A high cost of living and lack of a pension strain teachers in Alaska. Would bonuses help keep them?
Associated PressJUNEAU, Alaska — Cory Hughes moved to a remote Alaska village to teach and would happily stay and retire there if he could afford to — despite the dark winters and the fact the bathroom for his housing unit in the school’s kindergarten building has a sink that comes to his knees. They say unpredictable levels of state support tied in part to Alaska’s fluctuating oil wealth make long-term planning nearly impossible. Dunleavy questions whether simply bolstering state aid to K-12 schools will turn around Alaska’s dismal performance in reading and math assessments. Majority House Republicans proposed legislation that includes Dunleavy’s bonus plan, charter provisions and a roughly $80 million increase in aid to districts through the formula — an amount many lawmakers consider inadequate. He immersed himself in the predominantly Alaska Native village’s culture to avoid feeling isolated, especially during what he described as a “make or break” first year in rural Alaska.
History of this topic
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