Difficult Budget Decisions: The Vital Importance of AASB Membership

• Strategic and Long Range Planning 
• Board/Superintendent Relations 
• How to run Effective Meetings 
• Board Self Evaluations (with a resulting board improvement plan) 
• Goal Setting 
• Parliamentary Procedure 
• Board’s Quasi-Judicial Role 
• Data for School Boards 
• Roles & Responsibilities of Governance
• Assist with Superintendent Searches and Superintendent Evaluation

2.  Policy Services are one of the major services that AASB can offer to support your board.  As a member of our services, we contract with legal counsel to draft new policies as laws change or are enacted. If your district had to pay for these services individually the attorney’s costs would be significant to each district, and through our policy membership we are able to share those costs. Our staff is here to help boards draft and maintain policies as well as assist with options to get and keep updated policies online. We also offer Policy Online options and policy update workshops.  

3.  Each November AASB holds its annual conference.  The conference has pre-sessions for both new members as well as experienced members. The conference is an opportunity for boards, superintendents and youth to interface with others around the state sharing the same responsibilities. During the conference members have the opportunity to attend sessions focused on board standards and listen to keynotes that engage the audience in topics of interest to districts. Lastly the fall conference is when the resolutions process is brought before the membership and voted on so as to determine the focus for the organization for the year to come.

4.  Boardsmanship Academies are held in the fall, winter and spring to help board members gain a deeper understanding of issues that will aid them in doing their jobs better. Negotiations, Budgeting, Special Education, Equity Issues and Personnel are just a few of the issues that are addressed in these Academies.

5.  Opportunities for engaging youth are at the forefront of the work that AASB does. The Youth Leadership Institute has been part of AASB’s Annual Conference  for the past  33 years. Youth leave with a  better sense of themselves as a leader as well as a better understanding of what school board members do to better schools in their district. At the  annual Legislative Fly-In in Juneau, AASB offers the Youth Advocacy Institute where youth learn advocacy skills, and about the legislature’s inner workings. Students then advocate alongside their school boards at the Legislature. 

6.  Graduating seniors from member school districts are eligible to apply for the annual June Nelson Memorial Scholarship. Each year AASB awards up to fifteen $1500 scholarships to be used for any costs related to their post-secondary education. Up to two of these may be awarded to returning college sophomores, and up to two may be given to students planning to attend a trade/vocational school program. 

7.  Publications that members receive from AASB are sent to keep board members updated on educational trends, state regulations, as well as articles on how to become better board members. The following is a list of publications that are produced by AASB.

• The Session a weekly Legislative bulletin
• AASB Commentary our monthly newsletter
• Position Papers, Call to Action emails and text alerts on specific legislation 
• Lobbying Handbook 
• AASB website provides a portal to information about school governance, the association, and Conditions for Learning initiatives.  
• AASB Connect site
• Facebook and Instagram page
• Teacher Salary and Benefit Survey
• Administrative Salary and Benefit Survey 
• Classified Salary and Benefit Survey 

8.  Members of AASB benefit from representation when lobbying with both the State Legislature and U.S. Congress. AASB also works closely with the State Board of Education & Early Development as well as State and Federal Agencies. You can also benefit from the work AASB does as a liaison with other educational organizations (i.e. ACSA, ALASBO, PTA, NEA, etc.)

9.  Resources are made available for member districts to help fund efforts to connect with families and communities.  Over the past 23 years, almost every Districts has partnered with one of AASB’s grants to receive funding and support efforts around social emotional learning, family engagement,  community engagement and many other topics that help students succeed.  More than $16 million have been distributed to districts and communities in Alaska since 2000. 

10. Through the innovative programs that AASB has established we are focused on increasing student achievement in Alaska. Districts have been able to be part of:

• School Climate – Looking into how students, staff and families feel about their school’s climate and how connected they are to adults and peers impacts students’ motivation to learn and the ability of school staff to create positive conditions needed for learning.
• Social & Emotional Learning – SEL is a comprehensive systems approach that supports children, youth and adults in developing skills for school and life.
• Family-School Partnerships – Helping families and educators to work together to support children’s growth and success from birth through high school and beyond.
• Early Childhood – Programs to equip children with the skills needed for kindergarten and beyond.
• Community Coordination and Dialogues — Host training for dialogues, Community Conversations, and more.
• Youth Leadership & Engagement –With district teams develop sustainable local community engagement efforts guided and maintained by local community members.
• Trauma-Engaged Services – Trauma-engaged services change the way we think about learning and school environments to more fully support the needs of the whole student and address trauma.

As budgets continue to shrink it is always good to question the value of services and indeed membership to AASB continues to be worth the investment.