Steiner wins 3rd term, Higgins wins 1st

Steiner won by a commanding 2-to-1 ratio over two challengers for Seat D, taking 55 percent of the vote. Toni Truelove and James LaBelle each had about 22 percent.

Higgins, fighting for Seat C in a crowded race against seven other candidates, won with 26 percent of the vote. Kathleen Plunkett came in second with 21 percent.

"I'm going to challenge the status quo and I'm going to speak out," Higgins said, standing among supporters at Election Central at the Egan Center.

Higgins focused his campaign on the district's high rate of dropouts. He wants the board to set higher standards and get more kids to graduate, he said. "I think the public is open to higher expectations."

Only 65 percent of ninth-graders in the district graduate within four years, according to district numbers.

The seven-member Anchorage School Board runs a district of about 48,000 students with a budget of about $700 million. Two seats were up for election this year. Members serve three-year terms and are elected areawide in nonpartisan races. They are paid about $24,000 annually.

This year, other than the district's dropout rate, issues included the growing cost of education and the ethnic diversity of the public schools.

Steiner, a 52-year-old assistant attorney general for the state, has already served two terms on the board; this will be his last because of term limits. He has been a vocal member of the board, often questioning accountability and wanting to see results in defined measurements.

Since 2004, every incumbent who has sought re-election to the School Board has won.

Higgins is a 55-year-old human resources director at North Star Behavioral Health System. He was supported by local unions and some local Democrats in his bid for the seat.

Plunkett, 52, was his biggest challenger. More conservative, she advocated an increase in vocational technical training for graduates who don't go to college -- about a third of the students.

The most recognizable candidate in the Seat C election, Jim Bailey, former principal of West High School, dropped out in mid-March. His name was still on the ballot, however and he collected about 10 percent of the votes.

At Alpenglow Elementary in Eagle River on Tuesday evening, Erin Shepherd-Ham said she voted for Steiner because he goes to her church.

"I like his faith foundation, where he comes from," she said.

Eagle River resident Joan Johnson said she voted for LaBelle.

"It would be good to have an Alaska Native on the School Board," she said. Currently, Marks is the only Native on the board and one of only two minorities, a concern to some who believe the board should better reflect the district's students, half of whom are minorities.

Steiner and Higgins will be sworn in April 21.