My name is Melissa Burnett, and I am asking for the opportunity to continue serving you on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Board of Education. Election day is Oct. 7, and early voting is Sept. 22 through Oct. 2.

As a public school mom, coach and volunteer, I care deeply about our community’s children and their future.

When I joined the board in 2022, our board was facing challenges that had been building for years — declining enrollment, flat per-student funding, an unsustainable budget and deferred maintenance of our buildings. It fell to us to take action. Many of the decisions we made — school consolidations, contracting services — felt sudden and painful. But the reality is that these issues had been deferred, and the time to address them had arrived.

It was not easy. But I made ch

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