Assistant Superintendent Kim Saunders said that if the school district doesn’t pay for green cards now, then it will have to pay even more later when the district's international teachers’ work visas expire and they cannot be immediately rehired.
“If we want them to be able to stay past that visa status, this is our only option, right? It's the only way we can stabilize and retain great teachers," she said.
Especially in the district’s hard-to-staff rural schools, where she said eight teachers are currently on visa status.
Saunders said the green card application process costs the employer, which is the school district in this case, about $10,000 per person, over two years. On April 20, the KIBSD school board unanimously approved setting aside an additional $100,000 for that cost, enough for 20 teachers to begin the process. The process to obtain a green card, referred to as the Program Electronic Review Management Labor Certification or PERM, itself can take three years.
Out of roughly 150 teachers total, district records show that it currently has 26 teachers who were international recruits with H1-B visas, which allow them to legally work and live in the U.S. for up to six years.
School Board member Duncan Fields said during the April 20 school board meeting that the district’s international teachers are professionally qualified, and paying for their permanent residency is cost effective compared to recruiting, hiring and training new teachers.
“And we see from the materials presented, and from long-term discussion, that those costs are anywhere between $20,000 to $25,000 per new hire for this district," Fields said.
A 2017 study by researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research found the average cost of a teacher turning over in Alaska was a little over $20,000.
But former Kodiak High School teacher John Parker told the school board on April 20 that the district could put that money toward recruiting and retaining domestic teachers instead.
“It seems somewhat disingenuous to pay thousands for visas and green card fees to hire a foreign teacher to teach in our school, yet there’s no consideration for an incentive for an American applicant," he said.
Parker suggested contributing to non-visa teachers’ retirement accounts or paying for schooling for advanced teaching degrees.
Saunders told KMXT on May 15 that the district already puts money toward those kinds of incentives, like the "Grow Your Own” program.
“We’ve been paying tuition for our own educators who are on the classified side to become certified teachers for years, because we are attempting to grow our own teachers," she said. "That takes upwards of 10 years.”
The district’s new green card incentive comes with strings attached.
Saunders said the teachers must work in the district for five more years after their green cards are issued, maintain valid teaching certifications and endorsements, and stay in good standing with the district. If a teacher leaves the district or their contract is terminated within the five years, then they agree to reimburse the district for some of the costs.
She added during an April 6 school board work session that international teachers have also been disproportionately stepping up to answer a district call for teachers to pursue special education certifications as well.
“Because that's our most critical area of need," Saunders said.
The money for the green cards is coming out of the school district’s employee benefits fund, which still has hundreds of thousands of dollars left for this fiscal year [FY’2026] according to budget documents. Saunders said much of that money is still very likely to go unspent.
She said she knows some eligible international teachers don’t plan to stay in Kodiak long-term and obtain their green cards.
“I’ve heard three nos so far for different reasons. And so we will see what happens," Saunders said on May 15.
Several of the district’s teachers from the Philippines told KMXT they don’t feel comfortable sharing their decision making around this green card incentive. Some said it’s personal, some said they’ve faced backlash and even racism from community members on social media.
Saunders said the district is hiring some incoming Coast Guard members and spouses to help fill some of these soon to be vacant positions for next school year.
