Roughly 20% of Alaska’s 60 lawmakers come from public education careers, many as former teachers, professors, lobbyists, or school board members.
When including those tied to education advocacy, tutoring businesses, and NEA-aligned nonprofits, and former work as legislative aides, that influence may reach as high as 35%.
The majority of Alaska lawmakers do not come from the private sector; they’ve never signed the front of a paycheck, only the back. More than half — mostly all the Democrats — are from government careers, which explains why they do not focus on the economy, but only on spending and taxes. They don’t advance bills to support energy or resource development. They only focus on growing government programs and funding schools to the maximum extent possible.
Among the most prominent from the education industry are Reps. Andi Story and Sara Hannan of Juneau, both longtime public education insiders. Hannan is a former teacher and Story is a former school board member, co-founder of Great Alaska Schools and past president of the Alaska Association of School Board.
Rep. Maxine Dibert came to the Legislature straight from the classroom in Fairbanks. Rep. Rebecca Himschoot of Sitka retired from teaching after 24 years in the classroom, then ran for office. Rep. Ted Eischied of Anchorage was a teacher for 25 years. Rep. Ashley Carrick of Fairbanks was a teacher. Rep. Alyse Galvin of Anchorage is a cofounder of Great Alaska Schools. Rep. Andy Josephson taught in the Kuspuk School District in Lower Kalskag for four years.
Sen. Jesse Bjorkman of Nikiski was a teacher and NEA union official. Sen. Gary Stevens of Kodiak is a former professor. Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson was a teacher’s aide in the Anchorage, then an administrator and served on the school board. Then you can add in Republican Sen. Mike Cronk, a former teacher.
There are others who have NEA ties through part-time, substitute, and adjunct work.
The NEA-bloc routinely aligns with NEA-Alaska’s priorities, chief among them being an increased per-student funding without accompanying reforms to make schools more accountable.
NEA-Alaska, through its PACE political fund and lobbying muscle, has helped shape legislative outcomes by backing campaigns and mobilizing grassroots efforts, particularly in urban strongholds like Juneau, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. The override of HB 57 is the clearest sign yet that the NEA’s political investments have paid off.
These legislators show little concern for building the private sector economy and growing a stable job market in Alaska, even as Alaska faces a projected $400–500 million deficit for FY26.
Despite this, the Legislature, in overriding the governor’s veto of House Bill 57, chose to approve a $184+ million annual increase in education spending without identifying a durable funding source. Oil revenues, which once buoyed the state budget, now account for only about 30% of general fund income. The Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Fund picks up most of the slack, and further draws risk destabilizing the annual dividend Alaskans rely on. Right now, the funding source is a raid on the economic development engine of the state and the higher education fund for scholarships. Later it will be taxes.
Supporters of HB 57 claim the increase is long overdue, pointing out that the Base Student Allocation has been flat since 2017, although the truth is that the Legislature and governor have awarded one-year increases every year for over a decade.
But throwing more money into the system does little good if it isn’t paired with structural reforms, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has argued. Administrative bloat remains a major problem in Alaska’s school districts: Between 2002 and 2020, administrative salaries rose 18%, while teacher pay increased just 1%.
Today, Alaska has approximately five non-teaching staff for every four teachers, an imbalance that diverts resources away from classrooms.
The education lobby’s opposition to any meaningful reforms, such as school choice, voucher programs, or stricter accountability measures proposed by Gov. Dunleavy, undermines the credibility of their funding demands.
HB 57 contains token policy gestures, such as minor adjustments to charter school processes and cell phone policies, but avoids any significant challenge to the NEA’s grip on public education. Voucher proposals and charter school expansions, backed by fiscal conservatives and some parent groups, continue to be stonewalled by the same bloc that pushed HB 57 through.
The override of HB 57 signals that organized special interests, especially those with deep roots in the education industry has, can dictate budget policy regardless of the state’s fiscal outlook. It weakens the executive branch’s ability to impose discipline in budgeting and puts added pressure on the Permanent Fund at a time when global oil markets remain volatile.
Gov. Dunleavy’s veto was a responsible attempt to force broader reforms and long-term sustainability. The Legislature’s override, driven by the NEA’s PACE political apparatus and the legislative bloc of former educators, was a rejection of that restraint.
In the short term, schools may get a funding boost. But in the long run, this decision deepens Alaska’s structural budget imbalance and further insulates an education system that has yet to deliver results commensurate with its cost.
I often wonder why there are so many issues with every form of government that involves unions in which you have to pay dues to be a member of so you get the big bucks raising the cost of everything, everywhere to the point that non union members can’t even afford to live. somebody has to pay for their dues and it comes from the cost of everything we buy. Lets go on strike so we can demand even more money……..so I can keep up with the cost of living. Said no union member ever. Hah.
I would add there should be no lobbying or political contributions allowed by any public employee unions, such as the NEA. They should be bargaining entities only on behalf of their members and not allowed to ‘buy’ elected officials which is exactly what they are doing. It may be legal but it isn’t right or ethical. Essentially tax payers are indirectly funding this – the lobbying and contributions – which then go to enrich the campaigns and coffers of candidates and elected officials we may not want to support, who then often make irresponsible fiscal decisions with bills that then cost us, the taxpayers, more money. It is nuts.
How can a these people have clue what an economy is and how things work in the real world if they never signed a contract or paycheck 🤔 all they know is how do you spend the taxpayers money!!!
You think that’s bad remember, who counts the votes most of the time their ex government employees, teachers, librarians and other people who never signed a paycheck other than to cash it for them selves🤔🕵🏻♂️🤷🏼
I say they need to fire these people that are owned by the unions and government employees⏳✅
Good to know the list of communists in the legislature. Am sure there are “some” nice NEA folks, but the majority are self-serving out for their own interests.
I say let them have the whole damn place, let them run the show and spend ALL THE $$$.
The sooner the end comes the better off the good people will be.
There are many of us that survived before these bast__ds came around and we can survive well into the future without them.
Thank you Suzanne for shedding light on something I had wondered about and even speculated upon recently – how many of these legislators have any history in the private sector. It is worse than I imagined. Two statements jumped out at me from your article –
‘The majority of Alaska lawmakers do not come from the private sector; they’ve never signed the front of a paycheck, only the back.’
‘These legislators show little concern for building the private sector economy and growing a stable job market in Alaska, even as Alaska faces a projected $400–500 million deficit for FY26.’
From my perspective too many legislators are completely unqualified for their legislative positions. Just from their actions they certainly do not appear to understand basic economics nor where money comes from, or the work and responsibility of running a private sector business. This knowledge should be essential to hold office. I would say our state is in crisis with this lack of fiscal common sense and understanding. Most of us in the private sector though do not retire as early as the public sector and often have, or work for, businesses that don’t allow for the months of legislative session in Juneau. This may account for the lack of representation with more private sector background.
I’ll answer the question in the headline – “Why is that?”:
it is because dumb Alaska voters consistently elect idiots to the legislature. It always has been that way and always will be that way. Alaska voters get their ideas from Anchorage voters, who are the dumbest ever.
How many come from blue states? This is how you lose control of your state.
They should be paid comparable to Student Test Scores, Second Lowest In The Nation.