That is the idea behind the Alaska Public Risk Alliance (APRA). By pooling resources, experience, and risk, Alaska’s public entities can protect their facilities and communities in ways that would be difficult to accomplish individually.

Why Pooling Matters

Risk pooling is straightforward: public entities contribute to a shared program that pays covered claims and collectively purchases excess coverage for larger losses. Because the program has no profit motive, it can focus on controlling costs, preventing losses, and tailoring coverage and services to the risks Alaska’s public entities actually face.

In Alaska, extreme weather, remote locations, aging infrastructure, and limited access to contractors can delay both the discovery and repair of a problem. As a result, a relatively small maintenance issue can quickly become a significant loss.

Pooling helps members prevent losses as well as share risk. It gives public entities access to risk-management expertise, training, and loss-control resources that would be difficult to maintain individually.

Winter Break Is a High-Risk Period

For schools, one risk deserves particular attention as winter approaches: freeze-ups and water damage.

During winter break, buildings that are normally occupied every day may sit largely vacant. If a boiler fails, a thermostat malfunctions, or a pipe freezes, the problem may go unnoticed for hours or days. A minor maintenance issue can then become extensive water damage, leading to costly repairs and disrupting the return of students and staff.

Fortunately, many of these losses can be prevented or reduced with some basic preparation.

Keep the heat on – Maintain interior temperatures of at least 55°F. Check heating systems and fuel supplies before the break and make sure someone verifies that systems continue operating while buildings are vacant.

Protect plumbing – Pay particular attention to pipes along exterior walls, crawl spaces, and other areas that may not receive adequate heat. Staff should also know where the main water shut-offs are located and how to access them quickly.

Check the building regularly – Assign someone to walk through vacant buildings and look for temperature changes, frost, unusual sounds, leaks, or water stains. Documenting those visits is a good practice as well.

Keep safety systems operating – Confirm that fire alarms and sprinkler systems remain active and monitored, and keep exterior drainage clear by checking roofs, gutters, and downspouts for conditions that could contribute to ice buildup or water intrusion.

If a building check reveals a loss of heat, leaking water, or another warning sign, follow the district’s emergency procedures immediately: notify the designated facilities contact, shut off water when it is safe to do so, document visible conditions, and contact the appropriate response resources. A current call list and clearly assigned authority can save valuable time when every minute matters.

How APRA Can Help

APRA’s role is not limited to responding after a claim occurs. We would much rather help members prevent the loss in the first place.

Through APRA, members can draw on Risk Management Consultants to identify building vulnerabilities, strengthen safety practices, train staff, and support loss-control efforts. This is a central benefit of pooling: members share not only the financial impact of risk, but also the knowledge and resources needed to reduce it.

Members do not need to wait for a claim to ask for help. A conversation with an APRA Risk Management Consultant can help a district review winter procedures, identify building-specific concerns, and prioritize practical improvements before temperatures drop.

School board members and administrators can test their winter-break readiness with four questions: Who is responsible for checking each building? How often will checks occur? How will the district confirm that heat is being maintained? Do designated staff know where the main water shut-offs are and how to reach them quickly?

A little preparation can prevent extensive water damage, costly repairs, and disruption when students and staff return.

If you are attending the Annual Conference, connect with APRA to discuss your district’s winter preparations, building-check schedule, and loss-control needs. We are always happy to work together to keep Alaska’s schools safe, warm, and ready for students this winter.

Registration closes Friday, October 23 at 5:00 pm!

As Alaska’s largest gathering of education leaders, the Annual Conference brings together school board members, superintendents, students, and education partners from across the state to learn, collaborate, and strengthen public education. This year’s theme, Coming Together for Alaska’s Students, highlights the power of collaboration in supporting student success.

Attendees can look forward to inspiring keynote speakers, practical breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and pre-conference workshops for both new and experienced board members. The Youth Leadership Institute will once again provide high school students from across Alaska with opportunities to develop their leadership skills and connect with peers from around the state.

We encourage you to register early and begin making plans to join us in Anchorage this November. We look forward to welcoming you for four days of learning, collaboration, and connection.

Learn more about how to register, keynote speakers, and other event highlights on the Annual Conference event page!

On behalf of President-Elect Darlene Trigg, two important AASB resolutions documents are provided here for the AASB membership in accordance with AASB Policy 212.

1. 2027 WHERE WE STAND – Draft #3 
2. Summary of Member District Submissions – a compilation of the proposed new and amended resolutions from member districts for 2027. This year we have received 14 newly proposed resolutions from six districts.

These documents are intended for the membership and the AASB Resolutions Committee to use at the meeting scheduled for Thursday, November 5, at the Egan Convention Center, starting at 8:30 am. Limited printed copies will be available at the Resolutions Committee meeting.

The AASB Resolutions Committee will meet all day on November 5 to review, amend, or recommend for deletion any new or existing resolutions. The committee’s recommendations will be made available to the membership no later than 8:30 am Saturday, November 7, as per AASB Policy 208. Limited printed copies will be available. The document will be available digitally for download on the AASB website and the Conference App.

The AASB Membership will meet as a delegate assembly on Sunday, November 8, at 8:00 am to consider and vote on the recommendations of the AASB Resolutions Committee. Members may also, from the floor, request that any resolution or belief statement be pulled for amendment or deletion. A district may introduce new resolutions from the floor according to the guidance found in AASB Policy 212.

If you have any questions, please contact Katie Oliver at koliver@aasb.org.

We look forward to seeing you at Annual Conference!

AASB celebrates the rich history of Indigenous people; the vibrant cultures kept alive through sharing stories, traditions, and values; and the contributions of Indigenous people.  

Whether you choose to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day by partaking in your favorite subsistence foods, reading Indigenous authors, spending time with your elders, creating or supporting Indigenous art, purchasing from Indigenous businesses, or simply taking some time to reflect, AASB wishes you a happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day. 

All webinars are from 12:00–1:00 pm on Wednesdays

Join us Wednesday, October 14, at noon for a virtual conversation with Winthrop, director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. She and co-author Jenny Anderson explore why young people can become disengaged from learning and what adults can do to help them reconnect.

Whether you’ve participated in AASB’s book club or are simply interested in the conversation around student engagement, this is an opportunity to hear directly from the author and ask questions about the book.

The virtual author talk is free and open to all! Sign up here.

Consider the numbers: a board member gives the district 10 to 20 hours a month, sometimes more. A superintendent and staff give it 40 to 60 hours a week, often backed by a master’s or doctorate in education, years in classrooms, and deep training in how children learn. This gap reflects how the system is designed, not a shortfall on either side. Board members bring something staff can’t manufacture: they’re parents and neighbors who carry the community’s values and priorities into the room. Staff bring something board members can’t be expected to match: professional expertise in the craft of education itself.

AASB’s own Roles & Responsibilities Guide puts a fine point on this: the superintendent is the board’s sole employee. Every other person in the district – every teacher, every principal, every program is hired, supervised, and directed through that one relationship, not by the board directly.

The trouble starts when the “doer” instinct overrides that design. Watch this video of school board member Andy and his response to a constituent complaint. What do you see in this example? It feels like diligence, but a board member has no more authority to investigate district operations than any other member of the public; the seat only carries authority when the board acts together in a meeting. (See the companion video: “Office Visit.”)

The better move is redirection: “This could end up requiring board action, and if I’m personally involved, I may not be able to act on it later. I should go through the district’s normal complaint channels.” Then forward the complaint and let the superintendent’s office do what it’s built to do.

This is the same instinct that shows up in slower motion with policy. Policy isn’t situation-based, person-based, short-term, or reactive: it’s structural, systemic, long-term, built for a class of events, not a single one. But a problem comes up, and the pull is to solve it now; direct a staff member, weigh in on an operational call, treat policy work like it’s moving too slowly. Policy, done right, moves deliberately;  moving from a draft or an amendment that the policy committee reviews, then typically two readings before adoption, roughly three months start to finish. That pace reflects the board doing its job at the level it’s meant to operate: setting a lasting structure, not reacting to a single incident.

Sometimes boards don’t spend a lot of time in the policy manual. It doesn’t feel like “doing” the way fixing an immediate problem does. But for a governing board, the manual is the doing.

The fix is returning to the system Alaska school districts already have, spelled out in board bylaws, and using it.

Start with the district’s Series 9000 bylaws. They lay out, section by section, exactly what the board’s job is and isn’t:

• BB 9000 establishes that the board’s core function is governance, setting policy, while the superintendent carries out board decisions and is accountable for that authority.
• BB 9200 is explicit: individual board members have no authority outside a legally constituted meeting. No board member can direct staff, commit the district, or exercise administrative responsibility on their own.
• BB 9300 and BB 9311 describe policy itself as the board’s basic method of governance, adopted through two readings, then reviewed on a standing rotating schedule so it never goes stale.
• BB 9313 draws the implementation line clearly: administrative regulations, which put policy into day-to-day practice, are the superintendent’s responsibility, not the board’s.

Read together, the 9000 series describes how the board does its work, written down and already adopted.

Board members can:

• Set aside time to read the Series 9000 bylaws. Start there before the rest of the policy manual. They’re short, direct, and answer most “whose job is this?” questions on their own.
• When a “solve it now” instinct comes up, ask: is this a policy question (ours) or an implementation question (the superintendent’s)? Let the answer decide who acts.
• Keep a version of Andy’s redirect line ready for the moment a constituent brings a complaint directly to you: acknowledge it, explain that personal involvement could compromise the board’s ability to act on it later, and point them to the district’s proper complaint channel.
• Review the AASB Roles & Responsibilities Guide as a board, not just individually. It lays out, area by area (policy, budget, personnel, facilities, planning), exactly where the board’s role ends and the superintendent’s begins.

Board chairs and superintendents can:

• Put a standing “9000 series review” on the annual board calendar, alongside orientation for new members.
• Use policy committee timelines as a teaching moment; the pace itself demonstrates the governance/management distinction in practice.

Boards looking for support can turn to AASB Policy Services for help keeping the Model Policy Manual current, and to AASB’s Board Development team for facilitated conversations using the Roles & Responsibilities guide.

Resources: AASB Board Development Resources · AASB Policy Services · Companion video: “Office Visit“

However, if you are already on the school board and a member of your immediate family is seeking employment with the district, there are specific requirements the district must follow. According to state statute AS 14.14.140 and Board Policy 4112.8/4212.8/4312.8, Employment of Relatives, a school board member’s immediate family can be hired when 1) they are the most qualified candidate for the position, 2) the School Board approves the hiring at a meeting, with the governing board family member abstaining from the vote, and 3) the Commissioner of Education approves the hire.

Immediate family members are defined in code (4 AAC 18.031) as a spouse, parent, child, or sibling.

Great things are happening every day in our schools. Students are making connections – learning new concepts – and discovering as well as sharing who they are! Some students want to go into healthcare, others want to be mechanics, and yet others are still discovering what bit of the world may spark some enthusiasm and help them to become engaged learners.  

In the midst of all this is election season. Inspired individuals are running for school board, city council, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and this year, governor. People run for a variety of reasons. For people who are running for a repeat term, their reason for running now may have changed from the reason they first ran. For many (if not most), it’s because they want to make a difference.  

I admire people who step up and say they’re willing to take a place in this thing we call democracy. It’s not easy to put yourself on that stage. It’s harder still if you’re new to the environment and the language people use in these areas. The language of public education can be an alphabet soup of acronyms. Having been in this arena for nearly 20 years I still find myself having to look up what things stand for. Never mind learning your role as an elected official if you are successful in your election.

I was elected to my school board in 2007. I was younger then, and full of ideas, and I didn’t have a full understanding of what my role was as a school board member. I remember attending my first school board meeting with experienced board members and thinking, “Wow, I’m lucky to be in the room with these leaders, learning from them and working to make a difference for our students.” Then they elected me president at that same meeting! I wasn’t fully sure of what my role was, much less how to lead them to make decisions in the best interest of our students!

Lucky for me, the Association of Alaska School Boards was there to help me learn, along with my board. I’ve been in roles where I’ve supervised people for much of my career. I’ve shared numerous times with new hires, it’ll be a year before you feel like you know what you’re doing, and probably two years until you actually do. I fully believe this applies to school board members as well. Maybe even longer, since most school board members are part-time volunteers. Fortunately, most districts have adopted Board Bylaw 9240, which shares in part “school board members need to participate in professional development activities that help them understand their responsibilities, stay abreast of new developments in education, and learn new ways to cope effectively with the problems they confront.”

This is where the Association of Alaska School Boards can help. As school board members of member districts, we’re here to support you in the work you do. Have a question? Call us, or email us, we’re happy to be a resource. Want board training? Reach out! We can help you in more areas than you might expect. We can provide board trainings ranging from roles and responsibilities, board self-assessment, superintendent evaluation, data consultation and data storytelling, effective meetings, grant and project management, policy online, school climate and connectedness, strategic planning, trauma-engaged schools, superintendent searches, and more!  

One of the best learning opportunities we offer is our flagship event, our Annual Conference in November. At this training, school board members from across the state come together to learn about best practices from experts, and from each other. Connect with peers, learn from inspiring keynote speakers, participate in engaging breakout sessions and networking opportunities, and leave with practical ideas to strengthen your district. Learn more about this year’s event here!

Whether you’re a seasoned school board member, someone running for office, or just interested in supporting public education, election season is an important time of year. Get to know your candidates. Ask them what their priorities are for public education. Ask them about the issues important to your district. Then, when they’re elected, support them in getting the professional development they need to effectively lead the district and best support your students because a new school year and a new board deserve a strong start.