By LUCAS SMITH
House Bill 69 is not the education bill Alaska’s public-school students and teachers deserve. HB 69 does nothing more than increase the Base Student Allocation. That is a proven recipe for disaster.
HB 69 is unfair to the Anchorage School District’s dedicated students and teachers, and fails to consider current constraints and realities. Time and time again ASD Superintendent Bryantt has demonstrated where his allegiance lies and it is not to ASD students and their education. It is also not to ASD’s dedicated teachers.
On Feb. 25 the Anchorage School District held a special meeting to approve the fiscal year 2025-2026 Preliminary Budget and authorize an upper limit spending authority of $866,250,188. Where was Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt on Feb. 24? He wasn’t in his office fretting over how to improve student outcomes. He was in Juneau lobbying the Alaska Legislature on the subject of competitive wages for teachers.
In a special meeting of the Anchorage Municipal Assembly held on April 2, 2025, Superintendent Bryantt was offered another opportunity to clarify the intent of ASD’s proposed budget.
Bryantt was asked, “How are you going to take some of these funds and try to improve the current programs… beyond the charter schools that are doing well?” Bryantt neither expressed a shared concern over student performance and outcomes, nor revealed even a hint of interest in providing any detail about a single improvement focused initiative. Instead, in what could be characterized as an arrogant lecturing retort, Bryantt spoke at length in support of defined benefits for teachers.
Are you middle aged? The child whose education is compromised today in favor of tenured teachers’ defined benefits packages could one day be the public defender assigned to your case, or your primary Medicare physician. Even if you don’t have kids enrolled at ASD, you have a dog in this fight!
At the outset of this legislative session, the Legislature’s education committees were given ample fair warning with strong encouragement to begin work on producing an education bill focused on improving student outcomes and test scores through innovation and choice, and with incentives for students and teachers. As an example, and a mighty good starting point, Governor Dunleavy proposed HB 76, a simple framework with sensible mechanisms for reforming and incentivizing Alaska education. Although HB 76 was received by the legislature on Jan. 31, the bill’s first hearing happened just days ago, on April 9.
HB 69 passed the House on March 12. The minority caucus offered more than 50 amendments to improve HB 69. Nearly all were turned down by the majority caucus lead by Republican Chuck Kopp of House District 10.
HB 69 must be vetoed, reminding both the legislature and Superintendent Bryantt that student outcomes do matter, and both teachers and students should be rewarded for achieving them together.
Do not allow the legislature to pass an education bill that simply empowers Superintendent Bryantt to throw money at the teachers’ union. This benefits no one. Tell the Alaska Legislature and tell your legislator we want all options on the table – incentives, choice, innovation – not the same old tired flavor of education most of us seem to be gagging on.
Alaska requires a long-term fiscal solution, and with that solution, perhaps then, and only then, might we all be willing to consider serious investment in public education; but definitely not now, and not through HB 69.
Lucas Smith is a parent in Anchorage.
