Longtime Juneau School District board member and board president Deedie Sorensen says she is no longer planning to run for reelection. She’s been known as a longstanding advocate and voice for teachers during her six-year tenure.
Sorensen says she will finish out her current term but plans to step down after this October’s municipal election for personal reasons. Earlier this year, Sorensen told KTOO she did plan to run for reelection.
“I’ve given a lot of years to public education in Juneau, and it’s been extremely stressful and I would actually like to retire,” she said.
Sorensen is 74 years old and a retired elementary school teacher who taught in Juneau for more than 35 years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. During her career, she was an active member of the Juneau Education Association and served as a staff member on many district committees.
Juneau voters first elected Sorensen to the board in 2019. She was then reelected for a second term in 2022. While on the board, she helped the district navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and the consolidation of Juneau’s high schools and middle schools.
Sorensen and fellow board member Emil Mackey were the subjects of a recall attempt in last year’s election. The effort was led by a group of residents who wanted to remove them in part due to their votes in favor of the consolidation. But election results showed that most voters were against removing the pair and both held their seats.
“I really appreciate the community support last year,” she said. “That was absolutely one of the highlights of the whole thing was the community support during the recall.”
Sorensen said she stands by the decisions the board made during the pandemic and the consolidation process. She said a lot of the difficult issues the school board faces could be solved if the state and federal government adequately funded districts. She described the current state of public education in Alaska as walking on the edge of a cliff that’s eroding under your feet.
“I feel like the last seven years have been, at the state level, have been an assault on public education,” she said.
She said state and federal moves to shrink government funding for education undermine the basis for a well-informed public.
Sorensen’s is one of two school board seats that will be open this election. There’s also an opportunity to serve a partial term following former school board member Will Muldoon’s abrupt resignation this spring.
As of Thursday afternoon, the city clerk’s office has not certified any candidates for those seats. The deadline to file for a seat in this election is Monday, July 28, at 4:30 p.m.
Updated correction: Emil Mackey no longer plans to run for school board.
