Gov. Dunleavy’s veto of $175 million in school funding will have an impact on the Sitka School District budget – but how it will shake out has yet to be determined. One bright spot for the district’s finances, however, could be the addition of homeschooled students from around the state.

The governor announced his annual veto package on the federal Juneteenth holiday on June 19, which did not give the Sitka district administration time to come up with a new spending plan before the school board’s regular meeting on June 20.

In short, the veto amounts to a 50-percent decrease ($340) in the one-time boost ($680) the legislature had approved for schools statewide this coming year. Sitka, however, was a bit more cautious in writing its budget, and never planned to get all that extra funding. Instead, Sitka’s schools are looking at a decrease of about 20-percent below what was budgeted.

Still, it took hours of work and worry to write a conservative budget, and board member Todd Gebler was not happy about seeing the governor shoot it down.

“It’s still digesting with me and I’m still in the anger phase as far as my emotions go,” Gebler said. “There will be more to come.”

The actual cash reduction for Sitka is $287,000 – a significant hit to a budget that typically runs to about $20 million. What it will mean for class sizes and staffing will have to be ironed out during a budget revision later this summer. Superintendent Frank Hauser is on his way out at the end of the month, having taken the top job in the Juneau School District next year. He told board members that he and business manager Leslie Young will nevertheless start crunching new numbers right away.

“ And so that’ll be something that the board will be talking to in the business office,” said Hauser. “We’ll be putting together some of those numbers. Obviously, we weren’t able to get those numbers fast enough and turned around in the short amount of time we have for this meeting. But we’ll be working on some updates for the board around what those final numbers look like.”

Finalizing a new budget will fall to the board and interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw, who takes over the district on July 1.

One development that could help support the district’s finances was well-received by the board: The district’s REACH Homeschool program is now available statewide. Superintendent Hauser said the change had been approved by the state Department of Education, and that two out-of-town students were already enrolled for next year.

Hauser said it was a good way for families to remain connected to the district if they move to other communities in the state. And the boost in enrollment numbers certainly won’t hurt.

“Being able to open up our homeschool program to provide homeschool opportunities for students across the state of Alaska provides the possibility for additional student numbers to come in as we start having conversations about enrollment numbers,” Hauser said.

Each student enrolled in the REACH Homeschool program counts as 90-percent of a full, local enrollment, even if they live elsewhere.

Sitka school board member Mitch Mork is stepping down from his seat on the board, due to scheduling conflicts.

Mork was appointed to the school board last summer to fill a vacant seat and won a new three-year term in this fall’s municipal elections. 

In an email to KCAW, Mork said that conflicting obligations during typical board meeting times were a big factor in his decision to resign.

“Over the last 6 months, I was often left with the choice of working with kids directly or working with the school board to benefit kids. Initially, I chose the school board but felt terrible canceling events for kids. Since the board understands the benefits of working with kids directly, I began to choose working with kids. The board would try to schedule around these activities but this was a struggle,” Mork wrote.

“Although we normally found a way to squeeze time between events, we often had to delay meetings or allow me to leave early/arrive late. On many occasions this resulted in all or part of meetings occurring without me,” he continued. “I am stepping down so someone with less conflicting obligations during the school board’s busy season can do a better job supporting the team’s efforts.”

The Sitka School Board has begun meeting more often this winter as it starts its search to replace Superintendent Frank Hauser who submitted his resignation in February, effective at the end of June. The board is also reckoning with the prospect of layoffs as it weathers a budget crunch.

The board accepted Mork’s resignation last night (3-20-23) after it met in an executive session to discuss next steps in the superintendent hiring process.

The board will be accepting letters of interest for Mork’s seat through Monday, March 27 until 4 p.m. The candidates will be announced on March 28, and will be interviewed at the regular school board meeting on April 5. The appointed candidate will serve on the board until the October 3 election.

The board met in a work session last Thursday (2-9-23) to hear an overview of the budget for the next school year, and the numbers aren’t pretty.

Superintendent Frank Hauser warned board members that cuts are coming.

“We are projecting, if we do not see any relief in the form of a new or increased Base Student Allocation (i.e. state funding), that we will have to have some budget reductions which could include increase pupil teacher ratio, reduction in staff and potential reductions in programs,” said Hauser. “And those will be needed to really balance the budget for the deficit that we’re looking at.”

Hauser has previously reminded the board that the Sitka School District is in no way a unique position: Districts across the state are looking at deficits, and the blame is most often placed on the failure of the state to keep up with increasing costs. There is a bill in the Alaska Legislature to increase state funding by $1,000 per pupil. Hauser said that if it passed, it would cover Sitka’s nearly $3 million dollar deficit, and then some.

“It’s important to know that there is some conversations happening in the legislature right now around the Base Student Allocation increase,” said Hauser. “If there is a Base Student Allocation increase, that will have a positive impact on the district. Currently, right now, with a $2.79 million deficit, it would require a Base Student Allocation increase of just under $900 to essentially break even, and potentially even put a few thousand dollars in the in the bank account.”

As it’s only February, no one is expecting quick action from the Legislature. Sitka High Math teacher Ryan Myers is the father of student board member Felix Myers. The pair were among those who attended a fly-in last weekend to lobby the legislature on behalf of schools. Ryan Myers told the board that the Legislature would only act if there were significant public pressure.

“There is absolutely no guarantee of a raise in the Base Student Allocation,” said Myers. “There are people that want that, and there are plenty of people that don’t. And there are people that want it at $1,000; people that want it “1,500. And there’s people that want it at $250. And if we’re counting on having teachers and programs and a school district that functions, that’s not a want, that’s a need. And I’m just stating for the public record that we need to be putting pressure on our legislators, we need to be writing them, we need to be putting things in the newspaper, we need to spread the word far and wide that this is not a small problem. If we have to pink slip 10 to 20 teachers and people in the school district because we need to balance a budget, and we just hope that they’re going to stick around and wait for us to decide we can pay them. That’s a dangerous game to play.”

The Sitka School Board often begins the budget process in the hole, and is forced to consider cuts that often it’s spared from making, thanks to an 11th-hour infusion of cash from federal or state sources.

Board member Todd Gebler doesn’t see a rescue coming this year. He urged the public to start contacting legislators.

“Without proper funding, school board members are going to be cutting programs and cutting teachers and cutting everything,” said Gebler. “There’s no more low hanging fruit to cut.”

The Sitka School Board will hold its next budget work session on March 9 in Harrigan Centennial Hall. The budget for the next school year is scheduled to be finalized and adopted on April 20.

The board met in special session Thursday night (2-10-23) to consider how best to start looking for a new person to lead the Sitka School District.

Sitka Superintendent Frank Hauser submitted his resignation the first week of February. Although it’s a full month earlier than when former Superintendent Mary Wegner asked to be released from her contract, it’s just on the cusp of being too late to hire someone to begin work on July 1.

In fact, Timi Tullis, a hiring consultant with the Alaska Association of School Boards, said hiring season for school administrators across the state is wrapping up just about now.

“Copper River had two finalists chosen, and they were supposed to come into town this week to interview and both have accepted other jobs before they came to Copper River,” Tullis said. “So they have reopened theirs. And this week we have Aleutian East, Unalaska, and Bristol Bay are supposed to pick their finalists. Then we have Fairbanks who is in the middle of theirs, Juneau, Iditarod, and Southeast Island just this week have determined they’re going to be doing a search. And then of course you. I’m not trying to scare anyone, I am just saying this is the reality as of today.”

The meeting was well attended by district staff, several of whom urged the board to move forward with a permanent hire, and to train its sights on someone with practical experience in both the classroom and in the administration.

Another theme that came out in testimony was finding a candidate who might want to settle in Sitka, if they weren’t here already.

Sitka High Teacher Freddie Charbonneau – “The Sitka School District will intentionally develop haa’ latseeni, or strength of mind, body, and spirit, to inspire and prepare students to be compassionate and empowered, and to equip critical thinkers within a global community. This is the mission of the school district… And it is really important that when we’re looking for a leader, we are looking for someone who will live by this mission, and will encourage others to also do the same.”

Blatchley principal Ben White (reading from an email) – “Please consider prioritizing two key factors: The candidate having multiple years of actual classroom level teaching experience, and having multiple years of building level administrative experience. A significant part of any school superintendent’s job is to help inform teachers and administrators how to best do their jobs so that children reap the greatest educational benefit.”

Blatchley teacher Alexander Allison – “Please prioritize hiring somebody who is fully invested in living in, and being a member of, our community year round with their whole family.”

Tullis, who appeared via zoom, was visibly taking notes during public comment, but she cautioned everyone to lower their expectations slightly. Like a matchmaker counseling a bride, Sitka might get some of what it wants, but might have to settle for less than all it wants.

“I heard a few people talking about the essentialness of having both teacher and building level experience,” said Tullis. “And I’m not disagreeing with that. I just want to remind everyone in the room that currently our nation is facing a terrible teacher shortage. And because of that, we’re facing a building administrators/central office shortage. And because of that  we’re facing a superintendent shortage. It’s just the reality of where we are now.”

The board was of two minds on how to proceed. Student member Felix Myers argued that the board needed a permanent superintendent in place sooner rather than later, because this person would take the lead in negotiating a new contract with teachers next year. He didn’t think such an important role should fall to a temp.

“What our students want is to make sure that we at least try first to get someone who can be here long term,” Myers said, “because when it comes to those discussions that are going to be essential next year, they want to make sure that person is in good faith when it comes to those discussions.”

Members Tristan Guevin, Mitch Mork, and Blossom Teal-Olsen favored going with a highly-experienced interim superintendent, to buy time for a more thorough search for a permanent hire. This approach was used when the district hired former superintendent John Holst to work for a year following Wegner’s departure in 2019. Teal-Olsen said she had been urged by the public to take the time to get it right.

” The consensus being there’s no rush,” Teal-Olsen said. “And I want to stay true to the community and how they feel. And ultimately I would like to find a candidate that will be long term, committed to the community, integrated into the community, and will represent Sitka, as they should.” 

In the end, the board decided 4-1, with Myers opposed, to take a week (until February 16) to solicit letters of interest from interim candidates – just to see who was out there. If no one turned up who fit the bill, they’d ask Tullis and the Alaska Association of School Boards to initiate a search for a permanent replacement, with costs not to exceed $15,500.

Hauser has been superintendent in Sitka since the autumn of 2020, after many years of service in Anchorage as a music teacher and school principal. However, in each of the last two years in Sitka he’s actively pursued other jobs, first as superintendent of the Anchorage School District, and most recently, as superintendent of the Fairbanks North Star School District, where he is one of four finalists for the position.

In a letter emailed to district families on Monday, Hauser stated “While I am not sure what the future holds or if I might be called to serve elsewhere, I look forward to spending more quality time with family.”

Hauser replaced former superintendent Mary Wegner, who held the job for six years. Between Wegner’s departure and the arrival of Hauser, the School Board hired former superintendent John Holst on a one-year contract.

The Sitka School Board will meet in a special session at 5 p.m. Thursday, February 9, in Harrigan Centennial Hall to decide a course of action, and begin the search for a new superintendent. Speaking for herself only, board president Blossom Teal-Olsen told KCAW “I support Mr. Hauser’s professional endeavors. While I’m saddened at the thought of him leaving our district, I have confidence that our board and community will come together as we experience this change.”

Following the special meeting, the board and district administration will hold a Community Hearing on ways to address a $2.8 million shortfall in the budget anticipated next year.

The Fairbanks North Star School District announced on Wednesday (2-1-23) that Hauser is one of four finalists for the position of district superintendent.

Hauser was hired by the Sitka School District in 2021, and did not wait long to look for another job. He was named as one of three finalists for the superintendent of the Anchorage School District in March of 2022. Anchorage ultimately hired Dr. Jharett Bryantt, of Houston, Texas, to take the reins of the state’s largest school system.

In addition to Hauser, the other candidates for the Fairbanks job include Luke Meinert, who is currently assistant superintendent in Fairbanks; Dr. Ryan Scallon, who is an assistant superintendent in Philadelphia; and Dr. Ronnie Tarchichi, who is a superintendent in New Jersey.

Final interviews for the position of superintendent of the Fairbanks North Star School District will be held on February 18.

For the first time in recent memory, the Sitka School District in January failed to get a clean audit.

Although the faults were procedural – rather than financial – the issue weighed heavily on the minds of some school staff and school board members as they considered whether or not to formally adopt the findings at their February 1 regular meeting.

It should be noted from the get-go that the Fiscal Year 2022 Audit of the Sitka School District completed by the Anchorage accounting firm of Altman, Rogers & Co. is a 138-page report that finds the financial practices of the Sitka School District to be in good shape, and even praiseworthy.

That said, a couple of deficiencies were noted, that – given the overall competency of the district’s business office – might be the equivalent of grammatical errors on an A-student’s otherwise solid term paper.

The first was a failure to track expenses from the Student Activities accounts to the district’s general ledger on a monthly basis – which the auditors consider a “lack of internal controls,” and the second was a failure to file some quarterly reports to the US Department of Education on time, which the auditors also attributed to a lack of internal control.

The district office was informed about both of these problems before the auditors officially delivered the report in January, and its response was to promptly agree with the findings, and to begin corrective action.

Keeping on top of federal grant compliance did not generate much attention at the meeting, as it’s probably a matter of bringing recent hires in the district business office up to speed on the requirements of the government bureaucracy. But centralizing the Student Activities accounts raised alarm bells for some.

Mike Vieira is the president of the teacher’s union (Sitka Education Association) and a former activities director at Sitka High School. He was worried that changing accounting practices, while impressing auditors, might interfere with the function of activities.

“I was concerned to see that kind of buried on page 132 of the audit is a pretty big change in the standard operating procedure of our district regarding the way that activity funds are distributed and controlled, and executed,” Vieira said. “Forever, those activity funds — at least at the high school — have remained with the high school accountant. And it’s a very local approach to our building. And it’s allowed our building to function as a team with our administration, our accounting team, and the coaches inevitably that need access to those funds.”

Vieira recounted an incident where the Sitka basketball teams were en route to games in Wrangell, and ended up overheading and going all the way to Seattle for the night, where they had to be housed in hotels – all of which transpired long after the district’s business office had closed.

Rich Krupa is the athletic coordinator at Sitka High. He said that the episodes Vieira described were not unusual.

“Things happen all the time,” Krupa testified. “I need access to stuff immediately. And with stuff that’s proposed, that’s not going to happen. And my feeling is Sitka athletics and activities are going to be held captive, if it’s changed dramatically. I have no idea what (the District Office) they’re planning to do.”

The corrective plan is written right into the auditor’s report: Business manager Leslie Young stated that “the district is currently in the process of transitioning all school activity accounting to the district’s accounting system to provide a uniform system for operating and training school staff within one centralized system.”

What that will look like in practice is still a bit uncertain. Felix Myers, student representative on the school board, was caught in one of those thorny travel situations last year on a Mock Trial trip to Anchorage. He urged the administration to make sure that remedying the audit did not leave his fellow students in the lurch. 

“We have to make sure that when this does happen, there is a constant line of support for student activities,” Myers said. “So because of that, speaking on behalf of students and student activities, that has to be a priority, making sure that we still have access to the ability to communicate and make sure we can get home.”

Board member Mitch Mork took a different tack: Maybe the auditor was incorrect. There’s nothing illegal about maintaining separate activities accounts in the schools, so why fix what isn’t broken?

“This has been going for, I don’t know, a long time, 30 years,” he said. “We’ve basically been carrying that internal control risk for 30 years, and it’s been working as far as I know, but this is the first that anybody’s heard that it’s not working. So again, communication…. We don’t have to do anything special. It’s just a conversation.”

Mork suggested that the board postpone voting on approval of the audit until all affected parties had been brought together and assured that the corrective action required by the auditors was fully understood.

Board member Tristan Guevin, however, thought it was irresponsible to play chicken with General Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), and urged the board to approve the audit, and the corrective plan.

“When you look at this audit finding, these bank statements weren’t being reconciled with the general ledger,” said Guevin. “And so I think that’s something we need to ensure happens. We need to support the the superintendent and the business office in ensuring that happens, and I think the only way that that does happen is through some kind of level of centralized control.”

Board president Blossom Teal-Olsen concurred, saying it was the board’s fiduciary responsibility to citizens to comply with the audit. Superintendent Frank Hauser carefully avoided trying to sway board opinion on the corrective plan, but emphasized several times that the district was required by law to have a board-approved audit. “We’re approving the audit,” Hauser said, “we’re not necessarily approving business office functions.”

Ultimately, all board members were reassured that approving the audit – including the two “internal control” deficiencies, and their corrective plans – didn’t rule out further dialog about how to best handle the student activities accounts, and the measure passed unanimously.

The passage of Prop. 1 by Sitka voters last month will bring a significant amount of cash into the school district for student activities – but it’s not clear yet how it will be allocated.

KCAW’s Robert Woolsey attended Tuesday’s school board meeting, and reports on this issue, and several others from the evening.

Student Activities Fund

Superintendent Frank Hauser told the Sitka School Board that there were many possibilities for using the money, which could top $300,000 in a couple of years, including establishing an activities scholarship fund for students already eligible for the free and reduced meals program, and limiting the activity fee paid by students to one single fee paid once-per-year, rather than paying separately for every activity.

Hauser said a survey posted on the district’s homepage was generating results.

“Our preliminary survey responses include a strong preference for students for the use of the fund directly for students,” Hauser said, “which is exactly in line with what the assembly talked about. And the district’s initial ideas are focusing on.”

Take the School Activities Fund Community Input survey. There will be a district Listening Session 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 10, 2022, in the Keet Gooshi Heen multi-purpose room.

Cultural Education alive and well

The Sitka School Board heard a major update from the district’s Cultural Education Program. Director Jule LeBlanc described the grants she manages, and the projects they support – everything from the Cradle to Career Grant  to Box of Treasures, culture class, and summer camps. After two years of remote participation, many of the programs are reintegrating into the district’s curriculum. LeBlanc said that one parent found the Sitka district’s approach to be especially empowering.

“I feel like oftentimes, I’ve been told I’m not Native enough to learn the culture, or I don’t look Native enough,” LeBlanc said. “And so knowing that that’s something that I have heard, it’s something our students are still hearing, it was really neat to hear this quote come from this parent that it’s just shares how much it means to them that this the culture is accessible within the school day, not just where they have to be Native enough or after school.”

LeBlanc herself is a graduate of Sitka High. She explained that although cultural education was offered in her day, it was more universal now throughout the schools. She was playing catch-up.

“As a district alumni, I didn’t get a chance to learn the language in the school,” said LeBlanc. “I was very into sports, and so I never had the opportunity to even opt into SNEP (Sitka Native Education Program) classes. So I didn’t learn the language. And so now as an adult, I get to learn it. And so I’m going to say this to you… but I also invite you all to try saying these words. If I can do it, you can do it. And it’s okay to not say it right. So gunalchéesh… thank you for listening.”

Board president Blossom Teal-Olsen could relate to LeBlanc’s experience, growing up Inupiaq in Fairbanks.

“I had a very similar experience growing up, there was hardly any cultural education within the schools,” said Teal-Olsen. “Actually, my experience was very crude. They’d say, ‘Are you Native?’ and if you were you stood up. And then they’d say,  ‘Okay, now go learn about yourself.’  And we leave the room and spend 15 minutes learning something that someone read in a book.”

School Enrollment below projections

In other business, the Sitka School Board heard an enrollment update from Superintendent Hauser, who reported that the average daily membership – or ADM– during the official count period in October fell below the 1,125 students the board had budgeted for – by around 9 students. Nevertheless, the district has an available balance of CARES Act funding, and was still in the market for additional Americorps staff in the elementary schools.

Blatchley heat pump replacement

Hauser also said that a contractor had begun work removing the defective heat pumps at Blatchley Middle School, which has been without reliable heat for a full year. Hauser said two new heat pumps have arrived in Sitka, and two more are on the way.

“Our contractor is pulling out the old heat pumps today (Tuesday 11/1/22) in preparation for installing the new ones,” said Hauser. “As I said in my update last month, he was able to band-aid one of the units and get some heat going in the building. So the building has had some heat in the interim.”

The Sitka Assembly in August set aside $600,000 to replace the Blatchley heat pumps, which are only eleven years old, but may have been improperly installed.

Student board member Felix Myers to join state board

And finally, the board’s student representative Felix Myers shared some good news: He’ll soon  be lending his voice to school policy at the state level, and next year will have a voting role.

“I was selected to be the junior student representative to the state board of Education and Early Development,” said Myers. “In that position, I will be one of the students representing all students of Alaska, to that board. And next year, I’ll be sitting as the senior representative and be a full voting member* of the Board of Education for the State of Alaska.”

As the current representative for Sitka High, Myers lent his strong support for adding a student member to the school board from Pacific High. The board agreed, and approved the proposal on first reading, and will consider the matter again on second reading in December.

*Note: The student member on the Alaska State Board of Education casts votes, however those votes are advisory only.

City league basketball, open gym, and a lot of other possibilities for activities are on the horizon this fall, as Sitka’s new “Community Recreation” office kicks into gear.

The program is intended to pick up the slack from Sitka Community Schools, which was formerly a part of the school district.

KCAW’s Robert Woolsey reports on the new program, and the other major issues from Wednesday night’s Sitka School Board meeting.

Community Schools expired slowly over the last seven years, under pressure from budget cuts. In 2015, the school district outsourced it to a private contractor, but in 2019, the school board shrunk the contract down to $25,000. The Hames Center was game to take on the program for a year, but the pandemic eliminated any chance that it would thrive there. 

In the fall of 2021, the Sitka Community Health Summit selected reviving Community Schools as one of its two top goals (Homelessness was the other). This spring, the city’s Parks and Recreation Committee took up the issue, and what has emerged – while not quite the Community Schools of old – is a new Community Recreation office.

Coordinator Barb Morse described the progress for the Sitka School Board.

“We have the old Community Schools office back, which is a really good location to be able to supervise the facility at Blatchley,” said Morse. “And you know, do the programming. And just today, we managed to get our internet and phone set up with great coordination between the city IT and the school district IT. So we are in the process of really getting up and running with all the details you need to get things operating.”

Morse said a major goal was to have someone hired to run the program by October 1. Andrew Roseman, a former Jesuit Volunteer at the Sitka Conservation Society, has taken the job as recreation specialist. Next will come the revival of city league basketball by October 24, and not long after that should come the return of open gym.

Where Community Recreation lands in the city’s organization hasn’t been decided. Right now, Sitka’s facilities manager Michael Colliver is helping it get off the ground, but it could end up in another department, or becoming its own department. In the meantime, Sitkans can connect with Andrew Roseman in  the Community Recreation office at 747-4033.

Schools likely to meet enrollment targets

It will be nice for kids and adults to have someplace to play after school hours in Sitka, because enrollment numbers in the district are actually ticking up slightly this month. The 20 school days concluding on October 28 are the official count period, when the state determines a school district’s Average Daily Membership, which is tied directly to school funding. Superintendent Frank Hauser reminded the school board that Sitka had built its budget for the year on a projected enrollment of 1,125 students. It looks like the district will hit that mark during this month’s count.

“We are excited to say that at this point, we have 1,118 students enrolled,” Hauser said. “ We are up from 1,111 at the last board meeting, so it’s up seven students and we’re definitely going in the right direction. In addition we also get to count the students that are in the Raven’s Way program as well. And so those numbers will be going up.” 

Superintendent pushes back against test critics

Hauser also used his report to rebut criticism that Sitka students were testing near the bottom on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is also called the NAEP Test, or sometimes “The Nation’s Report Card.”

NAEP testing, with the exception of several large, urban school districts, only reports at the state level. Hauser argued that it was incorrect to draw any conclusions about Sitka from the results.

“So if you’ve ever heard anyone saying that ‘Sitka test scores are near the bottom of the US. And quote, you’ll note that this is not necessarily true. It’s kind of a false statement. Because this national test doesn’t even measure how Sitka does as a district it is as a state.

NAEP data is easily available online, and it does show Alaska as underperforming in several categories, but also showing strength in some areas. Hauser suggested that a more honest reflection of the Sitka School District’s performance was in comparison to other schools in Alaska.

“SSD (Sitka School District) does have data on how the district compares to other districts in the state,” Hauser explained, putting up a slide with bar graphs. “Laura Rogers (former BMS assistant principal) last year put this slide together for the board. This is PEAKS English language arts data from 2017 to 2021. SSD is in blue, the state average is in red. English language arts percentage proficiency in SSD is consistently above the state average at every grade level and by a  significant amount in some instances over 20 points.”

Farewell to “Mr. Ernie”

The school board recognized several individuals and groups Wednesday night, including the front office staff and school nurses for their exceptional work during the pandemic, and also the unsung building principals, for what is often a thankless job.

Perhaps the most thankless job is that of building custodian, and special recognition was given to Ernesto “Ernie” Uy, who’s leaving after taking care of Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School for 26 years.

School principal Casey Demmert said that Uy’s departure was leaving a hole that would be hard to fill.

“And I think all of us know I could go on and on about the work that he does and how he anticipates everybody’s needs, students and staff, and just gets things done,” said Demmert. “But what we’re gonna miss most about Ernie is Ernie, the human being He’s amazing. He’s an example for all of us, how we should be, how we should treat others, and how we should act every day. So thank you, Ernie. We’re gonna miss you.”

Keet Gooshi Heen students prepared a short video in honor of “Mr. Ernie.” Afterwards, Superintendent Hauser offered the mic to Uy for a few words, and he complied, saying “Thank you so much.”

The Sitka School District opened last month with all classrooms fully-staffed, including an extra teacher at Baranof Elementary.

All principals in the district reported to the Sitka School Board at its regular meeting Wednesday (9-7-22) that things went smoothly in their buildings as school opened at the end of August – a contrast, especially, to the last couple of years.

Sitka High principal Sondra Lundvick described an opening day consisting of freshman orientation in the morning, a free barbecue lunch, games, and an all-school assembly with an aerial drone photo shoot of the entire student body in the parking lot, spelling the letters S-H-S like a marching band.

For Lundvick, professionally, this was a new high bar.

“I will say this was the best first day of school I’ve had,” said Lundvick. “And this is my twenty-ninth year in education. We won’t say how many years I went to school myself — but lots (laughter) — and this was absolutely the best.”

Enrollment at the start of school is below the administration’s projections – but not by much. Superintendent Frank Hauser reported that 1,111 students were attending Sitka’s schools.

“We are about 14 students behind our projected count for the budget,” Hauser said. “But even today, we picked up another student, and so we’re staying optimistic as students are coming in.”

Hauser also introduced the district’s new teaching staff to the board. The 14 teachers and paraprofessionals posed for a photo, and brought a lot of energy and laughter into the board room. In some ways, Sitka is fortunate to be able to fully staff its classrooms, as some other districts across the state have been hard-pressed. 

Nevertheless, there was an exception to this otherwise good news at the school board.

The problem isn’t in Sitka’s classrooms during school. The problem is in those classrooms after school.

“My name is Annette Evans. I’m the Ventures coordinator. And I don’t want to rain on the parade. But I’m here to give you a little bit of an update on the staffing situation at Ventures.”

Ventures is the after-school daycare program housed at Baranof Elementary School. During the summer, Ventures is a full daycare. It’s also an independent nonprofit organization, and it’s in trouble.

“Last week, I had to cut our daily attendance and half due to staffing,” said Evans. “I had to tell parents on Thursday that after the weekend, we were going to have to reduce from 30 students per day to 14. This was devastating.”

Evans is one of four staff members at Ventures. Two of the other three are high school seniors who qualified for their jobs by taking an elective course in early childhood development. The problem, she explained, is that licensing regulations don’t allow for more than one-quarter of a daycare’s staff to be under 18. So she had to cut her enrollment to stay in compliance. 

Ventures has been advertising for additional adult staff since August 1. Evans says that since school district employees aren’t allowed to double-up, she’s been looking outside the box for ways to bring on more people.

“Ventures parents are spreading the word. Grandparents are asking their retired friends. I’ve asked my mom to work,” she said, with a sigh.

Evans plans to bring the childcare crisis in Sitka to the community health summit on September 15, to brainstorm solutions. In the meantime 16 families are having to scramble to find after-school care for their young children.

Usually, school board members don’t respond to testimony during the “persons to be heard” portion of a meeting. However, board president Blossom Teal-Olsen broke with that convention, and told Evans that Ventures played a vital role for her family when she was a single mother. Teal-Olsen said that the board would “project the message.”

“Hopefully in the near future, we could get back to you running at full force,” said Teal-Olsen. “Because I’m pretty sure that families are in need of your services.”