
REPORT: Florida students far outperform Alaska’s
A new report from the Alaska Policy Forum breaks the ongoing struggles of Alaska students and compares them to similarly situated students in Florida who are excelling in academics. The report looks at data from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational


Alaskans aren’t really empowered to call a constitutional convention (Part 4)
By J.H. Snider – The Fulcrum Editor’s note: The following is the final column in a four-part series on Alaska’s 2022 Constitutional Convention vote, which included massive amounts of outside spending to convince Alaskans to vote against holding a


Alaska’s chief justice derides those who suggest judges may be ‘activists’
In his final State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Alaska Legislature, a visibly annoyed Chief Justice Daniel Winfree lashed out against anyone who dares to criticize the courts, or suggest that judges might be politically motivated in some


Big, woke ambitions for the Anchorage Assembly’s new Equity Committee
From the name, many may incorrectly presume this committee shares the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, where people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Similarly, many may also assume the committee shares the


Alaska’s rising education expenses fueled by benefits and a growing administrative apparatus
By Sarah Montalbano – Alaska Policy Forum The Reason Foundation recently published the 2022 K–12 education spending spotlight examining school finance trends from 2002 to 2020. The Alaska data points, calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau, show


Alaska students are a year behind U.S. average in reading, math
By Sarah Montalbano – Alaska Policy Forum Introduction Late October brought the release of the 2022 results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card. The NAEP is a nationwide assessment


Anchorage Assembly to resume public testimony on plot to oust mayor
Six members of the Anchorage Assembly voted to shut down public testimony following a heated exchange between Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance and Assemblywoman Jamie Allard at the May 24 meeting. The next public hearing on the ordinance is set for June 1,


Alaska’s students must learn to ‘Read by Nine’ now – not in nine years
An entire decade. That’s how long Alaska’s public schools have ranked in the bottom five states for fourth-grade reading, regardless of income level. The pandemic has only exacerbated the struggles of Alaska’s students. All of our children deserve the


Heated Anchorage masking debate continues Monday at 5 p.m.
After three nights of heated testimony on a highly controversial and deeply divisive mask mandate proposal, the Anchorage Assembly is set for round four Monday night. Emotions are high with most testifiers adamantly opposed to the idea of forcing business


Mayor blasts Anchorage Assembly’s attempt to reimpose mask mandate
Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson adamantly opposes an attempt by the Anchorage Assembly to bypass his authority and reimpose a citywide mask mandate on nearly every resident. The mayor issued a strong condemnation of a draft ordinance introduced by the liberal

