Kelly Lessens is running for reelection to the Anchorage School Board’s Seat B against challenger Mark Anthony Cox. We asked each candidate the same five questions and gave them 90 seconds to answer each one. Read the transcript of Lessens' answers below and click the play button above to listen to where she stands. Find the rest of the Anchorage municipal election candidates’ Q&A’s here.
1. Why should people vote for you?
I'm a mom, classroom volunteer, PTA member and education advocate who has served on the Anchorage School Board as treasurer and Finance Committee Chair since May of 2021. I earned my BA from Stanford and my PhD from the University of Michigan. I'm passionate about supporting children throughout their educational journeys, and believe that a strong education system is the foundation for a vibrant community. At the end of the day, our schools should work for our kids, serve the community well and improve student outcomes. I'm running for school board again for another three years, because there is more to do for our kids, and there's more I believe I can do to ensure that education in Anchorage is able to serve as a foundation for our community for years to come. You know, I ran for school board to improve the intersection of student wellness and learning based on years of grassroots advocacy, this was before I ever thought about running for board. Since joining the board, I'm proud that I've stayed true to my vision, which got me here in the first place. I'm proud that I've guided the rewrite of our board goals around reading, math and graduation rates. I'm proud that I've led major policy revisions around reading, student wellness, plagiarism and the use of AI, ensuring that funds are allocated in support of our goals and our cellphone policy. And we have seen improvements coming.
2. What is the single biggest issue facing the Anchorage School District and how would you address it as a school board member?
The single biggest issue facing the Anchorage School District is our budget crisis. Since I've joined the board, this is something that I have been concerned about. Three years ago, I was aware that the last time the base student allocation was adjusted for inflation was 2011. Back in around February of 2022 we balanced the 2022-2023 budget with some of the last of our federal relief funds. Those have since expired. The budget crisis has caused, over years, class sizes to increase, programs like IGNITE to be on the chopping block year after year after year, and this is the year that we saw things really come to a head. That's why I am proud of the amendment that I co-sponsored with member Carl Jacobs recently, which, among other things, creates a specific plan to allocate dollars directly back into classrooms, the place where the work is done, if and when the Legislature makes timely action to increase the base student allocation. It decreases the percent of our overall budget going to administration. It allocates $61 million to class sizes and programs, including sports and our charter schools and retains critical staff.
3. Is the level of state funding for public schools adequate? Why or why not?
The question of whether state funding for public schools is adequate is incredibly relevant right now, and I'm going to go with the definition of adequacy that really arises out of a court case from awhile back, the Moore case, and Judge Gleason at the time talked about the importance of ensuring that all students are able to obtain opportunities to meet the state standards, and that, for me, is my guiding light. Do our students in Anchorage have the opportunity to meet state standards? Over the past decade and a half, I think the answer has become increasingly: no. We have tried, boards before, boards before me have tried to continue to retain dollars in classrooms and where they can be used most effectively. But, the disparities in our district are growing. I am very concerned about increasing number of students who struggle with proficiency in math and reading. And, you know, as recently as February 17, researchers from ISER have ascertained that Alaska's per-pupil spending is 15% below the national average and has fallen consistently since 2017.
4. The district proposed and made massive budget cuts. As a board member, what type of cuts would you be in favor of? Please be specific.
The district proposed and made significant budget cuts in order to produce a budget that is responsive to municipal charter, in that it had to be balanced and sent to the Assembly for approval by the end of February. So the Assembly currently has that document before them, and it is a balanced budget. In order to produce that balanced budget, the administration, with the board's approval, did a few things. One, it allocated almost $50 million in emergency reserves to bring $111 million structural deficit down as far as we could go. A super majority of the board had to vote to supersede and overturn board policy saying we should maintain an 8% reserve level, and we spent down to a 5% reserve level. That leaves less than a week's worth of operating expenses in hand in case there is an emergency. But this, the board decided, was that emergency. Next the administration proposed, and the board approved — and I was part of that approval — cutting administrative costs. Something like 42 positions and about $4 million in administrative cuts were proposed and approved. Third, you had to look at other areas for reductions. This increased class sizes, this reduced critical staff members. That's why I'm proud of the amendment that I proposed to redirect funds directly back into those areas.
5. What initiatives would you support to improve student outcomes?
The board has three major goals. They are around third grade reading proficiency, eighth grade math proficiency, and our high school graduation rates, our four-year graduation rates. I am very proud as a board member to have led the rewrite of those goals so that they are specific, attainable and measurable. I'm also proud that as recently as this October, I led the rewrite of Board Policy 3000 which says, no fewer than three times, that our funds need to be directed to be used in support of those board goals. We need to direct the money that we receive and be responsible for them and support those intentions. So I'm very proud of that basis for the future. While I've been on the board, I have led the redirection of our K through 5 reading curriculum. We're already seeing strong growth in our youngest learners. I've also supported and led the work of a new plagiarism, a new plagiarism policy, such that students cannot use AI and claim the work as their own, but they may incorporate AI because I think they need to become digitally literate. We are this evening, going to vote on a cellphone policy to direct students’ time in classroom towards instructional means. And I'm also really focused on improving the outcomes of our lowest performing students with additional revenue.
Read the candidate Q&A with Lessens' competitor: Mark Anthony Cox