Juneau Board of Education ratifies teachers’ contract

Published 3:00 am Friday, April 17, 2026

The Board of Education has given the OK for the new deal between the school district and the Juneau Education Association.

School board members voted unanimously in favor of the tentative contract between the Juneau Education Association (JEA) and the Juneau School District (JSD) during the April 14 meeting. The new contract covers the current school year and the 2026-27 school year.

School board member Elizabeth Siddon said that she was very glad the board was able to reach an agreement on the tentative deal.

“This was an extraordinarily long process, and I hope we, like JSD and JEA teams, can reflect on the process,” she said. “I’m sure we all hope we work more expeditiously and effectively when we come back to the table because we’ll have another agreement soon.”

Siddon said this was “a really hard process,” adding that she heard the toll it took on staff.

“When we started this over a year ago, we made the statement that teachers, JEA members, are our community members. They’re our neighbors, they’re our friends, and in some cases, they’re our own kids’ support systems,” Siddon said while getting emotional.

The Juneau Education Association and the Juneau School District first announced on March 20 that they had reached a tentative deal after first entering negotiations more than a year earlier on Feb. 12, 2025.

Board member Steve Whitney echoed that it’s been a tough year.

“It’s frustrating on our side because we’re bound to silence and you have to kind of sit there and you can’t really say what you want to say.”

He added that there’s definitely been a lot of positive and good engagement, but he’s also heard that people involved in the process on the district side “being frustrated about being public enemy number one.”

“I do want to point out in front of all my colleagues, there’s not a single person here at this table who doesn’t care deeply about the teachers, the students and the school.”

Whitney said there’s been some “injuries.”

“I think as a society, we’ve gotten worse about attacking people, tearing them down, and I don’t think it bodes well for our school or our students in the long run.”

Whitney said he’s got some frustrations too, adding that people in the lower end of the contracts are “in a position where it’s going to be tough.”

“I wish we’d been able to give it more.”

He added it’s going to be hard to attract principals when it takes five years to get to the salary they were making as a top-tier teacher.

Chris Heidemann, a Juneau Education Association member and teacher, thanked all the teams involved in the contract negotiations, noting they worked together to help move away from a deadlock.

“Both sides came ready to go and moved quickly, and I think that helped us avoid really the worst-case scenario.”

Heidemann added he hopes that’s how all parties will approach the next negotiation, which begins next year.

The Juneau Education Association bargaining unit is the district’s largest employee association. It represents about 275 teachers and certified staff and is a local affiliate of the National Education Association – Alaska.