KCAW AI Disclosure
Did you use artificial intelligence (ex. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) to complete this questionnaire?
Candidate: No
Name: Kateri ‘Kat’ Richards
Age: 53
How many years have you lived in Sitka and in Alaska? 24 years
Occupation: Registered nurse and business owner
Describe your family: My husband, Richie, works as a paraprofessional in the Sitka School District. Our son, EJ graduated from Sitka High School in 2024 and attends UAS-Sitka majoring in Political Science and Education. Our daughter, Marley graduated from Sitka High School this last year (2026) and will be attending University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY majoring in Geology. We also have a pitbull name Amara, a pug named Willow and two sweet cats (Beau and Hassan).
Community involvement, past and present:
Currently I am board President for Sitka Youth Football, which is a non-profit sporting club. I was on the Babies & Books board for 3 years. I also served on Sitka Little League Board in the past. I am a member of the Emblem Club #142 and am involved in many fundraising events at the Elks.
Community involvement, past and present:
Currently I am board President for Sitka Youth Football, which is a non-profit sporting club. I was on the Babies & Books board for 3 years. I also served on Sitka Little League Board in the past. I am a member of the Emblem Club #142 and am involved in many fundraising events at the Elks.
Have you previously run for public office? When and what office?
I ran for School Board in 2014 (I believe)
Previous government or other relevant experience:
No previous government experience however I have experience on boards (sport clubs and Babies & Books) and budgetary experience in healthcare.
Why are you running for a Sitka School Board seat this year?
To support the community, to be involved as a civic duty, learn new processes and bring my healthcare knowledge to the district in a board level position.
What are your top priorities if elected?
Learn, be involved, and be part of the process to support and lead our public school system.
Vision
What’s the biggest challenge the Sitka School District faces today, and how would you address it? Biggest strength?
The reality of shrinking financial support of the public school system paired with students that have increasingly complex needs. Honestly, I don’t have a pre-conceived idea of how to address it. I do have the desire to be part of the group that works tirelessly to continue to provide students with quality education while also supporting incredibly talented teaching staff.
Our strength is our community. Peoples want to be involved, as seen by individuals that continue to run and volunteer to be on boards as well as businesses that support fundraisers
Budget:
What’s your budget philosophy for Sitka’s schools? Are there areas you would cut? Spend more?
I am not coming in with pre-conceived ideas. I am ready to learn.
Funding:
In your opinion, does the state fund schools adequately? As a school board member, what would you advocate for if tasked with lobbying the legislature in Juneau?
I believe that state funding should match inflation.
Achievement:
Monitoring student achievement and developing policies that boost student success is one of the school board’s top responsibilities. What do you see as Sitka’s most urgent area for academic growth? And how would you address it?
I am looking forward to educating myself regarding student achievement so I may understand the challenges and work with the board and SSD staff to see our students succeed.
Enrollment:
Across Alaska, school enrollment has been shrinking. While numbers have seen a slight jump in Sitka in the past couple of years, larger trends point to a loss of several hundred students over the past two decades. What steps should the Sitka School District take in response to a shrinking population?
Again, I look forward to learning the complexity of enrollment and how it impacts funding. It is my understanding that Sitka is not alone in the decreasing student population. I believe working with local administration, as well as networking across the state can increase problem-solving ideas for this challenge.
Technology :
What’s one technology rule you would like to enact in the school district?
Incorporating Ai responsibly. Bringing in and encouraging student to use Ai as an adjunct to their education verses Ai giving answers would be beneficial.
Engagement :
How would you work to increase visibility and community engagement with the school board?
Questions from the Daily Sitka Sentinel:
What should be the role of artificial intelligence in the classroom? Are there uses you would encourage or discourage?
AI should be embraced and standardized so appropriate use and understanding becomes part of daily routine in the district.
What should be the School Board’s role in reviewing curriculum and guiding curriculum development?
I do not have a stance on this as I am on a current learning curve to the education process.
What changes for public schools do you hope Alaska’s next governor will enact?
State funding becomes more realistic to what is needed to support the infrastructure of buildings, recruiting staff, and needed curriculum to meet the state, federal, and local goals.
