Alaska Education Needs More Than Adjustments — It Needs a Plan

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.
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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