OPINION: Alaska’s schools are at the center of our communities — and they’re drastically underfunded

As schools across Alaska open for the new academic year, many rural schools are in crisis. In some cases, this crisis is existential, as rural and remote schools continue to face staffing and resource shortages. Alaska’s leaders must do more and families must demand that they do.

In the middle school where I taught last year, it became commonplace to have two or three classes report to the gym each day, where they played basketball, read books or did nothing, because there was no substitute to cover for absent teachers. Without adequate staffing, it is nearly impossible to improve outcomes like grades, test scores, and better student and community mental health.

The Legislature has a constitutional obligation to maintain a system of public schools. This year, the Legislature approved a one-time $175 million increase in school funding. Our schools need a reliable, long-term funding increase, but this one-time appropriation would have gone a long way toward recruiting and retaining staff. Unfortunately, the governor chose to veto half of this one-time increase.

The impacts of this decision, especially in rural Alaska, are immediate. The lack of appropriate school funding will result in unfilled vacancies, possible school closures, and, in some tragic cases, even the loss of rural communities. Rural and remote districts will have to cut positions or programs in response to inadequate funding. When village schools no longer meet the needs of families, those families may leave. And when families leave, villages struggle to survive.

Alaska’s schools are chronically understaffed and underfunded. Our school districts no longer offer competitive salaries. What’s more, Alaska’s educators don’t receive a pension or social security. And in rural and remote districts, it can be almost impossible to find affordable housing. Amid a national teacher shortage, this leads to districts that are unable to fill positions. As schools welcome students back into classrooms, there are more than 1,200 unfilled staff positions statewide.

A peer-reviewed study published in June found that one in five Alaska schools would need to increase salaries by at least 50% to recruit and retain qualified teachers. Most of these schools are in rural Alaska. Unfilled positions mean fewer electives, fewer extracurriculars, and larger class sizes. Some teachers will have to pick up topics outside their expertise just to fill the gaps.

The governor has recognized the problem of poor pay for teachers by offering a bill to provide bonuses. While this could be a partial solution, it is not a permanent one. Additionally, too many unfilled positions are essential staff people who are the backbone of any school: bus drivers, food service providers, custodians and all the other personnel who keep our schools safe and welcoming for students. These folks also deserve improved pay.

Personnel costs make up roughly 80% of any district budget in the state. Many rural schools are not only single-site, but also single-teacher. What should a district do when the budget consists of personnel expenses and building maintenance, but there’s only one teacher to cut and one building to close? Alaska spends more per student than many states, but the cost of heating and maintaining schools in remote communities eats up funds that other states use to pay teachers. Adjusted for living costs, Alaska spends less than the national average on education.

Neighborhood schools are the heart of any community. In Sitka, my hometown, schools provide community gyms and tsunami shelters. They are a meeting space for Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Club, Head Start, Big Brothers Big Sisters and so much more. In smaller communities, schools serve as a meeting place for village corporations, tribes, and utility cooperatives; for community gatherings, celebrations, weddings, and funerals; even as housing for visiting work crews repairing roads or other community infrastructure. Alaska’s failure to provide adequate funding places many small communities at risk of losing their schools altogether. When a school closes, a community suffers. Many small towns don’t survive.

Our communities, our economy and our democracy depend on high-quality public schools. Quality schools do more than ensure our students can pass standardized tests. A quality education feeds the natural curiosity of our children and gives them tools to solve the problems they will face in the workplace and their lives. When we fund schools that provide a whole child education, we open doors to music, sports, theater and academics. We create opportunities for interactions with peers and educators that stretch a child’s thinking. We all want a society where our children can think for themselves and follow their dreams.

Funding our public schools is both a constitutional obligation and a moral one. As our children go back to school this year, Alaskans should expect every student to have the best education possible — whether they live in Anchorage or Angoon.

Rep. Rebecca Himschoot is a public school teacher and representative in the Alaska Legislature. She represents coastal communities from Yakutat to Hydaburg (House District 2) in the Alaska House of Representatives.

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