Statewide, about 33% of students tested at or above grade level expectations in language arts and 32% in math in 2025. Students in ninth grade demonstrated the greatest need for support in language arts and math.

Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt says the cuts are necessary after a local funding proposition failed

The Juneau School District and Juneau Education Association came to a tentative agreement last month, and union members approved the contract last week.

The new schedule has school starting nearly a week earlier this August.

The Anchorage School Board voted to close Campbell STEM Elementary to address the district’s roughly $90 million budget deficit, which also led officials to cut hundreds of teacher positions and close two other schools.

The budget now heads to the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The district estimates it will save almost $2 million the first year after closing the schools.

School leaders identified converging crises of budget shortfalls, deferred maintenance and teacher shortages at their annual visit to the state Capitol.

Meanwhile, administrators insist the center is growing and becoming more community-focused.

Sixty-four percent of voting members approved forming the union, and election results now await certification from the Alaska Labor Relations Agency.

Supporters say the constitutional change could be a powerful tool to provide stable funding for public education, while critics suggest it could remove flexibility in budgeting

The partnership is one of the first of its kind in the state and leaders say it is a way to strengthen and uplift Indigenous studies in higher education.

Contract negotiations between the union and the bus company ended Thursday without an agreement.