Teachers and their families know that the Anchorage School District is using them as pawns in its stupid, political game. ASD's financial problems may be exacerbated by the larger fiscal issues in Juneau, but they begin with ASD's complete and total lack of leadership at the highest levels. They lack the ability (or motivation) to come up with real solutions, so they lean on the age-old game of upending teachers' lives every Spring. They know that if they threaten teachers' jobs, rather than actually writing a sane and responsible budget, that, for the most part, parents will howl but will eventually come up with more money. In the mean time, every. single. year. teachers must live with an uncertain future, hoping and praying that they won't be one of the victims of this game. I'm surprised there hasn't been a mass walk out over it, and I'm surprised that AEA, the worthless teachers union, allows it to continue.