requiring all publicly funded schools to serve students with disabilities and English language learners and prohibiting exclusion based on need.

This is what a complete policy looks like. It balances choice with accountability. Flexibility with responsibility. Innovation with stability.

And it does something current proposals do not. It addresses the system as a whole.
Because the truth is, the challenges facing public education in Alaska are not coming from one place.

They are the result of decisions at every level.

State leaders who have not kept funding aligned with inflation. Local governments that choose not to fund to the cap allowed under law. Policy debates that prioritize ideology over practical outcomes. And systems that have not adapted to changing enrollment patterns.

At the same time, families are making choices.

Thousands of students in Mat-Su are now enrolled in correspondence programs or alternative options. That should not be ignored — it should be understood.

If we want strong public schools, we have to build a system that families trust, that educators want to work in, and that communities are willing to support.

That requires leadership.

Too often, the conversation becomes about who is to blame. The state points to local governments. Local governments point to the state. School boards point to funding. Legislators point to enrollment.

But that does not solve anything.

Public education is a shared responsibility.

And if you hold public office — whether in Juneau, on the Borough Assembly, or on a school board — these challenges are not someone else’s problem.

They are exactly the problems you were elected to solve.
​
The future of public education in Alaska will not be decided by who can make the best argument. It will be decided by who is willing to bring forward real solutions — and take responsibility for making them work.

A full copy of the Alaska Education Freedom and Educator Rights Act of 2026 is available here

This past week forced some hard conversations in our schools and in our community. Proposed closures, budget reductions, and the very real fear employees and families are feeling right now are not theoretical. They are personal.

But if we’re going to move forward, we have to be honest about something that makes people uncomfortable:

Public education didn’t just lose students.
We lost trust.

Not all at once. Not because of one decision. And not because families suddenly stopped caring about neighborhood schools.

We lost trust because somewhere along the way, we allowed the mission to drift away from what parents expect when they send their kids to us — strong academics, safe schools, and a clear path to a successful future.

Parents didn’t leave because they were “anti-education.”

They left because they had choices — and they used them.

And they should.

Trying to limit correspondence or other options isn’t a strategy. It’s an admission that we’re afraid to compete. Public education in the Mat-Su has never been at its best when it’s protecting a system. It’s at its best when it’s proving its value. If we want families back in our buildings, we have to earn them back. That means a renewed focus on the core mission:

Reading. Writing. Math. Science.
Career and technical education that leads to real jobs.
Graduates who are prepared for life — not just a ceremony.
It also means looking in the mirror — and that includes those of us in labor.

I’m proud of the work our union does protecting employees, enforcing contracts, and making sure the people who keep our schools running are treated with dignity and respect. That work matters.

But we also have to be honest with ourselves: when the conversation in education becomes more about adult issues than student outcomes, parents notice. And when parents notice, they make different choices.

That’s not an attack. That’s a reality check.

This isn’t just on educators, and it isn’t just on the district. Administrators have to create buildings where the academic mission is protected. The school board has to continue advocating for the resources our district needs — and they do, whether people see it or not. The Borough and the State have to provide stable, predictable funding so we can plan for the long term instead of cutting our way through every budget cycle.

Because here’s the truth: you can’t compete for students while operating in constant financial crisis.

But funding alone will not bring families back.

Trust will.

Trust is built when: Parents feel heard. Classrooms are focused and effective. Schools are places where students are safe and learning at high levels. Trust is built when the system proves — day after day — that it is about kids first.

This is not about defending brick-and-mortar schools.
This is about renewing their purpose.

Public education today is not a monopoly. It’s a choice. And if it’s a choice, then we have to compete for our students and families — not by tearing down other options, but by being the best option.

We have the people to do it. I see it every day in the classified employees who keep our schools running, in the teachers who refuse to give up on kids, and in the communities that still show up for their neighborhood schools.

The question isn’t whether public education can win back enrollment.

The question is whether we are willing to do the work to earn it.

Because once we do that — once the focus is back where it belongs — families will come back.

Not because we told them to.
Because they want to.

— Rick Morgan
President, Mat-Su Classified Employees’ Association

Across Alaska, public education is losing students in traditional brick-and-mortar schools while correspondence programs continue to grow. At the same time, many parents remain angry about how long schools stayed closed during COVID and how disconnected they felt from decisions affecting their children.

That isn’t a contradiction. It’s a warning.

Enrollment doesn’t collapse overnight. It erodes when trust breaks. And we need to be honest about something uncomfortable: as education institutions—including unions—we have played a role in breaking that trust.

In public education, funding follows students. When families leave neighborhood schools, funding leaves with them. That is not ideology; it is how the system works.

What is less discussed is how quickly enrollment loss becomes a downward spiral. Fewer students mean fewer dollars. Fewer dollars mean fewer positions, reduced programs, and less stability. And as positions disappear, union membership declines as well.

When membership declines, leverage declines. Administrations feel it. Legislators sense it. And bargaining outcomes reflect it.

The pandemic exposed long-standing problems. Decisions about closures, remote learning, and reopening were often centralized, poorly explained, and dismissive of parental concerns. Many families felt powerless in a system that spoke at them rather than with them.

That frustration didn’t disappear when schools reopened. It hardened into skepticism.

For many parents, correspondence schools became an exit ramp—not because they hate teachers, but because they no longer trusted institutions to respect their role in their children’s education.

School choice, whether we agree with it or not, is feedback. Families vote with their feet when they believe they’ve lost a voice.

Where We Have to Look in the Mirror
Here is the hard part—especially for those of us in union leadership.

Instead of responding to declining trust with humility and focus, education institutions often doubled down on political activism far outside the core mission of teaching and learning. Unions increasingly positioned themselves not just as labor organizations, but as ideological actors speaking for families rather than listening to them.

For many parents, that confirmed their worst fears: that public education had become politicized, unaccountable, and dismissive of dissenting views.

Once that perception takes hold, it doesn’t matter how fair it feels internally. Trust collapses externally—and enrollment follows.

The enemies of public education did not invent correspondence schools. They didn’t force families to leave neighborhood classrooms. And they didn’t have to persuade the public that institutions were out of touch.

We did that ourselves.

Every time our institutions confuse activism with representation, certainty with leadership, or ideology with accountability, we hand our critics exactly what they need. They don’t have to attack public education. They just point—and watch families walk away.

And as funding drains from brick-and-mortar schools, those same critics celebrate. Because correspondence growth weakens traditional schools, fragments communities, and makes collective bargaining harder.

They love that we keep supplying the ammunition.

This isn’t about whether individual educators should care about social issues. Of course they do. Members can and should advocate as individuals.

But institutions are different. Institutions survive on trust. And trust depends on restraint.
A union’s job is not to parent children or dictate values. It is to negotiate strong contracts, defend due process, protect working conditions, and hold administrations accountable. When unions drift from that mission, they don’t become more powerful—they become easier to ignore.

This is not a debate about values. It is a debate about sustainability.

Focus Is Not Silence—It Is Survival

There is a dangerous myth that narrowing institutional focus is a form of retreat. It isn’t. It is how credibility is rebuilt.

Winning strong contracts is advocacy.

Defending due process is advocacy.

Standing up to arbitrary administrators is advocacy.

Those actions require public confidence and broad member support. Neither survives prolonged mission creep.

A union is not a political movement. It is a labor organization. And labor organizations exist to protect their members.

Rebuilding Trust Is the Only Way Forward and if public education is going to recover, brick-and-mortar schools must regain the trust of families. That will not happen through louder messaging or expanded agendas. It will happen through humility, transparency, and a renewed respect for parental voice.

Strong schools require trust.

Strong unions require members.
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And neither can survive if we continue doing our opponents’ work for them.
If we want to stop the bleeding, we have to stop handing them the knife.

Rick Morgan
President, Mat-Su Classified Employees Association
NEA-Alaska ESP At-Large Director

By Rick Morgan
President, Classified Employees Association (CEA)

For too long, Alaska’s education debate has gone in circles.
Every year we argue about funding.
Every year the numbers get worse.
Every year families lose confidence.
Every year educators feel more trapped.
And every year nothing really changes.

This coming legislative session may be Alaska’s last real chance to finish the education discussion — not with another patch or temporary fix, but with a system that actually works for students, families, and the people who keep schools running.

That’s why two coordinated bills built by the Classified Employees Association under my leadership are now being sent to our legislative delegation and the education committees in both the House and Senate.
They aren’t talking points.
They’re solutions.
And together, they finally break the stalemate that’s been choking off real reform in this state.

First: Fix the Money
The first bill, the Public Education Funding Stabilization Act, fixes the funding formula — something Alaska has avoided for decades.
It:

• Funds schools based on actual students, not politics.
• Fully funds education using Adjusted ADM × BSA.
• Adjusts funding for inflation every year so districts aren’t constantly falling behind.
• Ends the practice of cutting state aid just because local property values go up.
• Requires a reasonable, predictable local contribution so communities stay invested.
• Includes a three-year hold-harmless so districts can adjust without chaos.

That gives schools something they’ve never really had: stability.
But money alone won’t fix the system.

Second: Fix the System
The second bill, the Alaska Education Freedom & Educator Rights Act, fixes how the system actually works.
It:

• Expands parent choice through Education Savings Accounts.
• Keeps charter schools accountable to local school boards.
• Requires every school taking public money — public, charter, or private — to serve students with IEPs and English-language needs.
• Adds a 1.25× funding weight for students living off the road system, where the real costs are higher.
• Requires public school buildings to operate at 75% capacity before building new ones.
• Protects the education workforce with collective bargaining, secure retirement, and automatic rollover of existing unions when schools change models.

This isn’t parents versus teachers.
This is parents and teachers finally pulling in the same direction.

Why They Have to Move Together
These bills aren’t competing ideas — they’re two halves of the same solution.
One stabilizes the finances.
The other repairs the structure.
You need both, or we’re right back here again in two years having the same argument.
Together they:

• Stabilize school budgets
• Expand opportunity for families
• Protect the workforce that keeps schools running
• Preserve local control
• Deliver long-overdue fairness for rural Alaska
• Remove the false choice between reform and stability

For the first time, Alaska has a serious path forward that doesn’t sacrifice one group to serve another.

Why This Session Matters
​If we keep delaying real reform:

• Enrollment keeps dropping
• Costs keep rising
• Teacher shortages get worse
• Families keep leaving the system — and the state

The second session can’t be another year of kicking the can down the road.
It’s time to finish the education conversation — with a system that works.
Alaska’s students, families, and educators deserve nothing less.

By Rick Morgan, President
Classified Employees Association, Mat-Su Borough School District

Nearly a year ago, the Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits (DRB) froze all PERS and TRS deposits for thousands of public employees. Not delayed — frozen. Entire pay periods passed where Alaska’s workers contributed to their retirement, yet not a single dollar went into their accounts.

Months later, the state acknowledged the failure. But here we are today:

​No make-up payments. No restored earnings. No timeline. No urgency.
For workers who are retiring right now, that delay has real, permanent consequences. When you lose investment time, you lose money — plain and simple. That’s not politics.
That’s math.
And every day DRB stalls, the bill grows larger. Workers lose more of what they earned, and taxpayers inch closer to footing an even bigger liability.
This is not a partisan problem. This is a government accountability problem. And it is long past time for the State of Alaska to clean up its own mess.

Conservatives know that government’s first responsibility is stewardship — not excuses If a private financial firm withheld retirement contributions for months and refused to pay lost earnings, they’d be sued into dust. But when the state does it? There’s a shrug, a press release, and then silence.
Big government loves to manage people’s money — but rarely wants to take responsibility when it mishandles that money.
Public employees kept their end of the bargain. They worked. They contributed. They played by the rules.
Meanwhile, DRB violated the most basic conservative principle of all:
Government must not take from citizens what it is unwilling to safeguard.
When a state agency mismanages workers’ money, that is not a “glitch.”
It’s a breach of trust.

The longer the delay, the higher the cost — for retirees AND taxpayersEvery day DRB postpones these payments:

• Workers lose more potential growth.
• The liability owed grows larger.
• The eventual taxpayer burden increases.
• The likelihood of a political “quiet fix” rises — the kind where workers never get what they’re owed.

A fiscally responsible government fixes problems early, transparently, and fully.
A bloated, unaccountable government lets them fester until people give up complaining.
Right now, Alaska is choosing the latter.

Retirees don’t have time for bureaucratic delay
This is not an abstract future problem. Retirements are happening today.
People who gave decades of service — custodians, aides, mechanics, drivers, educators — are walking into retirement with less than they earned.
Not because of markets. Not because of inflation.
But because the State of Alaska mishandled their money and hasn’t corrected the error.
These workers are not asking for a bonus.
They are asking for the money they earned and the growth that should have come with it.
Anything less is wrong — morally and fiscally.

Alaska must act now It is time for the Division of Retirement and Benefits to:

1. Explain the delay.
2. Provide a timeline.
3. Restore the missing contributions.
4. Pay the lost earnings in full.

Not eventually.
Not “as resources allow.”
Now.
Government has no right to lecture citizens about fiscal responsibility while mishandling their retirement accounts.
Alaskans kept their promise.
It’s time for their state government to keep its promise too.

As this semester comes to an end, it’s worth reflecting on a reality many in our community never see: the continual, often quiet battles required to defend the basic workplace rights of the people who keep our schools functioning every day.
Across the Mat-Su Borough School District, classified employees—special education staff, secretaries, custodians, IT technicians, specialists, interventionists, and dozens more—make up nearly half the workforce. They open the buildings, run the systems, support our most vulnerable students, and serve on the front lines of student and staff safety.
And this semester, they found themselves in conflict not because they were seeking more, but because they were defending what was already negotiated.
When Rules Aren’t Followed, People Get Hurt
Throughout the fall, CEA had to step in repeatedly when district directives clashed with the contract that governs classified employees’ work.
When custodial responsibilities were shifted without negotiation—creating workload, safety, and liability concerns—CEA filed a grievance to ensure that job duties follow the contract, not convenience.
And when inconsistent camera access and unclear monitoring practices raised concerns about privacy, FERPA compliance, and employee dignity, CEA submitted a proposed agreement to bring structure where none exists. Transparency and accountability are not optional when surveillance is involved.
Neither of these issues are abstract disputes. They directly affected people’s safety, pay, or privacy. And they highlight a pattern: policy improvisation creates real consequences for real employees.
The Public Often Sees the Headlines, Not the Harm
Most families never hear about these battles. They shouldn’t have to; they trust the district to manage fairly. But when a system relies too heavily on informal decisions, last-minute directives, or “this is how we’re doing it now,” the people paying the price are the employees trusted to carry out those decisions.
The classified workforce isn’t asking for special treatment. We’re asking for the district to follow the language everyone agreed to. If a change is needed, there is a legal process to make it.
That process was ignored too many times this semester.
Negotiations Are Coming — But Not on Social Media
In the spring, CEA and the district will begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Some will be tempted to speculate; others will try to guess at our priorities. Here is what I can say responsibly:

• The negotiations will be disciplined and professional.
• CEA will not negotiate in public.
• And the issues we've had to confront this semester have made it abundantly clear where stability and clarity are lacking.

The past few months have shown that the contract isn’t just paperwork—it’s the guardrail that prevents confusion, inconsistency, and arbitrary decision-making. When the contract is ignored, the guardrail disappears.
The Community Deserves a Stable, Supported Workforce
Every parent in Mat-Su wants their child greeted by a consistent, well-trained workforce. That only happens when the district respects the agreements that govern those workers’ daily lives—and when employees feel safe, valued, and protected.
A stable classified workforce is not a luxury. It’s the backbone of operational safety, student supports, and school climate. Constant turnover is far more expensive than maintaining fair, predictable working conditions.
The Work Ahead
Our members are ready for thoughtful, responsible negotiations. We have no intention of inflaming tensions or posturing. But we will continue to do what we did all semester:

Stand up when the rules are ignored.

Speak up when employees are put in impossible positions.

And ensure the voices of classified staff are heard in decisions that affect them.
This semester made one truth clear: strong contracts aren’t obstacles — they’re safeguards. And honoring them is not optional.

As we head into the next phase of bargaining, my promise is simple:
CEA will continue to defend the people who keep our schools running, and we will continue doing so with respect, professionalism, and an unwavering focus on what works for Mat-Su’s students and staff.

​Written by Rick Morgan, President MatSu Classified Employees' Association

By Rick Morgan, President, Classified Employees Association
Being president of a local union is inherently political. My job is to advocate for the people I represent — and that means speaking out when their voices are being silenced or ignored.
When the school board eliminated the SABRE position — a key position designed to foster student and community engagement — I spoke up. When the board changed its speaker format to limit public debate, I spoke up again — on social media, in public meetings, and anywhere my members’ voices could be heard. For doing so, I was verbally attacked by a school board member and called a “traitor.”
But advocating for my members doesn’t stop with school board meetings. Part of my role is working with legislators, both allies and skeptics, to shape policy that affects public education. I write bills and amendments and send them to Juneau. I meet with lawmakers, testify, and share our members’ stories. And yes — I regularly call out both political parties when their actions harm public education.
Lately, I’ve received messages criticizing the “political nature” of my Facebook post about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. My heart goes out to his family, his friends, and all those who are grieving this terrible loss. But where were those messages when I spoke out about other political issues? The concern doesn’t seem to be that CEA is political — it seems to be that some fear we may be on the “wrong side” of their preferred argument.
Let me be clear: violence is always wrong. The murders of the Minnesota congresswoman and her husband, school shootings, and random stabbings on trains are horrific and heartbreaking. My post was never intended to diminish or make light of those tragedies. But those murders were not connected to the Constitution or free speech. The assassination of Charlie Kirk was different — it was an attempt to silence someone for his words, and that is a direct attack on the First Amendment itself.
I am an educator, in every sense of the word. I have worked to foster a local union where anyone — regardless of political or social views — can succeed, contribute, and be heard. Disagreement is not a threat to democracy; silencing disagreement is.
I have faced verbal attacks and even physical threats, including from members of my own statewide union, simply for taking a different position during debate. But I will not be intimidated into silence.
The First Amendment exists for a reason. Without the right to speak freely — even to say things others might not like — everything falls apart. A free country cannot function without free speech. Violence or intimidation can never be justified as a way to silence someone, whether that person is on the left, right, or center.
CEA’s strength depends on protecting every member’s right to speak and be heard. Advocacy is not always comfortable, but it is necessary. And as long as I serve as president, I will continue to speak up — for my members, for open debate, and for public education — even when it’s unpopular.
My invitation to you, whether you agree with me or not, is simple: join the conversation. Speak up. Be heard. Engage respectfully. Because when we defend the right of everyone to participate, our schools — and our democracy — are stronger for it.

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By Rick Morgan, President – Mat-Su Classified Employees Association

For most people, the first day of school is a memory — new shoes, a sharpened pencil, a backpack full of promise. For those of us who work in education, it’s not just a memory. It’s a moment we relive every year.
When the buses roll, classrooms open, and students fill the halls, every employee in our school district — from the classroom to the cafeteria, from IT to transportation — plays a part in building the foundation for a child’s success. This isn’t just a job. It’s a calling. Every first day reminds us why we do it.
We are entrusted with the safety, growth, and future of other people’s children. We see the struggles they face and the victories they earn. The work we do changes lives — and sometimes, saves them. That’s not just important. It’s essential to our community, our economy, and our future.
That’s why it’s so important to keep our focus where it belongs: on the students. When education gets drawn into national political battles — no matter which side of the aisle — it distracts from our mission and erodes public trust. Our community expects us to be educators first, not political actors.
Our union is affiliated with the NEA, and there is great value in being connected to a national network of educators. But I believe we must always be careful to keep the classroom a place for learning, not a place for politics. We can advocate for better pay, safer workplaces, and the resources our students need without being drawn into the divisive debates that take the spotlight off our core mission.
The first day of school is about hope. It’s about possibility. It’s about making sure that every child, regardless of background, has the tools they need to succeed. That mission is too important to be overshadowed by agendas set far away from our classrooms.
As we begin this school year, I’m asking our community to remember: the people in your schools are your neighbors, friends, and family. We’re here because we believe in your kids. Support us in keeping education focused where it belongs — on students, not politics.

​

Senator Shelley Hughes recently shared her frustration over the Legislature’s vote to override the Governor’s veto of a $700 increase to the Base Student Allocation (BSA). I respect Senator Hughes’ commitment to education reform and her desire for long-term solutions. But let’s be clear: the override wasn’t a case of reform being rejected—it was a case of reform being proposed and ignored.
This spring, I personally submitted a detailed set of amendments to House Bill 57, the Legislature’s education funding vehicle. These proposals were sent directly to the House Majority and our Mat-Su Valley delegation, including Representative Jamie Allard. They weren’t just slogans. They were concrete, cost-conscious, and classroom-focused recommendations, shaped through months of direct input from educators, classified school employees, and district leaders across the state.
Our proposal included:

• A mechanism to tie future BSA increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—finally ending the annual fight over flat funding.
• A dedicated 75/25 funding split: 75% earmarked for direct classroom instruction and 25% for district-defined needs—ensuring both accountability and local control.
• A fix for the outdated student transportation funding formula that penalizes growing and rural districts.
• Professional development funding for both teachers and classified staff.
• Flexibility for funding student behavioral and mental health support—a need seen in every school.

These weren’t theoretical concepts. They were fully written, fully deliverable amendments. But they were never even given a hearing. For all the talk about reform, the most detailed and actionable reform plan offered by front-line education professionals never made it off the shelf.
When the Legislature overrode the Governor’s veto, they didn’t abandon reform—they ensured Alaska’s students and schools wouldn’t have to endure another year of financial instability. That vote gave districts the certainty to hire staff, purchase materials, and meet student needs now, not six months down the road.
As a conservative and a union leader, I care deeply about accountability, efficient government, and strong local control. But I also believe in public education—not as a partisan battleground, but as the foundation of opportunity in Alaska. And when schools are hanging on by a thread, waiting for relief that never comes, we have a moral obligation to act.
We’re still at the table. We still have the plan. And we are ready to work with any lawmaker—Senator Hughes included—who wants to move from rhetoric to real, deliverable policy.
Let’s stop pretending good ideas don’t exist. They do. They were offered. It’s time we act on them.

​By Rick Morgan, President, Mat-Su Classified Employees Association & NEA-Alaska ESP At-Large Director

By Rick Morgan, President of the Mat-Su Classified Employees Association, NEA-Alaska ESP Director-at-Large
​Our public education system is in crisis. That’s not an overstatement—it’s a hard truth. As a union leader, I’ve spent my career fighting to improve public schools from the inside. But when I look at the state of classrooms across the country—and right here at home—I can’t pretend everything is fine.
School choice is often framed as an attack on public education. I don’t see it that way. I see it as an acknowledgment that too many families have run out of time to wait for the system to get its act together. When your child is trapped in a school overwhelmed by violence, addiction, apathy, and distraction, you don’t want a committee—you want options.
But let’s also be clear: school choice cannot be a substitute for fixing the schools we already have. Alaska’s public education system doesn’t just need competition—it needs leadership, structure, and courage.
Let’s be honest about what’s driving families away:

• Cell phones have become a third teacher in the room—except they don’t teach. They distract, divide, and sometimes endanger. We need real limits on phone use in schools, and real consequences when those limits are ignored.
• Parental apathy is rising. Many parents care deeply, but a growing number have checked out—leaving educators to raise, teach, and discipline their children with little backup, if their children even make it to school.
• Violence and disruption are more common than ever. Teachers and support staff are expected to be counselors, guards, social workers, and medics—all while test scores slide and resources dwindle.
• Funding gaps are real—and so is waste. We need to invest in classrooms, not bureaucracies. Dollars should follow students—but they should also be spent responsibly and locally.

School choice—whether in the form of public charters, magnet programs, or homeschooling partnerships—can be a lifeline for parents. But if we simply shift public dollars into outsourced schools with less accountability and no connection to local communities, we are not solving the problem—we’re just reshuffling the failure.

The Governor’s Proposal: A Chance—and a Caution
With the clock ticking before the special session, Governor Mike Dunleavy has put forward a serious package of education reforms: open enrollment across districts, expanded charter authorizing, recruitment and retention bonuses for hard-to-staff areas, literacy grants, after-school tutoring, and tribal compacting for culturally responsive education.
These are not radical ideas. Many are overdue. Alaska’s student performance ranks among the lowest in the nation. If we want different outcomes, we need different approaches.
But here’s the caution: the governor vetoed a $200 increase to the Base Student Allocation—a bipartisan win—and is now offering to restore it if the Legislature passes his full reform package. That’s not statesmanship; that’s hostage politics. Public education funding shouldn’t come with strings tied to a political agenda.
And buried in the proposal is the potential for deep structural change: allowing the Department of Education—not local school boards—to authorize charter schools across the state. That could mean bypassing local voices in favor of centralized power. It might fast-track innovation—or it might fast-track the dismantling of local public education.

What Would It Take to Turn Things Around?
We don’t just need more teachers—we need the right people choosing to teach. But right now, we’re driving away exactly the kind of educators we claim to want.
To attract and keep great teachers, we need to restore respect, structure, and mission:

• Discipline must be non-negotiable. No one thrives in chaos. In schools that work—whether charter, parochial, or traditional public—there are clear rules and strong leadership.
• We need to revive the basics. Reading, writing, math, science, and civics—not social experiments or political distractions—must come first.
• A love of country should be encouraged, not erased. Students should be allowed to take pride in America while learning its full history.
• Cell phones must go. The schools that are improving—like Success Academy in New York or charter networks in Arizona and Texas—enforce strict limits. That’s no coincidence.
• Support staff are essential. Teachers can’t do it alone. Paraeducators, IT, custodians, and clerical staff are the backbone of functioning schools.
• Accountability should be local and real. The best schools empower strong principals and responsive communities, and great school boards—not distant authorizers or bureaucrats.

Here’s the good news: we know what works. Across the country, successful schools share common traits—firm discipline, high expectations, involved families, protected classroom time, and mission-driven educators. These aren’t partisan ideas. They’re common sense.

To Our Legislators: Don’t Waste This Moment—or Be Played
We don’t need to choose between public education and school choice—we need to choose what works. That means empowering parents, protecting educators, and restoring order, purpose, and pride in the classroom.
But let’s be honest: the $200 BSA increase that the governor vetoed is a real funding cut—and now it’s being used as a bargaining chip. Alaska’s students shouldn’t be caught in a political trap.
To the liberal majority: override the veto if you must, but don’t let that be the end of the conversation. Engage in the reform debate. Debate the details. Improve the proposals. Show up. Don’t walk away just because you don’t like who’s sitting across the table.
To the governor: if you want real reform, don’t bulldoze the process. Local education deserves local voice. Public schools need support, not replacement.
And to both sides: stop using students as leverage. Alaska’s education system needs urgent action, not political brinkmanship.
Let’s return to discipline, high standards, and a love of country—and build a system worthy of the kids we claim to serve.