JSD superintendent confronts staffing shortages, contract negotiations after announcing resignation
- Jasz Garrett
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Frank Hauser seeks to address future school district challenges amidst mixed reviews during his tenure
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser was introduced as someone known for transparency at the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday. Many teachers and parents disagree.
Hauser, a week after announcing his resignation as of next June 30, gave a chamber presentation titled “JSD into the Future.” His notice came after the Juneau Board of Education approved extending his contract until 2028 at its Sept. 9 meeting.
On Thursday, Hauser declined a full interview about his resignation and instead referred to the letter he sent to parents. Previous attempts by phone for an interview were also unsuccessful.
He was asked to comment on the timing of his announced departure, which comes while the district is currently negotiating contracts with the Juneau Education Association and Juneau Education Support Staff. In July, the district and JEA, the teachers’ union, reached an impasse.
JESS, which includes classified hourly staff, has entered mediation to support negotiations with the district. An agreement has already been reached with the Juneau School Administrators Association.
At the Sept. 9 school board meeting, JESS union members testified against Hauser receiving a new contract while they work without one.
“It seems that you had no issue adding new administrative positions and approving a step increase of over $3,000 for principals, and tonight, you’re about to prove a contract for the superintendent who, quite frankly, hasn’t done his job,” said Electra Gardinier, a teacher at Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi High School. “Educators got this community through COVID and consolidation and now we need you. I urge each of you not to approve a contract for anyone until your teachers and your support staff, who are the backbone of our schools, are paid a living wage.”
JESS Vice President Phil Buettel, a paraeducator at Kax̱dig̱oowu Héen Elementary, urged a contract on Sept. 9 on behalf of the 250 employees he represents.
“Burnout is already a real threat and we are continuing to work without a contract, which means every single one of us is currently being underpaid,” he said. “We need a full complement of staff. We need classrooms that are properly situated and effectively equipped, and we need a contract that provides a living hourly wage to all of our members. Leadership that listens with humility and understands our needs is paramount to accomplishing the stated goals of the district of recruitment and retention.”
Hauser’s unanimously approved 2025–2028 contract includes a $197,000 annual salary, 45 annual leave days, 13 paid holidays and 16 sick days. On Thursday, he said teachers are not working without a contract, but a “dynamic status quo,” because their existing contract terms carry over while negotiations continue.
Board president Deedie Sorensen, in an interview on Oct. 10, said no board members were aware Hauser was planning to step away during his review.
“I think it’s burnout,” she said. “Those are not his words, but that’s what I think. It’s been incredibly intense and I don’t see it getting any less intense. I don’t see the BSA going up again in the foreseeable future.”
In his letter to parents on Oct. 10, Hauser wrote, “I look forward to being home in time for dinner with my family, to celebrating holidays and special occasions with my phone off, and to having weekends free.”
His predecessor, Bridget Weiss, announced her resignation in October 2022. Sorensen said that due to the extensive hiring process for superintendents, it’s the traditional time of year for these kinds of announcements.
Sorensen said Hauser worked hard and JSD has a more transparent accounting system because of him.
“I’m very sorry to see him go,” she said. “He came at a time when we really needed his expertise financially and he’s been able to attract excellent financial people into those positions that were available. I think we’re far better off now than we were before.”
Recent public testimonies by union members at board meetings have also highlighted increased health care costs. Hauser said he wanted to clarify that each union chooses its health care providers and options.
“A union-selected care provider may have increased premiums – that does not mean that the district contribution has diminished,” he said. “I’ve seen health insurance premiums increase over the years and so that’s something that happens with the health insurer. That doesn’t mean though that the district is not providing what is the contractedly agreed-upon contribution.”
Hauser said JSD currently pays just under $20,000 annually for every teacher who is at least half-time to the health care insurance provider selected by the teacher association JEA. The current budget projects $4.5 million in district funds to meet this obligation. JSD is offering to pay $1,664 monthly, which is just $10 more than its current payment toward health insurance, while JEA is seeking $1,704 per month.
Hauser referenced the district’s collective bargaining page for more information, as laws prevent the administration and board from discussing contract negotiations in detail.
Last month, JESS filed a lawsuit against JSD through its representative association, the Alaska Public Employees Association. The lawsuit claims the district’s after-school childcare program, RALLY, was illegally privatized and the union was not properly notified of its closure. The next court hearing is Dec. 30 at the Juneau courthouse. A statement provided by the district says RALLY staff were properly notified of the closure and their reassignments to open positions.
On Thursday, Hauser explained to luncheon attendees how a staff shortage led to the closure of RALLY. In April, one RALLY site closed early.
“Last year we were advertising, trying to hire, but we had a 49% vacancy rate in our positions that we have for RALLY,” Hauser said. “Being able to staff those programs and be able to have the staff to meet licensing requirements was one of the big challenges that we were facing.”
He said childcare is a high priority for JSD, and there are now more than 70 children part of the Auke Lake Preschool and Afterschool LLC childcare, which is leased in JSD facilities at Auke Bay, Glacier Valley, and Harborview elementary schools. He said the preschool is currently accepting enrollment applications and there are no waitlists at any of the three sites.
Erin Harrington is a site council member at Sayéik: Gastineau Community School, where her son is a student. She spoke up during Hauser’s overview of the district’s RALLY program, asking if he planned to address the overall staff shortage in his presentation, which she said was a total of 79 positions on Thursday.
“Maybe RALLY closed because they couldn’t get applicants, but what I see is a crisis of applicants and, frankly, an HR crisis across the district, so maybe not surprising that we weren’t getting applicants for RALLY when we actually are having what seems like a systemic failure to fill roles,” she said, before asking Hauser to expand.
“There is a nationwide crisis around being able to find certificated teachers, but also other staff as well, support staff, educators, I would say administrators,” Hauser replied. “It is a crisis across the nation.”
He noted the openings do not mean there is no person filling the position.
“So while it says 79 open positions, that doesn’t mean there’s 79 unfilled, empty classrooms,” Hauser said. “So we have a number of substitutes that are doing long-term subs as well as other staff coming in and supporting.”
As of Wednesday, 81 vacancies were listed online.
Hauser said that due to the nationwide shortage, JSD is pursuing international hires and has offered contracts to three international teachers in special education. He said the district expects the first hired applicants to arrive in December or early January.
Harrington said she thought the community leaders in the room needed to understand that at Sayéik, “there are four paraeducators who are absent, who are not providing services and buffering all the kids in the school and helping the kids with IEPs (individualized education programs).” She said solutions should be considered at the community level to prevent people from leaving Juneau due to the school system.
Melissa Cullum, newly elected to the school board in the Oct. 7 municipal election, asked if JSD has partnered with UAS for student teachers. Hauser said conversations have taken place with the local university and the University of Alaska Fairbanks to encourage students to enter the education field. During Cullum’s questioning, he said some college students are teaching in JSD right now to fulfill their classroom hours.
“We want to make it as seamless for them to come in (as possible) and be a brand new Juneau School District employee,” Hauser said.
Hauser told the Independent it was important for him to share the upcoming fiscal year’s budget process with the luncheon attendees. He was hired in 2023 and guided the district through a $9.7 million budget deficit by consolidating schools.
“We aren’t expecting to see a BSA increase,” he said. “So I think being able to have the context around some of these other funding sources (and) how they impact the district overall is really important to make sure people understand and are aware of.”
Besides state funding, future fiscal concerns include the possibility of the state reducing the money municipal governments can provide to school districts for non-instructional purposes. Additionally, Juneau voters approved two ballot propositions projected by the City and Borough of Juneau to cut more than $12 million from its budget.
The city is providing about $35 million of the nearly $76 million in operating budget revenue for the current year, continuing a longtime practice of providing the maximum contribution allowed by state law.
Before looking ahead to fiscal year 2027, Hauser showed JSD’s current spending. Hauser noted 90% of the current JSD budget goes to teacher salaries and benefits. He said all of the district’s initial proposals to both JEA and JESS included a salary raise. The district initially offered a 2.5% salary increase and JEA sought a 10% increase when negotiations began in February.
“As you can see, we’re in the people business,” Hauser said, pointing to the expenditures slide. “We educate kids, and that means we have staff, and staff are the primary cost to the budget in the Juneau School District.”
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
