The recent Anchorage Daily News editorial urging us to face a smaller school system misses the real crisis: Our schools are being hollowed out by policy choices at the state level, not inevitability.

Take school nursing. Because of chronic underfunding at the state level, the Anchorage School District is shifting to an untested, unclear regional nursing model. That budget adjustment saves dollars by reducing daily, onsite care — exactly the care chronically ill and vulnerable students rely on to attend school, learn and stay safe. This is not prudent shrinking; it is forcing our students and staff to pay the price for budget shortfalls driven by state inaction.

[Related opinion: Anchorage schools are shrinking. It’s time to face it.]

In elementary schools, art and music are being cut in half. Children will have music in the fall and art in the spring, rotating instructors across semesters. These subjects are not seasonal fluff for young minds. They build creativity, executive function, cultural literacy and social-emotional skills that drive engagement and long-term success. Treating them as short-term elective subjects sends a clear message: We no longer value the full education kids need.

Class sizes tell the same story. A kindergartner who joined a class of 20 in 2015 now shares a room with 27 peers. High school freshman classes built for 30 are packed with 37. Averages hide these extremes — specialized small classes mask overcrowding in general education. At 40 students, a teacher becomes a manager of bodies and behavior rather than an educator of minds.

We are not shrinking responsibly. We are cutting the supports that keep children connected to school and learning. Over the last two decades, state funding for education has fallen in real terms, and student outcomes have followed. When investments decline, programs that prevent disengagement — art, athletics, nurses, counselors — are the first on the chopping block. The result is predictable: higher youth disconnection, lower preparedness for work and fewer pathways to stable careers.

Retention and recruitment problems compound the damage. Without a stable retirement system and competitive benefits, experienced educators leave. Anchorage spends millions each year on short-term fixes — substitutes, recruitment bonuses and temporary staffing — that would be better spent in classrooms and on services that actually improve outcomes.

If the goal is a smaller, more efficient system, be honest about the trade-offs. But don’t dress cuts as inevitability when they are policy choices. The “we spend more for worse outcomes” claim ignores Alaska’s higher cost of doing business and the erosion of per-pupil investment over time. It also ignores the real human cost: a student kept home because a school nurse isn’t available, a child who loses daily music and with it a source of identity, a teacher burning out in an overcrowded room.

Alaskans can choose a different path: restore adequate per-pupil funding that reflects our geography and costs; protect essential services like full-time nurses, art and music; and secure retirement stability so teachers stay. Waiting for a “better” fiscal moment is a decision to lose a child’s year of learning forever. This requires all of us to pay attention to which of our state representatives and state senators are supporting education funding and retirement fixes, and which are offering hollow alternatives and empty assurances.

I hope you will join me in remembering in November when we have the opportunity to chart a better course for our kids.

Christi Sitz has taught elementary and special education in Anchorage schools for 27 years. She is a mom of four Anchorage School District graduates and currently serves as president of the Anchorage Education Association.

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Alaska lawmakers voted Wednesday to send a public pension bill to the desk of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, calling it the culmination of years of effort to restore guaranteed income in retirement for Alaska’s teachers, public safety officers and other state employees.

The House, which passed the bill last year, voted 21-19 along caucus lines to accept changes made to it in the Senate, marking lawmakers’ final approval of the measure. It heads next to the desk of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who has not commented publicly on whether he’ll sign it.

Supporters of the measure were jubilant on Wednesday, describing the legislation as a solution to a problem two decades in the making.

“Having employees have the option of a defined benefit pension system is a good thing for the state of Alaska. This experiment we’ve been on for the last two decades of a defined contribution system has failed us,” said Rep. Calvin Schrage, an Anchorage independent.

If signed by Dunleavy, the bill will reinstate a guaranteed pension system for employees of the state, municipalities and school districts for the first time since 2006, when lawmakers voted to close the pension system in the face of a multibillion-dollar unfunded liability. Lawmakers replaced it with a 401(k)-style plan that has left many public employees without sufficient income to retire with security, and with less incentive to commit to a full career in Alaska’s public sector.

The unfunded liability was attributed in large part to incorrect actuarial information provided to the state in the early 2000s. The state sued the actuarial firm but failed to recoup enough to fully fund its plans. Alaska has been paying back that liability ever since, with interest.

Supporters of a return to defined benefits say that the 2006 decision is the root of many of the recruitment and retention challenges in the public sector today, including high turnover rates among teachers, public safety officers, road engineers, ferry operators and administrators of critical public safety net programs, among others.

To avoid another financial crisis, crafters of the bill, who include House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp and Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, added requirements for additional actuarial analyses. They also made the plan far less generous for retirees by reducing health care benefits and requiring employees to increase their contributions to the plan if it becomes underfunded. The Senate then changed the bill to provide employees with the option to remain in the current, 401(k)-style retirement system, and to provide municipalities and school districts the option to opt out of offering the new pension to their workers.

But the changes weren’t enough for the 19 House Republicans in the minority, who argued on Wednesday that the plan wasn’t sufficiently analyzed, that it would still pose an unsustainable financial risk to the state, and that it would not solve the state’s recruitment and retention crisis.

“I would consider this Alaska’s rendezvous with destiny,” said Rep. Will Stapp, a Fairbanks Republican, adding that he thinks the state may be about to “repeat the single most expensive financial mistake in the history of the state of Alaska.”

The new pension plan — which would go into effect next year — is set to cost the state tens of millions of dollars annually, depending on the number of public employees who join it. But proponents of the measure say that figure doesn’t account for the amount of money the state will save by avoiding the need to pay overtime in understaffed departments, and by eliminating the need to constantly train new teachers and police officers.

“This bill is not built on hope, but it does bring it,” said Kopp, adding that “the cost of what we’re doing now is orders of magnitude higher than what this bill introduces.”

Though majority lawmakers succeeded in shepherding the legislation through a rigorous process that included dozens of committee hearings and lengthy floor debates, its passage into law isn’t guaranteed.

“We still have one more stop, though — we have the big red pen, potentially,” said Giessel, referring to a potential veto from Dunleavy.

Dunleavy, who receives a state pension from his years as a public school educator, has previously said that younger workers are not as interested in pensions as his generation had been. His spokesperson, Jeff Turner, declined on Wednesday to share whether Dunleavy supports the bill.

“I’m very optimistic,” said Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Juneau Democrat who has been working on pension reform since the last plan was repealed. “I’m happy to loan the governor the blue pen, the black pen — I’m sure I could find a purple one — any color but red.”

With the Alaska season just getting underway for Carnival Cruise Line, guests are eager to get right into the fun and enjoy their voyages in the Last Frontier. One very special voyage, however, will not be offering the loyalty benefits high level members of the cruise line’s VIFP program might expect.

Platinum guests booked on the May 5, 2026 sailing of Carnival Spirit have been notified they will not be receiving key perks typically associated with their loyalty status.

“Due to the high number of Platinum guests joining us on this voyage, we will not be able to provide the following benefits,” the email explained.

The benefits that will not be available for the 7-night cruise include priority embarkation and debarkation either in Seattle or at any ports of call, the early stateroom access to drop off luggage, or priority luggage delivery to guests’ staterooms.

Furthermore, the cruise line may not be able to offer the priority line at Guest Services portside on Deck 2 or priority phone assistance when calling Guest Services.

“These operational changes are consistent with other voyages where we have a very large number of Platinum guests,” the email continued. “We apologize for any disappointment and thank you for your understanding.”

It should be noted that Diamond guests will still receive all of their benefits for this sailing.

Carnival Cruise Line does not disclose the number of VIFP guests on different sailings. Carnival Spirit can welcome up to 2,124 guests at double occupancy.

Cruise Hive has reported frequently on different Carnival cruises losing loyalty benefits due to large numbers of loyal guests on specific sailings.

While many of those cruises-without-perks are longer voyages, such as repositioning sailings or transatlantic cruises, any sailing might be impacted depending on its overall bookings.

Carnival Spirit will depart Seattle on Tuesday, May 5, and will enjoy visits to Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria before returning to the Evergreen State on May 12.

Read Also: Carnival Cruise Ships in Alaska – Which One to Choose?

The 85,920-gross-ton ship will remain in Alaska through mid-September, offering weeklong cruises throughout the summer.

At the end of the season, she will first offer a 15-night roundtrip sailing from Seattle to Hawaii before repositioning back to Mobile for the winter. Carnival Spirit will be back to Alaska for the 2027 sailing season.

A Very Special Cruise Impacted

While all Alaskan cruises are immensely popular, this particular sailing, the May 5, 2026 departure of Carnival Spirit, also happens to be the 2026 “For Fun’s Sake” (FFS) cruise with John Heald, the cruise line’s brand ambassador, hosting special events all week long.

Typically, Heald only hosts one FFS cruise per year. This is the first time the themed cruise has been in Alaska. Previous sailings were in the Caribbean, though different options are offered each year. The 2026 sailing is the eighth FFS cruise, and they all sell out remarkably quickly.

To be clear, the FFS cruise is not a full-ship charter. Instead, guests must book the sailing separately and then opt in to the FFS evens with an extra registration and nominal fee.

Depending on the ship, anywhere from 500 to 800 spaces will be available for guests to join the unique events and activities. The full itinerary of FFS events is not revealed until guests are onboard, but there are often themed activities to the itinerary.

“We will have a private viewing deck during the transit through Tracy Arm Fjord with some special food and lashings of hot soup,” Heald said when the cruise was announced. “That’s just one thing I am planning.”

Of course, in March 2026 Carnival Cruise Line removed Tracy Arm Fjord from all sailings this season due to safety concerns related to avalanche risks. There will still be scenic cruising in Endicott Arm Fjord, where such viewing can be offered.

Other exclusive events include meet-and-greets, photo ops, autographs, and more, and all FFS guests also get limited edition swag to commemorate the very special cruise.

The loss of Platinum VIFP perks will not impact the FFS activities onboard, and all guests are sure to have an exciting and very memorable cruise vacation.