Teacher’s union speaks on lapsed contract as board members shuffle

Dozens of educators aired their frustration over lapsed contracts at the Board of Education meeting on Oct. 28. Collective bargaining was again on the agenda for the board’s executive session Nov. 4, as it has been for several months.

The Juneau Educators Association (JEA) is now in its fourth month without a contract.

While discussion of the contracts dominated public comment, last week’s meeting also marked a transition of board membership.

Municipal Attorney Emily Wright swore in three board members. Steve Whitney was reelected, and Jenny Thomas and Melissa Cullum will serve their first terms.

Board members Deedie Sorenson and Emil Mackey were honored by their colleagues for their years of service on the board.

Mackey addressed the crowd of educators gathered for public comment, referencing Alaska’s ongoing struggle to fund public education.

“Every year I’ve been on the board has not been to try to improve public education — it’s been to mitigate the damage of the neglect of the people who run this state,” Mackey said.

Back-and-forth debate last legislative session between Governor Mike Dunleavy and lawmakers resulted in the district receiving only a slight funding increase for the 2025-26 school year.

About 30 people spoke during public comment, many of them JEA educators, which represents roughly 275 teachers and certified staff.

The Juneau School District and JEA entered contract negotiations in February 2025 for a new contract set to replace the one expiring June 30. By July, following months of negotiations, the parties declared an impasse and moved into mediation.

In their last best offers, the district put forward roughly a 3% salary increase, while JEA sought an average 4.25 % raise in a one-year contract. The disparities between contracts also include compensation for teacher prep time and health insurance contributions.

JSD cited uncertainty in state funding as the reason for their measured approach to negotiations.

Tanya Roust, who has taught in Juneau schools for 15 years, said the district’s last best offer falls short of what teachers deserve.

“Hundreds of us every day, covering unfilled positions, taking on more responsibility, keeping this district running, while roughly $20 million dollars from empty positions sit untouched, and the administrators are getting thousands of dollars in raises,” Roust said “My colleagues and I? We get a pay cut. JSD is reporting how great everything is while pushing educators off the edge of a cliff.”

Hans Chester, a language teacher at the Tlingit, Culture, Language and Literacy program at Harborview Elementary, drew a comparison to Superintendent Frank Hauser’s recently-renewed contract.

“We deserve a three year contract,” Chester said. “Hauser got a three year contract that went through ‘26 and he got a new three-year contract before the first one expired. We’re being offered a one year contract that doesn’t even have retroactive pay. Where is the equality? Where is the fair treatment? We deserve better, like Hauser.”

The school board voted unanimously in September to extend Hauser’s contract through 2028. Four weeks later, he announced he would resign effective June 30, 2026.

Because contract negotiations were not on the meeting agenda, the board did not directly respond to the public comments.