2025 School Board Candidate Questionnaire: Courtney Amundson

Courtney Amundson

Have you previously run for public office? When and what office?

Previous government or other relevant experience:
I have worked for the federal government for 14 years and have spent most of my career collaborating with local, state, tribal and federal government agencies to develop and implement projects related mostly to wildlife and public lands management, but also issues related to food safety. I have participated in advisory councils for public land management issues and presented information to public boards.

Community involvement, past and present:
For many years, I volunteered with the Special Olympics, animal rescue organizations, wildlife and public lands nonprofits, and academic societies. For the last several years, we have been foster parents to children from around the state, which has provided a deep understanding and empathy for children and families struggling with substance abuse and mental illness and the role of education on helping children without strong family support thrive.

Why are you running for a seat on the Sitka School Board this year?

As my children neared school age and my family became active in advocating for early childhood resources, I began taking interest in the School Board activities and decision-making processes. School board meetings always left me wishing I knew more about the nuts-and-bolts of the issues to help inform decisions as they seemed often made based on limited information. I also wondered if my technical skills might be beneficial to the board in some capacity. My twins were born at the start of the pandemic and our community involvement slowed down quite a bit as we navigated adjusting to life with children in an isolated world. Now that they’re older and the pandemic is over, I’d like to participate in the community and I think the school board is a great fit.

What are your top priorities if elected?
My first priority is to educate myself more on the issues currently facing Sitka schools to better allocate my time to activities that would benefit the District. My children are young and so I’m well versed in issues related to early education, but need more context on issues facing older students. That said, I would like to use my background in statistics and data science to help understand patterns and trends in budget and student data to better advocate for resources and inform important decisions made by the board. Additionally, I believe Sitka Schools should develop an AI policy and would like to help facilitate that process.

Budget

In recent years, the Sitka Assembly has been spending the maximum allowed by state law on instructional expenses in the school district – the so-called “cap” – and spending money over-and-above the cap on things like student activities, managing the Blatchley Pool and funding the contract for the Sitka Performing Arts Center. Do you support this spending plan? Why or why not?

I think the Assembly had little choice and needed to spend to the cap to support Sitka schools when facing anemic State budgets. As for spending over-and-above on student activities – I think that’s a question better posed to the Assembly, but it’s apparent the base school budget cannot currently support everything the schools are trying to do…so, to that end, finding Borough money to keep valuable programs going that support the community seems like an example of a creative solution. I don’t think that’s tenable in the long-term, however, and the board should be advocating for increasing budgets as well as looking for other long-term ways to help fund valuable programs that aren’t feasible under current budgets.

During the budget process, the Sitka School Board typically has to balance academics, activities, and class size (also called pupil-teacher ratio, or PTRs). In your view, should any of these three areas receive more weight?

I believe activities are important to a student’s health, well-being, social-emotional growth, and sense of community. Often engagement in activities makes school more enjoyable and improves learning outcomes. However, activities often have supplemental external funding and while valuable, extracurriculars are not the primary mandate of public education. I would advocate for down weighting activities some in favor of academics and lower class size – understanding creative solutions to retain extracurricular options for students may be needed (e.g., in-kind equipment/facility contributions, volunteers, etc.).

Technology

Districts around the state are considering cell phone bans. Would you support a full or partial cell phone ban in the Sitka School District? Why or why not?

I’m supportive of giving students a few hours a day unplugged from the virtual world to focus on what’s in front of them. I would consider both a full or partial ban, but would like to hear from parents and students on the issue. While I understand parents want to be able to communicate with students during the day, phones facilitate real-time cyber-bullying, academic misconduct, and distractions from learning in the classroom and interacting with peers and teachers between classes. I struggle to see the value phones provide in schools, but I would really like to hear other perspectives.

What role should artificial intelligence play in the classroom? Should the Sitka School District develop a policy addressing or restricting AI use? Why or why not?

Artificial Intelligence is already being used by students and teachers and Sitka urgently needs to develop a policy addressing AI use in the classroom. We need to come up with solutions to ensure students are still developing critical thinking and technical skills in an era where a phone or computer can tell you the answer to almost anything. Educators will need to revise teaching methodologies and philosophies, and assignment development in the coming years as AI takes a more prominent role in society. Banning AI is futile. Kids are great at finding ways around restrictions and it doesn’t prepare them for how to use AI tools effectively and think critically about the information they provide.

Classroom

Social emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching are both guiding principles in the district. Do you support the continued emphasis on these approaches to education? Why or why not?

I support continuing our focus on these approaches. School plays an important role in shaping how children view the world, themselves, and their community. Ensuring students are proud and connected to their respective cultures and developing socio-emotional skills will improve their emotional well-being, which will in turn help their academic growth and preparedness for what lies beyond high school.

Teacher Pay

Last year, the Sitka School Board and the Sitka Education Association negotiated a three-year contract with raises built in each year (6% in 2024, 4% in 2025 and 4% in 2026). In June 2027, when it’s time to negotiate a new contract, as a board member, where would you stand? Would you hold the line on teacher salaries, or support increases to the pay scale?

I will absolutely support salary increases for teachers and staff to the extent the budget can support it. That sounds like a cop-out, but there are always trade-offs when we increase fixed costs under a flat budget. The board, with the help of stakeholders, will need to balance staff salary support with other fixed costs, services, and desired class sizes. I will strongly advocate at a local and state level for increased funding for schools and hope to use available data to demonstrate why investing in education is good for Sitka and the state of Alaska.