Alaska’s new education commissioner is coming to Juneau from a rural school district with fewer than 500 students.
On Thursday, the state school board announced the appointment of Copper River School District Superintendent Michael Johnson as the state’s newest commissioner of education. By email, the school board said Johnson’s appointment has already been confirmed by Gov. Bill Walker and Johnson will start on July 1.
“I’m thrilled,” said Stewart McDonald, the Kodiak Island Borough School District superintendent and the only other finalist for the job, about the Glennallen man’s selection.
If it sounds strange for those words to come from a competitor, McDonald said it isn’t correct to think the two were competing for the state’s top schools job. Both men are school district superintendents, and both believed it was important to have a superintendent in the top job.
Before the selection process began, members of the state association of superintendents encouraged members to apply. There were three superintendents among the four finalists announced in May.
McDonald said he was hoping to see someone familiar with the way the state funds capital construction projects, including maintenance.
Johnson, meanwhile, comes to the commissioner role fresh from a stint as president of the statewide school superintendent association.
“That’s been a great experience to learn about other districts. Big districts, small districts, rural districts, urban districts, so that’s been a great experience for me, and I think it helps prepare me for this job,” he said.
The superintendents‚ association, association of school administrators, and NEA-Alaska all issued statements congratulating Johnson on his appointment as commissioner.
Johnson holds a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts in teaching degree in elementary education from Columbia International University, and a doctorate of philosophy in education and intercultural studies from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, according to an email from the state department of education.
Johnson faces a long agenda. He replaces Michael Hanley, who was appointed under Gov. Sean Parnell and served until February, when he left the position following the failure of the state’s Alaska Measures of Progress standardized test. Hanley was the architect of that test, which was developed over three years and created specifically for Alaska needs.
Johnson must now come up with a replacement test by spring while pursuing a federal waiver for tests canceled this year amid extensive problems.
“I don’t think anybody intentionally did anything to create that (failure),” Johnson said. “I just think it’s an opportunity for us to go back, learn from things that did not go well and to create something much better that will meet the needs of all the students in the state.”
Johnson also must implement the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.
He’ll have to do this with fewer people and less money. In fiscal year 2017, which starts July 1, the department’s budget will be 4 percent, $66 million less than it was in fiscal year 2015, according to figures from the Legislative Finance Division of the Alaska Legislature.
The Department of Education will have lost 6 percent of its permanent staff and 61 percent of its temporary staff in the same period.
For the next two weeks, however, Johnson has a different priority: Moving to Juneau.
“That’s probably actually my biggest concern right now: getting my family to Juneau,” he said. “My kids are very excited about coming to Juneau, and I’m excited to get them here.”
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.
