Anchorage School Board President talks district concerns amid election deadline

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Budget cuts and vacancies remain at the top of the Anchorage School Board’s concerns as four candidates continue to campaign for two open board seats just one day before the election.

Anchorage School Board President Andy Holleman said that despite the election outcomes, it’s a challenging time for the board with so many uncertainties looming, such as funding increases proposed by the Alaska Legislature.

“A whole lot of programs that people really love and feel like are key to their academic success are on the chopping block,” Holleman said. “For all of us on the board or anyone that might join the board, trying to figure out what to cut that does the least harm and how to keep things functioning through a period of uncertainty, those are kind of the big challenges.”

Incumbent Margo Bellamy is being challenged for Seat A by Alexander Rosales, a first-time school board candidate, while incumbent Kelly Lessens for Seat B is being challenged by fourth-time school board candidate Mark Anthony Cox.

The board voted on the 2025-2026 budget in February, which included significant cuts to academic programs, sports, and teaching positions, along with amendments that could reverse those cuts. Amendment No. 6, which unanimously passed, would roll back many of those cuts made, but only if the state does increase funding.

Holleman acknowledged the district’s struggles with losing general education teachers due to funding concerns and involuntary transfers that aren’t as much of a risk in other states with lower costs of living and better pensions and wages.

“We have so many vacancies and a rising level of attrition that even though we’re reducing the number of educators, we won’t have enough in August when school starts again, we’ll have unfilled positions,” Holleman said. “In Alaska, unfortunately, the job has become very political ... Things have shifted, and I think a lot of people simply aren’t choosing it as a profession anymore, and we haven’t quite figured out what to do about that.”

As the election nears, Holleman said voters should carefully consider solutions being presented by all candidates, calling the key premise of public education, where students can rely on fair treatment and qualified teachers in a safe environment, an increasingly challenging standard to maintain.

“Some of the solutions that some people offer that seem so simple, just ignore that fact. It all gets more simple if all the kids act the same or have the same background or have the same resources, but they absolutely do not. And so anytime somebody’s offering a simple solution, I would urge people to dig into that a little bit,” Holleman said.

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