AASB’s Mission and Resolutions Make the Difference

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Lon Garrison, AASB Executive Director

With the close of one of the most tumultuous legislative sessions we can remember, I have been reflecting on your association’s important and pivotal role in defending and promoting the value of public education in Alaska. AASB, through your resolutions, advocacy, and leadership, made a difference in making sure public education remains “public” and is locally governed. We were not alone in this effort, and our partners this past session, the Alaska Council of School Administrators, NEA-Alaska, AFL-CIO Alaska, Great Alaska Schools, and the Coalition for Education Equity, deserve our gratitude and recognition. 

When I think about what guided me, our advocacy team, the AASB officers, and the many school board members who came to Juneau to advocate for public education, I return to the two most defining elements of our association: our mission statement and the membership resolutions.  

The mission statement is one of any organization’s most crucial components.  For AASB, ours has defined our purpose for decades. 

“To advocate for children and youth by assisting school boards in providing quality public education focused on student achievement through effective local governance.“

It communicates four principal tasks: advocacy, assisting school boards, student achievement, and effective local governance. This simple and eloquent statement guides every decision we make, our relationships with others, and our advocacy with the Legislature, the Governor, our Congressional delegation, and even our local governments. It was invaluable for our advocacy work during the 33rd Legislature, especially this second session. 

Where We Stand is the compendium of resolutions adopted by the membership of AASB, which communicates the position of the association on a wide range of topics affecting public education. Our current document contains 195 resolutions and belief statements organized within five topical areas: Governance, Funding, Child Advocacy, Personnel, and Education Programs. It is through these statements that we articulate the will of the membership. It is a powerful tool that proved to be one of the most effective components in our advocacy toolbox. I cannot stress enough its importance.

Let me speak plainly. If not for these two documents and the ideas and positions they portray, Alaska’s public education system would have seen momentous changes during this last legislative session. These changes would have significantly eroded the local governance of your schools and enabled the erosion of maintaining public funds for public education in accordance with Article VII, Section 1 of Alaska’s constitution.  

Let me give you a few examples of the impact your resolutions had on the outcomes of the legislative session:

  • AASB set the goal to increase the BSA this past year by $1,413.  While this goal was not accomplished, it created a significant backdrop for the passage of SB 140 in February, which would have increased the Base Student Allocation by $680.
  • Prevented the loss of local governance control for authorizing and governing public charter schools through local school districts.
  • Last-minute legislative action that will continue Alaska’s successful correspondence program without funneling money to private or religious schools in accordance with Alaska’s constitution was passed with the support of AASB.
  • Amending the requirements, expanding eligibility, and increasing the amounts for the Alaska Performance Scholarship. 

In the coming months, leading up to our annual conference and delegate assembly, each school board will have the opportunity to review, amend, or propose new resolutions or beliefs to be adopted in November. This task is extremely important. At its summer meeting in July, the AASB Board of Directors will review and recommend changes. They will look at opportunities to reduce duplicity and increase clarity while also ensuring we have positions pertaining to subjects such as public school choice. The first week of August will mark the beginning of your participation in this process. AASB staff has already started reaching out to school boards about this crucial duty.

I became a resolutions nerd early in my career as a school board member from Sitka. I had no idea what it was all about my first year. However, within a short time, I saw the power and importance resolutions have on the purpose of our association and its influence at the state and national level. Concurrently, through the leadership of the AASB Board of Directors and the tutelage of the late Carl Rose, I quickly came to understand the importance of the 23 words that compose our mission. These two foundational instruments guide me daily as your executive director. It has been an honor and a privilege to work on your behalf during this past session, and I look forward to doing it all again starting this summer!

Lon Garrison

AASB Executive Director

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