Association of Alaska School Boards

Association of Alaska School Boards
Basic facts
Location:	Juneau, Alaska
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	Lon Garrison, Executive Director
Year founded:	1954
Website:	Official website

The Association of Alaska School Boards is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization representing school boards in Alaska. As of September 2025, the organization was a member of the National School Boards Association.

Background

The Association of Alaska School Boards was founded in 1954. As of February 2025, it represented 52 of Alaska's 54 school districts. The organization assists members by offering professional development services for board members, support and tools to assist school districts, and lobbying in support of what it considers policy goals that would help school boards.

As of September 2025, the organization's mission statement was "to advocate for children and youth by assisting school boards in providing quality public education, focused on student achievement, through effective local governance."

Leadership

As of September 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at the Association of Alaska School Boards:

• Lon Garrison, executive director
• Katie Oliver, associate executive director
• Lori Grassgreen, director of conditions for learning
• Tiffany Jackson, director of membership services

As of September 2025, the following individuals sat on the Association of Alaska School Boards' board of directors:

• Dana Mock, president
• Julia Phelan, president-elect, secretary/treasurer
• Darlene Trigg, secretary/treasurer
• Margo Bellamy, past president
• Amber Frommherz
• Annie Weyiouanna
• Clarence Daniel
• Frieda Tiġiġluk Nageak
• Kasaŋnaaluk, Marie Greene
• Melanie Kasayulie Alexie
• Melissa Burnett
• Michael Swain
• Paul Robbins Jr.
• Penny Vadla
• Tim Doran

Work and activities

Lobbying efforts

The Association of Alaska School Board conducts lobbying at the state level to further its policy goals. The organization's legislative priorities for the 2025 session were:

Sufficient and Sustainable Public Education Funding
Sufficient, sustainable and stable funding is required to meet Alaska’s obligation to provide quality, public education for every Alaska student. Educating Alaska’s youth is the best strategy for successfully meeting and safeguarding Alaska’s prosperity.

• Increase the Base Student Allocation (BSA): AASB strongly advocates for the necessity of increasing the BSA as calculated by Legislative Finance to reflect inflation based on the Alaska-Urban CPI since the last major increase to the BSA in FY2011. From 2011 to 2025, the BSA increased by only $280 per student (4.9%), while inflation rose by at least 34%. This discrepancy has resulted in severe staff shortages, school closures, and program eliminations.
• Incorporate an annual increase in the BSA to account for inflation: Provide by statute, for an annual increase in the BSA that provides some accounting for annual inflation and drives a philosophy of long-term investment in public education.
• Increase funding for student transportation: Student transportation funding continues to be inadequate. Transportation costs have dramatically increased due to inflation and labor shortages. Transportation funding must increase regularly to keep up with inflation and prevent the use of school district general funds.

Retention and Recruitment of Teachers, Administrators & Staff
School districts face an unprecedented crisis of retaining and recruiting qualified, effective teachers, administrators, and support staff which seriously hinders providing Alaska students with a quality education.

• Implement recommendations: of the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Task Force.
• Reinstitute a competitive retirement program: including both defined benefits and defined contributions.
• Invest in teacher housing: required for nearly all rural school districts.
• Grow Alaska teachers and administrators: work with partners, universities, and apprenticeship programs to improve and expand teacher training programs, teacher-mentor programs, and alternative certification pathways.

Student Wellness and School Safety
Alaska’s public school students face a range of challenges that impact their wellness and safety, including academic stress, mental health issues, bullying, violence, sexual abuse, and lack of access to resources like counseling and social services. Violence, neglect, and sexual abuse have increased, resulting in reduced social-emotional well-being and academic achievement.

• Address student mental health: Support and fund mental health services for all Alaskan students, including trauma-engaged practices in Alaska schools.
• Prevent student sexual abuse by school staff: Support the implementation of policies and training regarding professional boundaries between staff and students.
• Reduce school and student violence. Support and fund the needed programs and services that work to improve relationships, communication, respect, and dignity as a few examples.

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.

Finances

The following is a breakdown of the Association of Alaska School Boards' revenues and expenses from 2001 to 2023. The information comes from ProPublica

Association of Alaska School Boards financial data 2001-2023

Year	Revenue	Expenses
2001	$1.2 million	$1.2 million
2002	$2.1 million	$2.1 million
2003	$2.9 million	$2.9 million
2004	$3.3 million	$3.2 million
2005	$3.7 million	$3.6 million
2007*	$4.4 million	$4.2 million
2008	$4.7 million	$4.5 million
2009	$3.9 million	$3.8 million
2010	$3.5 million	$3.4 million
2011	$3.9 million	$3.8 million
2012	$3.9 million	$3.6 million
2013	$2.5 million	$2.6 million
2014	$2.8 million	$2.5 million
2015	$3.2 million	$2.5 million
2016	$2.8 million	$2.7 million
2017	$2.1 million	$2.6 million
2018	$3.4 million	$3.5 million
2019	$5.8 million	$5.9 million
2020	$6.1 million	$5.9 million
2021	$6.8 million	$6.9 million
2022	$6.2 million	$6.3 million
2023	$7.7 million	$7.9 million

* Financial information was not available for 2006.

See also

• What is an influencer?
• Public education in Alaska
• List of school districts in Alaska

External links

• Association of Alaska School Boards official website
• Association of Alaska School Boards on Facebook
• Association of Alaska School Boards on X
• Association of Alaska School Boards on LinkedIn
• Association of Alaska School Boards on Linktree
• Association of Alaska School Boards on Bluesky