Alaska’s teacher shortage is here. The Legislature needs to help.

Steve Atwater

COMMENTARY

In the spring of 1989, I volunteered with Alaska Teacher Placement at its annual job fair in Anchorage. My job was to help districts sort through the hundreds of resume packets that they received from the fair’s more than 1,000 registrants, many of whom traveled from out of state. The competition for the teaching vacancies was fierce, and I will never forget that, in an attempt to be noticed, one of the candidate’s packet-cover was a full-page picture of him on a beach wearing only a small swimsuit. The state’s support of public education in 1989, which included a deluxe retirement system and comparatively high salaries, was a shiny lure that drew hundreds of job seekers to Alaska each year. Today, for several reasons, this lure’s sheen has dulled, causing many of our school districts to struggle to fill their teacher vacancies.

The Institute of Education Sciences annual report on education spending shows that in 1989, Alaska spent 169% of the U.S. average per pupil amount.

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