Perhaps you are not aware that teachers are not indentured servants. Those new teachers who do not intend to stay in Alaska for the thirty to forty years they'd need to be here to earn a meager Tier 3 pension would not stay for even one more year. Those with marketable skills will find it easy to get better jobs in better paying states and better paying districts where they can wind up with real pensions. The costs of high teacher turnover has been studied again and again and again. They are both financial and educational. In Alaska, those districts with the highest teacher turnover have the lowest student achievement. This is mirrored around the country. Better paying districts retain better teachers and students have much more success. Part of better pay is a decent health insurance package.  Anyone who works with students who are sneezing and coughing for months on end needs decent health insurance.