Legislative Priorities
2025 Legislative Priorities
Legislative priorities for the School Board are typically determined through a collaborative process involving input from the community, district administration, and Board members. The process begins by identifying key challenges and opportunities within the school district, such as funding needs, program support, or infrastructure improvements.
Once established, these priorities guide the Board's advocacy efforts with the state, focusing on securing adequate and equitable education funding, policy changes, or other critical resources to support student success and district goals.
Resources
Improve Education Funding
Education funding in Alaska has not kept pace with the rising costs that school districts have faced over recent years. This funding shortfall places the ability of districts to deliver high-quality education at risk, leading to substantial staffing reductions and program cuts. How education is funded could be improved in the following areas to benefit students throughout Alaska:
- BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION: To ensure predictable and sustainable funding, enact annual legislation within 45 days of the legislative session to establish the BSA, adjusted for inflation since 2011 using Legislative Finance Division analysis and the same inflation factor applied to other administrative budgets.
- ALASKA READS ACT SUPPORT: Provide funding to school districts to support the requirements of the Alaska Reads Act, including increased staffing levels necessary to deliver valuable interventions for students both in and out of school.
- DEFERRED MAINTENANCE: Funding North Pole High School’s Mechanical and Electrical Upgrades, ranked 7th on the FY2026 Major Maintenance Grant list at $12,803,053, is a critical need for FNSBSD. With $367 million in deferred maintenance, delays caused by limited funding hinder essential projects across our district. Increasing funding to allow more than one capital improvement project per year for large districts is necessary to address these urgent needs effectively.
- TRANSPORTATION: Increase its transportation funding by at least $270 per pupil to $1,172 per pupil for FY25.
- SPECIAL EDUCATION: Increase funding for special education students, including correspondence students, to reflect eligibility growth and the rising cost of specialized services, including staffing, transportation, required extended school year programs, assistive technology, and individualized support.
- CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION: We urge legislators to prioritize targeted funding for Career and Technical Education programs, ensuring Fairbanks and Alaska develop a skilled workforce ready to meet the demands of our local and state economies.
- POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORT (PBIS): Provide targeted funding for districts to strengthen their positive behavioral interventions and support programs. PBIS is a proven framework that reduces disciplinary incidents, improves school climate, and enhances economic outcomes by focusing on positive reinforcement and support strategies. support.
Staff Recruitment and Retention
- RETURN TO DEFINED BENEFITS RETIREMENT SYSTEM: School districts need a better benefits system with shared risk between employers and employees to make Alaska a competitive education employer compared to other states. A strong defined benefit retirement package is essential to attract and retain educators, offering them security in retirement. The current system fails to incentivize teachers to work or remain in Alaska, undermining efforts to build a stable and experienced workforce.