By BEN CARPENTER

When I sat in the Alaska House of Representatives for six years, I heard the same refrain every budget season: “We’ve got a teacher recruitment and retention crisis, and the only fix is a defined benefits retirement system.” Superintendents, administrators, and union reps would march into my office, armed with PowerPoint slides and grim statistics, pleading for more money.

It was always about funding—more dollars for salaries, more dollars for pensions, more dollars for infrastructure. And don’t get me wrong, money matters. But after hosting Donna Anderson, Kenai Chapter Chair for Moms for Liberty, on a recent episode of the Must Read Alaska Show, I’m convinced we’ve been missing the forest for the trees.

Our education system isn’t just a funding problem—it’s a competition problem. Parents and students are the revenue stream, and if we don’t start earning back their trust, no amount of cash is going to save our schools.

Let’s start with a basic truth: Alaska’s public schools don’t operate in a vacuum. Parents have choices—charter schools, homeschooling through programs like IDEA, private options, or even moving out of state. Every time a family pulls their kid from a district school, that’s revenue walking out the door. In Alaska, our education funding follows the student through the Base Student Allocation (BSA)—a fancy term for the per-pupil dollar amount the state provides. More students, more money. Fewer students, less money.

It’s that simple. Yet year after year, I’d hear district leaders lament declining enrollment while brushing off the obvious question: Why are families leaving? Donna Anderson gave me a front-row seat to the answer, and it’s not what the suits at the school district want to hear.

Donna taught for 26 years in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District—30 if you count her time subbing and raising kids in the system. She’s a grandma now, retired last year, but she’s still in the fight because she sees what I’ve long suspected: the system’s failing its customers. Parents and students aren’t just stakeholders—they’re the lifeblood of the operation.

Donna told me about classrooms packed with 30 kids, curriculum that’s either age-inappropriate or flat-out ineffective, and a bureaucracy that’s more interested in checking boxes than listening to the people it serves. “Our students are our revenue stream,” she said on the show, and she’s dead right. But instead of competing to keep them, too many districts act like they’ve got a monopoly—and they’re shocked when families vote with their feet.

Take the curriculum mess Donna described. The district spent millions on a program called Fountas and Pinnell, only to ditch it when the Alaska Reads Act exposed its flaws. Then, in a mad rush, they pivoted to Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA)—a decision made by central office, rubber-stamped by the school board, and shoved down teachers’ throats with two days of training. Donna recounted teaching second graders about the “god of pleasure and wine” and world religions—topics she wasn’t comfortable with and parents didn’t sign up for. When she raised the alarm at school board meetings, alongside colleagues, the district’s response was tepid at best. Her students’ reading scores flatlined under CKLA until she defied directives, added back proven methods, and watched their progress soar.

The district’s solution? “Wait three years,” they told her. Three years! Tell that to a second grader who’s falling behind—or a parent who’s had enough.

This isn’t just a Kenai problem—it’s an Alaska problem. We’ve got charter schools topping national rankings because they control their curriculum and involve parents like it’s their job. Meanwhile, non-charter schools hemorrhage students, and the brass scratches their heads wondering why. During my time in the legislature, I’d ask: “Why can’t we replicate what works in charters?” The answer was always some version of, “Well, not all parents care.”

Hogwash. Donna’s experience tells a different story. In a class of 30, she pegged maybe five or six families as truly disengaged—a third at worst, often tied to deeper societal issues like foster care. That means two-thirds do care. They’re not the problem; the system is. If we’re losing them, it’s because we’re not competing for their trust.

Here’s where policy comes in—and why it’s every bit as critical as funding. Money without smart policy is like dumping fuel into a broken engine. Donna pointed out the district’s refusal to conduct exit interviews with departing teachers. Mat-Su does it. Fairbanks does it. Kenai? Nada. How do you fix retention if you don’t even ask why people are leaving? She told me teachers are burned out—class sizes are ballooning, workloads are crushing, and central office keeps piling on “duties as assigned” with zero compensation. One teacher quit mid-year from stress, and there’s no evidence the district followed up. The union’s no better—Donna said they shot down a proposal to survey teachers before pushing initiatives. Meanwhile, administrators told me in Juneau it’s all about pensions. Where’s the data? They don’t have it because they’re not asking.

Parents are fleeing for the same reasons: oversized classes, shaky curriculum, and a sense they’re not being heard. Donna’s seen it firsthand—families pulling kids to homeschool or charters because the district won’t adapt. I asked her about parental engagement, and she was clear: most want in. When she reached out, they showed up—except for the handful too broken by life to engage. That’s not a majority; it’s a minority that must be better managed. Yet districts treat parents like an afterthought. Donna begged the Kenai school board president, Zen Kelly, for an open forum with teachers—no central office, just honest talk. He said he was “uninterested.” Uninterested! If that’s not a wake-up call, I don’t know what is.

So how do we fix this? First, we’ve got to compete like our survival depends on it—because it does. Parents and students aren’t captive customers; they’re the revenue stream, and they’re shopping around. Districts need funding to hire teachers to cap class sizes—30 kids in a room isn’t learning, it’s chaos. But additional funding is only justifiable if student enrollment increases.

Administrators need to ditch one-size-fits-all curricula pushed by distant committees and let teachers and parents weigh in. It works in charter schools, and parents in non-charter schools can figure it out too. CKLA might work somewhere, but if it’s tanking in Kenai, scrap it. And for heaven’s sake, talk to people—exit interviews for teachers, listen to parents, open forums where the mic’s on and the suits are sidelined. Data drives decisions; we’re flying blind without it and emotional appeal is no substitute.

Second, policy has to lead the funding conversation—not trail it. I fought for fiscal restraint in the legislature because I know throwing money at a broken system doesn’t fix it. Look at Steubenville, Ohio—low-income, single-parent households, and their kids are reading like champs. Why? Small-group tutoring, early education, and one-on-one focus—all without a budget windfall. Alaska’s charter schools prove the same: control what you teach, keep parents in the loop, and kids thrive. We don’t need a billion-dollar bailout; we need leaders who’ll prioritize what works over what’s expedient.

Finally, we’ve got to empower the grassroots. Donna’s work with Moms for Liberty—chapters in Kenai, Anchorage, Mat-Su, and Fairbanks—shows what happens when parents and teachers organize. They’re not waiting for permission; they’re showing up at school board meetings, demanding accountability, and building a movement. 

Teachers, here’s where you find like-minded parents and safety in numbers. Common sense can break out in our schools when courageous teachers speak up and are supported by vocal parents. District administrators and union bosses must be reminded that dissent isn’t disloyalty. Schools exist to serve parents, andsome administrators have forgotten this. And frankly speaking, some parents have washed their hands of the responsibility of educating their kids. This too needs to change. You can join them at momsforliberty.org or email Donna at [email protected]. This isn’t about politics—it’s about results.

My focus is now on my grandkids, and like any grandparent, I want them to succeed. I’ve seen the sausage-making in Juneau, and I know the system won’t change unless we force it to. For six years, you and I have heard the funding excuse. Now, you’re hearing the real story from teacherslike Donna. Our education system isn’t doomed—it’s just not competing. Parents and students are the revenue stream, and they’re telling us what they want: smaller classes, better curriculum, and a seat at the table. Policy improvements aren’t a side dish to the funding debate—they’re the main course. Ignore that, and we’ll keep losing the people who keep the lights on. It’s time to listen, adapt, and fight like our kids’ future depends on it. Because it does.

Ben Carpenter is a former Alaska State Representative and the host of the Must Read Alaska Show.