Anchorage teachers ask school board to restore building substitutes for second quarter

Susan Ritter has taught life skills classes at West High School for 20 years and writes her students' individualized education plans. She told the Anchorage School Board Tuesday that the work has expanded beyond teaching. "I am a clerical worker and I am a teacher," Ritter said. She asked the board to "bring back our building subs. They were taken away from all the high schools last year. We need them back."

The district cut building substitute positions in its fiscal 2027 budget while closing a $90 million deficit.

Herper Kushner, a behavior support teacher at Tyson Elementary and a former Navy police officer, said losing building subs has cost staff their preparation periods and breaks. "Our staff are experiencing property destruction, physical injuries, verbal aggression, and repeated crisis situations," Kushner said.

Substitute teacher Bruce Scheltz, who rotates among six or more schools, asked the board to restart building subs "for Q2 and beyond."

The board later voted 5-2 to approve Memorandum 037-S, restoring $3.7 million for substitutes, tutoring, credit recovery and health services. The measure does not guarantee that building substitutes will return.