Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed Karen Morrison as deputy commissioner at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development.
Morrison was finance director at the Petersburg School District for nearly a decade. She left last year to join the state Department of Education as finance director.
Morrison said her time in Petersburg prepared her in some ways for her latest role.
“A lot of my work at the Petersburg School District helped me to understand what’s going on in a school district as far as boots on the ground,” she said.
She said she’ll use that knowledge as deputy commissioner when working with school districts across the state.
Some of those districts, including Petersburg’s, say state funding for public schools has not kept up with rising costs. Staff salaries, insurance, utilities, and heating fuel all cost more than they did a few years ago. Both Gov. Dunleavy and Department of Education Commissioner Deena Bishop have been vocal in their opposition to a permanent increase to per-student state education funding, known as Base Student Allocation, or BSA. Bipartisan education legislation that would have increased the per-student funding formula by $680 was vetoed by Dunleavy this spring. Bishop has defended the Governor’s stance, saying BSA money doesn’t always make it to the classroom, like it should.
Morrison said advocacy for an increase to the BSA came with her role at Petersburg School District. But she said when working for state or local government, personal opinions are irrelevant. She said her job as deputy commissioner will be to assist and support the commissioner.
“My role is to execute the work of the legislature and the governor,” she said. “So I don’t have a say in policy in my current role.”
The deputy commissioner acts as Commissioner Bishop’s right hand. Morrison said that while they haven’t precisely outlined all duties yet, responsibilities will be based on experience and expertise. Bishop will be taking the reins on policy and curriculum and Morrison will focus more on the financial and administrative aspects of managing the department.
Morrison said she’s excited that as deputy commissioner she’ll be able to work with the department of education more broadly. She said in the last year with the department, she’s been really impressed with the staff’s commitment to students, teachers, and districts. She said that support often comes in the form of open and easy communication.
“I have regular conversations with superintendents on questions that they may have. We get constituent calls, we get media requests,” she said. “So it’s more higher level support, but the people who are the stakeholders feel very comfortable reaching out to the department.”
Morrison begins work as deputy commissioner July 1.
