A committee directed with making recommendations for improvements at the state run boarding school in Sitka has delivered its findings to the Alaska Board of Education and Early Development.

It’s been nearly a year since a group of parents, educators and alumni sounded the alarm about conditions at Mt. Edgecumbe High School to the Alaska Board of Education and Early Development. With concerns about mental health, aging facilities, and a significant enrollment drop-off, the board tasked an ad hoc committee with investigating the issues over the past summer, and making recommendations for improvements. 

At the board’s quarterly meeting in mid-October in Sitka, student Xander Swanson called last year “a hard one”, citing everything from leaks and worn out beds, to inconsistent rules and poor communication. But he and others said some conditions have gotten better – with infrastructure improvements, a re-written student handbook, and new administrators.

“One change that’s seen is the communication with students and staff is on another level. This matters more than you might think,” Swanson said. “When students feel heard, we show up differently. We take ownership of our school.” 

Superintendent David Langford also told the board that things are looking up with millions of dollars to put toward facility improvements– $24 million over the next few years including around $10 million for dining hall renovation. Langford said the cafeteria food has improved already, and the school is offering more than quadruple the student activities available last year. 

While enrollment was down to 350 students at the start of this year, Langford said the number of students leaving campus is substantially lower than this time last year.

“I’ve been emphasizing with all the principals and teachers, everybody on the campus, that really what we’re interested in is keeping the students we have long term, and, to-date, the students that are leaving Mount Edgecumbe up to this point is 65% lower than it was a year ago, so I think that speaks to everybody working together at a whole new level for students.”  

But former school staff member and parent Blossom Teal-Olsen said some of those improvements don’t tell the full story. Cuts to mental health support and staff and teacher turnover need to be addressed. 

“Our children need mental health support at a time when there’s no mental health support given, and there’s been cuts to those positions. And historically, if anyone, and I’ve been a former worker there, if you ever make a wave, you are out,” Teal-Olsen said. “So look at look at how many teachers have left. Look at the turnover within the dorms. Look at the how the nursing staff interacts with administration. That’s the true story. There. That’s where change needs to happen.”  

Reviewing and strengthening mental health supports for students is on a list of 22 recommendations the ad hoc committee delivered to the state board later at the same meeting.

The committee developed the list after reviewing roughly 250 survey results from students, parents, and staff. It touches on everything from improving dorm room policies and communication with parents, to establishing a process for collecting information from students who withdraw from the school. 

Paul Reid is a project coordinator with the Office of Education Advocacy, and he facilitated the ad hoc meetings. Board Chair Sally Stockhausen asked him whether they were ready to discuss the plans for addressing the recommendations. 

“I kind of viewed that as ‘This is going to be handed off to the to the admin and to the staff and the students here’ to assure that some of that these recommendations are considered, as they continue to develop,” Reid said.

Stockhausen said she could hear a lot of the recommendations already reflected in both Langford’s report and at a recent school advisory board meeting. However, she wanted to keep tabs on future improvements with a regular report to the state board.

“I would like it to stay in the forefront of our minds and not become another thing that we put on the shelf [and say] ‘Well, that was nice that we did that,'” Stockhausen said. “So I would like to see in in a format that addresses these at our meetings, that we get a regular update on what has been done so far.” 

And board member Kimberly Bergey said the update should be digestible so students and families have a roadmap for where the school is headed. 

“The student voice in this process is going to be critical to the long-term success of the school,” she said. “And so, figuring out how we can make sure that that student voice is included in the the next steps in the process is going to be critical.”

The board did not take formal action on the recommendations at the quarterly meeting. 

The 10th Annual Alaska Day Brewfest is Sunday, October 18, 2026 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Garry White with the Sitka Economic Development Association joined KCAW for the Morning Interview to discuss the event. Listen here:

The Sitka Assembly on Tuesday (10-13-26) approved a contract extension with investors looking to ship bulk water out of Sitka. This is the second contract extension for Arctic Blue Waters Alaska Inc. since the city agreed to sell them the right to purchase water from Blue Lake in 2021. 

Under the agreement, the international bulk water shipping company was given several years to engineer and build a pipeline to collect water from the lake, but the company has failed to meet its deadlines to submit plans.   

Gary Paxton Industrial Park Director Garry White told assembly members Tuesday they had three choices: 

“You could go with the GPIP board’s direct or recommendation of having them pay $25,000 to extend their contract for one year. You could take Arctic Blue’s new proposal to do an extension for no dollars down, or you could allow the 45-day letter to run its course, and then terminate the contract,” White said.

Arctic Blue Director Fred Paley told the assembly they are asking for the extension due to increased shipping costs and unrest in the Middle East — which has an interest in obtaining Sitka’s bulk water. 

“Why we’re asking for that is we’re hoping that there’s a settlement of the Middle East war with Israel, the United States, and Iran, and that things settle down in the Middle East, and Strait of Hormuz gets opened up, as well as the other areas that bunker oil is being shipped from to bring down prices,” he said.

Paley said even if the geopolitical situation stabilizes in the Middle East, it’s unlikely engineering and construction plans could be completed within the one-year extension. 

Assembly Member Katie Riley said she understands there are benefits to keeping the water under contract and creating a pathway for future development. She suggested a “good faith” contribution from the company for the costs incurred by the city to manage the contract, and adding a more realistic deadline. 

“If they’re serious about selling our water, fantastic,” she said. “It says here that they have invested approximately $10 million over a 30-year period in attempts to do so. So I don’t think asking them for 10 grand to continue extending this out for two years is too much.”

Assembly members ultimately voted unanimously in favor of an extension until October of 2028 for a $10,000 fee — giving Arctic Blue two more years to complete design and construction plans.

Sitka’s new mayor and assembly members took their oaths of office at the Sitka Assembly meeting Tuesday night (10-13-26). The group also said farewell to outgoing mayor Steven Eisenbeisz, who served in the role since 2020.

Eisenbeisz served two terms on the assembly before he was elected to the mayor’s chair. After three terms at the helm, he did not seek re-election this year. 

At Tuesday’s meeting, he read from a prepared speech. In it, he thanked city staff, fellow assembly members, and his family for their support. He said people often run for a seat on the assembly to change the world, but the first budget cycle hits hard. Then, over time, they slowly realize the system isn’t broken.  

“Every administration leaves a small mark in the process,” Eisenbeisz said. “I’ve always looked at it with a lens of longevity. It is my intent to grow old and die here, and the decisions that I have made will directly affect the quality of life in the hopefully faraway future.”

Eisenbeisz’s departure was met with some tears. Assembly Member JJ Carlson, who has served as deputy mayor under Eisenbeisz, said they’ve both grown a lot since they met in the second grade. She thanked him for his leadership and said he leaves big shoes to fill.   

“You’ve built this team,” Carlson said. “You’ve built us to be the leaders of this community. And I really appreciate that time and that patience you’ve had with us to find our way, and not just do it as a mirror to you, but that support that you’ve given, and I’ve seen you do it to all of us, and there’s just lots of appreciation.”

Following Eisenbeisz’s recognition and a short recess to share cake, Sitka’s newly-elected mayor Kevin Mosher was sworn into office. He said he learned a lot from Eisenbeisz and expects the new body to continue to make respect a priority.

“I’ve been so fortunate to work with the assemblies I have, especially these last couple years,” he said. “It has been an absolute honor. You know, you look around and you see other assemblies or city councils, and they bicker, and that doesn’t happen [here]. We speak and discuss fervently for our opinions, but at the end of the day, we agree and we are kind and friendly to each other. And I just want to thank the assembly for that.” 

Mosher has served on the assembly since 2018, and ran one unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2022. He won the mayor’s seat with nearly 58% of the vote in last week’s municipal election. 

Incumbent JJ Carlson and newcomer Sherri Blankenship were also sworn in at Tuesday’s meeting. The assembly then voted 5 to 1 to appoint runner-up Darrell Windsor to fill Mosher’s vacant assembly seat until next year’s municipal election. Carlson voted against the appointment, saying she preferred to advertise for letters of interest. 

After months of searching, Sitka has a new city administrator. At its meeting on Tuesday (10-13-26), the Sitka Assembly approved an employment agreement with incoming municipal administrator Gerrie Cotter. 

“Gerrie was the top tier candidate of many, many applications,” Assembly Member JJ Carlson said. “It was a long process of months of review and several executive sessions and interviews, and she came out really as what the group wanted to see as our next administrator.”

Over the course of several months, the assembly interviewed Cotter multiple times and hosted a public meet-and-greet in Sitka. In mid-September, the group directed city staff to negotiate the employment contract and terms with Cotter. 

Her employment could begin as soon as November 9, giving her about a month to overlap with current administrator John Leach before his departure. Cotter’s annual salary will start at $200,000.

A dozen first graders from Xóots Elementary School harvested Tlingit potatoes from Pacific High School’s garden this morning (10-14-26). In the spring, the then-kindergartners planted the root vegetables while Tlingit storyteller David Kanosh taught them the history of the potato in Southeast. Andrea Fraga, the garden coordinator at PHS, helped a handful of first grade classes dig them up this week. Students will use the potatoes in a stone soup they plan to make during a cooking lab.

Nearly 300 Sitkans gathered at Harrigan Centennial Hall yesterday (10-12-26) to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day with a pot luck and dances. Local Tlingít dancers and six dance groups from Mt. Edgecumbe High School performed throughout the evening.

The Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development is holding its quarterly meeting at Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka this week.

The meeting kicked off on Tuesday (10-13-26) with a tour of Sitka School District facilities and classrooms. Then the board went across the bridge to tour the state’s boarding school that serves students from around Alaska. For an hour and a half the state board members were guided throughout the campus on student-led tours. Then the group settled into meeting mode in a classroom, with committee meetings and a work session.

The board’s meeting at Mt. Edgecumbe High School comes nearly a year after a group of parents, alumni and staff voiced concerns at a state board meeting about mental health and quality of life at the school. In response, the board created an ad hoc committee of stakeholders to address student well-being at the school. The committee met regularly this summer to develop a list of policy recommendations for the board. On Wednesday (10-13-26) it will deliver its findings. The board will also hear an update from the school’s superintendent David Langford and Commissioner of Education Deena Bishop.

The board will take public comment Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. Find a link to attend virtually here.

View the updated results here

Kevin Mosher will take his seat as Sitka’s mayor, JJ Carlson will retain her assembly seat alongside newcomer Sherri Blankenship. Mayor-elect Mosher is a sitting assembly member with one year left on his term, so tonight the assembly must decide how they want to fill the vacant seat. They could either advertise for letters of interest or appoint someone at the meeting tonight, but the seat must be filled within 20 days of the vacancy. 

The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. tonight at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Raven News will broadcast the meeting live following Alaska News Nightly.