The Sitka School Board has given non-certified staff in the district a pay raise.

On a unanimous vote, the board approved a 6-percent increase this year for paraprofessionals and other employees who are not teachers, and then 4-percent raises each of the next two years.

The increase comes on top of a one-percent increase that was agreed to in negotiations with the union – known as SESPA, or the Sitka Educational Support Professional Association – in 2022, and remains in place through 2025.

SESPA president Twila Keaveny explained that the deal came about after interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw negotiated similar terms with the union representing teachers – however, it would be contingent on the city’s taking over the school maintenance department.

She said the new agreement was signed when there was significant uncertainty about both the school district’s and city’s budgets and – if adopted by the school board – would effectively extend the old agreement for another two years.

“We understood that the offer of a 6-4-4 that was presented to us would be in addition to the already-ratified language for the ’24-25 salary schedule,” Keaveny said. “It would also mean that the collective bargaining agreement would carry forward through the school year 2027.”

Keaveny spoke as about 20 SESPA members in blue t-shirts stood arm-in-arm behind her. Another member, Aurora Losey (low-see), a para at Keet Gooshi Heen, came to the mic and made the argument for the raise less technical, and more personal.

“I’m a single mom,” said Losey. “I have a mortgage. It’s very difficult to stay here. I love it. My kids love it here. There are opportunities out there in the community that obviously allow us a lot more money. But I just need, I want to remind you guys, that all these people are so devoted to our children, which is our future, and I don’t believe there’s much more more important than that. And I really want you to consider the devastation that could happen if we don’t keep the people that are here, that are experienced, and we don’t have new people coming in, we’ve, we’ve, we’ve tried really hard to get new people in, and I know we’re trying to raise that rate, but please consider what we put into our kids and the love and the investment, and it’s priceless.” 

The board went behind closed doors to consider the matter. When it returned, members unanimously adopted the proposed terms.

In all the uncertainty over school funding next year, the Sitka School District knows one thing: How much money it will have left in reserves at the end of this school year.

How much of this “fund balance” should be protected, and how much should be spent is the Sitka School Board’s first major decision as it determines what will stay, and what will go, in district schools next year.

Sitka Schools will have about $1.4 million in cash remaining when students finish up this spring. That’s more than the district’s had in some years, but not nearly enough to cover the almost $4 million ($3.85 million) projected deficit for next year.

As interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw pointed out in a March 21 work session, there are far more difficult decisions ahead.

“The fact is, folks, things are bleak enough that you’re not gonna get by without cutting some positions this year,” he said.

The cut positions could number as few as 10, if the Alaska Legislature and the governor take action and appropriate a one-time increase to the base student allocation of $340. If the legislature and the governor do nothing – the so-called “Zero BSA” – the number of cuts would be apocalyptic – probably over twenty. But school board members considered that an unlikely scenario. For Sitka High Principal Sondra Lundvick, a “Zero BSA” would radically transform her building.

“We can’t build a schedule right now,” she said. “We can’t. And if you build a budget on zero, we will lose most student choice within our schedule. It will decimate our programs, whether it’s real or not. That’s what will happen.”

Making decisions around what may or may not happen – while it doesn’t seem wise – is what school districts all over the state are forced to do. Patty McPike, speaking as a member of the public, encouraged the board to postpone any dramatic changes.

“I would like the board to consider not making any quick cuts at all, until the very last minute,” said McPike. “In business, it’s not unreasonable for businesses to take out a line of credit, until they can really get their grasp on things. And speaking for myself, I feel like this may be one of those times, because you can’t just whip up and find a new teacher, let alone housing for them.” 

So how much of that $1.4 million in reserves should the board use to pad what is likely to be a challenging budget year? School board members waffled around $1 million. Keet Gooshi Heen Music teacher Susan Brant Ferguson urged the board to use it all.

“I love that we end up with a fund balance every year, and that it is larger than we think it’s going to be,” said Brant-Ferguson. “It’s awesome. Please don’t cut to keep a (projected) fund balance. Spend the money for this year, for this year. And if we have to slash and burn and cut and wreck all the programs the following year, because there is no fund balance, so be it. Don’t do it until you have to. That’s  why we have the programs that we still do. Because people were willing to take that risk. I think it’s worth it.”

Sitka High vocational teacher Tim Pike also holds a seat on the Sitka Assembly. He reminded school board members that “you only have one shot” each year to make a difference for a student. He called the state’s method of funding schools “backward” and “archaic.” Like Brant-Ferguson, he felt the reserves should be applied where they can do the most good.

“If we start trying to save, we end up cutting what we could do for kids who are currently here,” he said. “There’s no guarantee that you’re going to have that fund balance, there’s no guarantee you’re not. So, I think work with the money that’s in front of you, and make sure that it works for our students.”

School board members didn’t make any decisions on how far to draw down reserves, but Superintendent Bradshaw reminded them that, with the city expected to assume responsibility for maintenance of the schools, large reserves really weren’t needed any more.

But even if the board takes every penny from savings and puts it toward next year, there’s still about $2.5 million in the red, with no way to cover the deficit without major cuts. The prospects for the year after – if the political situation remains unchanged – are even worse.

School board member Tom Williams said what many people in the room were thinking.

‘If we can weather until we get a new governor with the hopes that the new governor has a better outlook for education, that might get us where we need to be,” Williams said.

In addition to the fund balance, the Sitka School Board briefly discussed closing the Blatchley Swimming Pool if the city did not take it over, and consolidating kindergarten and first grade into Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary. Board members agreed, however, that combining elementary schools wasn’t feasible for next year, but could be on the table for 2026.

Public school educators in Alaska are still awaiting the governor’s response to a bill that would increase per-pupil funding in the state by $680 next year.

In February, Senate Bill 140 passed both houses of the Alaska legislature by large margins, but the governor has signaled a reluctance to increase education funding. Last year, the legislature passed a one-time boost to education funding of $680, but the governor vetoed half of it. The current Senate Bill 140 would be a permanent increase in the so-called base student allocation, which advocates say is necessary to catch up with inflation over the last seven years.

Still, $680 is only half as much as school districts like Sitka will need to balance the books. Interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw told the Sitka School Board last week (3-6-24) that even if the governor doesn’t veto the funding, Sitka will have to cut seven to nine positions. If the governor vetoes half of it – as he did last year – Sitka will have to shed 11 or 12 positions, which would have a direct impact on the district’s PTR, or pupil-teacher ratio.

Bradshaw painted a picture of what that would look like.

“Think about what 11 or 12 positions in this school district means,” Bradshaw said. “ It means basically one teacher from every grade level. And folks, you’ve worked hard to get the PTRs down where they’re at. You’ve worked hard to get the things in the district that we have in the district. And I would just hate to see those  things starting to go away. As public educators, we get accused every once in a while of trying to be everything to everyone. And we do care about kids. And so we try to make as many opportunities available for kids as we possibly can. It seems like we’re always crying that we don’t have enough money. But everyone here knows what the food prices are in town, how much they’ve gone up in the nine years that I’ve been gone from Sitka. I was blown away when I walked into the grocery store.” 

Bradshaw came out of retirement in Montana to work under a one-year contract as superintendent in Sitka. The state has not increased the base student allocation since 2016. Bradshaw said it was taking a toll on the district.

“When I came back this year, I can honestly tell you, I have never seen a staff, as stressed out as this staff was,” said Bradshaw. “And I’ve got to believe that it was because of the COVID situation, the pandemic, while also just day-in and day-out, not having enough resources to help kids, when that’s their biggest passion.”

Bradshaw urged the board, and everyone in attendance, to contact the governor’s office and urge him to support Senate Bill 140.

There will be another regular board meeting on April 3, then a budget work session with the board on April 11. The final opportunity for the public to comment on next year’s school budget will be 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, at Harrigan Centennial Hall, when the board is scheduled to formally adopt a budget and present it to the Sitka Assembly.

The Sitka School Board has approved a new three-year contract with the union representing the community’s teachers.

The deal includes “catch up” raises for the Sitka Education Association, which voluntarily held salaries flat during leaner times in the district.

Sitka’s teacher’s will see a raise of six-percent next year, and 4-percent each of the following two years, under the terms of their new contract.

The district budget for next year is far from settled. Interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw, who was the district’s lead negotiator, told the Sitka School Board on February 7 that teachers had done their part in recent years, and it was time to adjust their pay.

“Some people are going to question the wisdom of the superintendent and the board, when we start going through the budget process,” Bradshaw warned, “but the teachers in the school district deserve a good raise.”

Sitka teachers took no pay raise in 2017, and agreed to increases of only a few hundred dollars in the next two years. In 2022, after a months-long negotiating impasse, teachers agreed to an unusual two-year contract as a hedge against then-rampant inflation. The deal included a raise of only 2-percent in its second year.

Bradshaw said many of the changes to the contract were just in language, but there was one significant additional expense: The district was increasing its contribution to the teachers’ retirement plans by $500.

Through 2006 Alaska teachers received a state pension consisting of a large percentage of their former salaries, plus lifetime health benefits. Tier I retirement, as it was called, has long-since been replaced by a savings program called Tier III.

Bradshaw said that when the state moved away from Tier I, school districts lost an important incentive for new teachers.

“When they changed that 16 years ago, they took that (Tier I) away,” said Bradshaw. “On top of it, teachers in this state have lost ground (in salaries) and are now behind the state of Washington and Oregon. So you can’t offer them more money, and you can’t offer them a better retirement system. How are you going to recruit the best?”

The Alaska state Senate has just passed a bill that would partially restore Tier I benefits, but the bill’s major detractor is the one person who can single handedly block it.  Gov. Dunleavy  – unironically – is a former teacher and a Tier I retiree. In a press conference on February 7, he said new teachers nowadays would probably prefer cash.

“Full disclosure: I’m a Tier I retiree. I was a teacher. But younger folks appear to be less interested in that,” the governor said.

The Sitka School Board did not debate the issue. Board president Trisan Guevin said district staff had done yeoman service over the past few very difficult years. He suggested that even with a healthy raise, Sitka teachers were an exceptional value.

“Teachers, I think, inevitably are going to probably do a little bit more than they’re paid for, but we should strive as a district to compensate all of their labor,” Guevin said. “So for me, that’s really what it’s about: It’s about fair pay and benefits. And then the ability to retain and recruit the best and to provide the best education to our students, which really starts with teachers and our staff working in the buildings in the classroom.”

Under the terms of the deal, a starting teacher with a Bachelor’s degree will earn nearly $58,000. A teacher with a Masters degree and at least 15 years experience will earn just over $92,000.

The three-contract for Sitka’s teachers will be in effect through June of 2027. The school board unanimously approved the agreement.

The Sitka School District is in the usual budget bind as it plans its finances for next year – with an unusual twist. Thanks to a pair of recent ballot measures there is significantly more local money available to spend on schools, but no mechanism to apply it where it’s most needed – in the classroom.

The Sitka Assembly and Sitka School Board put their heads together during a joint work session in January (1-18-24) to try and find a way to supplement the school budget, without jeopardizing the community’s share of state education funding.

This is the weirdest budget cycle for the Sitka School District in recent memory, but it’s not really unique to Sitka.

There are other communities awash in excess sales tax revenue from the rebound in cruise tourism – like Juneau – which want to support schools, because they feel the state has throttled education funding by failing to raise the BSA. That’s the base student allocation, or the amount of per-pupil funding for public schools.

This is Sitka School Board president Tristan Guevin’s frequent line of attack.

“I’ve mentioned this to you before that the base student allocation has only been increased $30 Since July 1, 2016,” Guevin said. “In that same timeframe, we’ve had almost 30-percent  inflation. So that has had a huge impact on our district. You’ve seen the loss of positions like the Blatchley librarian, Science Enrichment at Keet Gooshi Heen (Elementary), and  a number of other thing. It’s been these kind of small cuts over time, you know, death by a million cuts.”

Fairly well-off communities like Sitka have made up some of the difference by contributing money “outside the cap,” or above-and-beyond what state law allows municipalities to contribute to education. Outside-the-cap spending in Sitka in recent years has helped pay for student travel, the Community Schools program, and utility costs at the Blatchley swimming pool and the Performing Arts Center.

Last year, however, the state signaled that it was going to start cracking down on outside-the-cap spending, which would force Sitka’s schools and other districts to absorb these costs, count them towards the cap, leaving less money for teaching.

Sitka assembly member Thor Christianson has children in school, and shared his dismay over the state’s crackdown.

“And I find it incredibly frustrating that not only are they not wanting to pay for the schools, but they’re not wanting to let us do it either,” Christianson said.

Christianson is far from alone in his opinion. Sitka voters in 2022 passed an additional 6-percent sales tax on marijuana to support school activities (which increases to 8-percent this year) which brings in an estimated $300,000. And last year they passed a 1-percent sales tax increase during the summer months to support maintenance and replacement of school infrastructure. The annual revenue could land around $2 million.

Neither vote was close. Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said Sitkans were sending a message.

“The community has really stepped up in order to fund the schools,” Eisenbeisz said. “To get two tax increases passed is pretty much unheard of in this community. In the last 20 years,  I think it’s probably the only two that we’ve ever done on ourselves.”

The solution to this problem has already emerged out of necessity. Last year the city established a Parks & Recreation office to take over the functions of Community Schools. Now, the conversation is on school maintenance: The buildings all belong to the city, why not transfer the district’s maintenance department into municipal government? The net savings would be almost half-a-million dollars for schools, which could then apply it toward instruction.

“It will save basically, if we go this direction, if we can get it pulled off, we’ll save three to four teaching positions, I believe,” said interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw, who offered no resistance whatsoever to the plan. In fact, when assembly member J.J. Carlson asked if there were plans to transfer the swimming pool to the city, Bradshaw did not hesitate.

“You can have it today, if you’d like,” Bradshaw quipped, prompting laughter around the table.

No action was taken at the work session, but assembly members agreed to give the school maintenance takeover serious consideration. The school board will resume its budget work at its next regular meeting on February 7, but the question of maintenance could be eclipsed by a presentation from the committee exploring the renaming of Baranof Elementary School.

The Sitka School Board once again has a full, elected membership. New members Tom Williams, Phil Burdick, and Steve Morse were sworn in by district executive administrative assistant Dawn Georgia on Thursday night (10-19-23).

“And that I will faithfully and impartially discharge my duties as a member of the Sitka School Board to the best of my ability…”

Also taking the oath of office was student representative Felix Myers, who will be serving a second year on the board.

The board then organized itself. In one ballot for each office, they named Tristan Guevin as board president, Todd Gebler as vice-president, and Tom Williams as clerk. School liaisons were selected as follows: Tom Williams, Sitka High; Steve Morse, Blatchley; Phil Burdick, Keet Gooshi Heen; Tristan Guevin, Pacific High; Todd Gebler, Baranof Elementary.

In the uncontested municipal election earlier this month, Williams, Burdick, and Morse all took seats on the school board that were formerly occupied by women. District superintendent Steve Bradshaw, attending via teleconference from Montana, stated the obvious.

“I have to tell you though, guys, this is the first board I’ve ever worked for that was all male,” said Bradshaw. “So we may have some ego issues here or something before we’re done.”

Bradshaw’s remark was tongue-in-cheek, as was the board’s response: “We know who the top dog is,” they said, pointing back to executive assistant Dawn Georgia.

Superintendent search

The first order of business for the newly-seated Sitka School Board was to discuss how best to proceed with the search for a permanent superintendent to replace Steve Bradshaw, whose interim contract expires at the end of June next year.

In a work session Thursday night (10-19-23), the board considered proposals from four different organizations interested in leading the recruitment effort. With comparable base costs ranging from $10- to $17,000 dollars, board members did not see much to distinguish the four. (Alaska Association of School Boards, McPherson & Jacobsen, Hazard Young Attea Associates, Ray & Associates.)

One, however, the Alaska Association of School Boards, had performed this service for the district in the past. Todd Gebler served on the board during the last superintendent hire, and he said that made him “lean” toward AASB.

Felix Myers thought AASB would be more likely to find an Alaska-based candidate who was willing to work in Sitka for some time.

“The number-one priority is, as much as we can guarantee it, trying to get a consistency in that position,” said Myers. “And I think that you’re going to most likely find more consistency in someone who is from Alaska, or who has been working in Alaskan districts.”

Unlike many other jobs, the hiring of a school superintendent works on a timetable. For people already holding superintendencies elsewhere, evaluations happen in December, and then contracts are offered in January.

Board member Phil Burdick wanted to make sure Sitka was on schedule to make an offer when the time came.

“We have been behind the timeline on so many searches, and it has gotten us to where we are now,” said Burdick. “AASB can’t start until the end of November, because they’re so busy with the AASB retreat and some things. So if we if we want to actually start now (November 1), AASB can’t start for another three weeks.”

Additional perspective came from the public. Board president Tristan Guevin opened the work session to public comment, and Sitka Education Association president Mike Vieira offered this insight.

“One question I have is: how different is your process when you have a strong internal candidate?” Vieira asked.

Vieira was referring to district assistant superintendent Deidre Jenson, whom Bradshaw also described as a good prospect for the job. Vieira said it was important that whichever organization the board chose to lead the search be able to recruit a “high-level group of people” even when it was understood that there was a strong internal candidate.

Update, 9-15-23

Sitka Schools superintendent Steve Bradshaw is out of the hospital and on the road to recovery – although that road will be long.

Bradshaw sustained serious injuries in a fall in Juneau on September 7, and was medevaced to Seattle.

Bradshaw is serving as interim superintendent in Sitka for one year. In a call with KCAW (9-15-23), Bradshaw says he’s returned to his home in Helena, Montana to be under the care of family, or as he put it “to be with people who don’t mind if I’m moving as fast as a snail.”

Bradshaw suffered five broken ribs and a pair of cracked vertebrae in the accident, in addition to a concussion. He’ll be in a back brace for about 6 weeks, and he expects to return to Sitka by mid-October.

Bradshaw says he believes the district is in good hands with assistant superintendent Deidre Jenson and special education director Chris Voron, and the exceptional administrative and teaching staff.

He says he’s found new empathy for others who’ve suffered broken ribs, because the injury is quite painful. He told KCAW, “It reminds me of a time in football when you’ve taken shots in the back and didn’t see it coming.”

Original Report, 9-13-23

Sitka Schools superintendent Steve Bradshaw is reportedly in stable condition at a Seattle hospital, after being medevaced last week.

In a news release from the Sitka district office, assistant superintendent Deidre Jenson says that Bradshaw was attending a conference in Juneau late last week, when he sustained multiple injuries in a fall. He was subsequently medevaced to Seattle for additional care.

Jenson says that due to the extent of Bradshaw’s injuries, he will have some recovery time. Nevertheless, he is planning on returning to finish his interim superintendent role for the remainder of the year.

Bradshaw was hired on July 1 for one year to serve as interim superintendent, while the Sitka School Board searched for a full-time replacement for Frank Hauser, who left the job in Sitka to become superintendent in Juneau.

Bradshaw has been an education professional for 44 years. He came out of retirement for the interim post in Sitka. He most recently was the superintendent of the Columbia Falls, Montana, school district from 2014 to 2020. Prior to that, he was superintendent in Sitka for 13 years, and principal of Sitka High School for three years.

In addition to classes, sports and activities are underway at Sitka High School – using funds raised by the students last year.

The expected allocation of district money that kicks off sports like Swimming and Cross Country, and activities like Debate and Drama, didn’t happen last year for reasons that remain unclear. And at its regular meeting Wednesday night (9-6-23) the Sitka School Board postponed making an allocation this year – until members could be sure there were funds to cover it.

This was the question that dogged the final weeks of former superintendent Frank Hauser’s tenure in Sitka: Why wasn’t an appropriation from the Sitka Assembly to help defray the costs of student activities deposited into the activities account?

Current interim superintendent Steve Bradshaw listened in to the tense board meeting last June when his predecessor was put on the ropes by concerned parents and coaches.

He attributed the missing money to a change in district accounting practices, rather than to any malfeasance.

“For my perception, it sounded a little bit like somebody was questioning where the funds went, when the funds were always there,” said Bradshaw. “And I don’t blame the former superintendent, and I don’t blame the board for wanting to be cautious with how they spend that money, because of the fear of cutting teachers out of the classrooms. That has been a priority on this board for quite a few years now.

“That money” is $132,000 which is distributed at the beginning of the school year to all student activities, in chunks of $6,000. Bradshaw proposed that the board authorize a transfer of the money from the general fund to the activities account, and put the controversy to bed. But he wanted members to realize that it wasn’t just loose change: $132,000 is approximately the cost of a full-time teacher.

In any case, the money for a transfer simply may not be there.

“I’m not necessarily opposed to it,” said Tristan Guevin. “I just think, as a board member, I need to do my due diligence and my fiduciary responsibility and be able to answer that question: Do we have the money to do this?”

Member Tristan Guevin was on the board last spring when it adopted a bare-bones budget that just about drained the district savings account. By his math, a $132,000 transfer – though needed – would put the district in the red.

And he was also concerned that the proposed transfer would benefit high school students exclusively.

“I think we need to have a broader conversation,” he said. “And this gets back to transparency and to our role engaging students and parents and families and the community and all of our stakeholders. I want to have a discussion. I want to know how student activity money is allocated across all of the Sitka School District.”

Guevin didn’t think the conversation could move forward until the books had been closed on the last fiscal year – which they weren’t. He motioned to table the transfer until the next meeting, when the board would have a better grasp on its finances.

High School principal Sondra Lundvick urged the board to not wait too long to act. Student programs were in full swing, using unspent money that they had raised last year.

“By October, we already have activities going on,” Lundvick said. “We have Cross Country, Volleyball, Swimming. We hosted swimming   this past weekend; Volleyball is going on right now. These guys have already begun, they didn’t get their allocation last year, and while the city has promised that $132,000 for this year, they still haven’t seen that.”

Lundvick said she felt some of the hope for the student activities budget surrounding Sitka voters’ passage of the marijuana tax (“Prop 3”) last year was “crumbling,” after the State Department of Education this summer cracked down on the Juneau School District for supplementing its budget with local money in excess of state law – so-called “outside the cap” funding. That decision could have major ramifications for Sitka’s schools, which have depended on “outside the cap” funding for student activities for decades.

Board member Tristan Guevin recognized the need for haste; he just didn’t want to spend money the district didn’t have.

Nine years since he last occupied the superintendent’s office of the Sitka School District, Steve Bradshaw is back and eager to challenge what he considers the state’s failure to adequately support education.

Bradshaw signed a one-year contract with the Sitka School Board to serve as interim superintendent, while the board searches for a full-time replacement for Frank Hauser, who left in July to take over Juneau’s school system.

At his first regular board meeting on Wednesday (8-9-23), Bradshaw didn’t pull any punches, and said there was nothing to prevent him from being an  outspoken advocate for increasing the amount of money the state spends on schools – sometimes referred to as the “foundation formula.”

“Most of the superintendents I worked with when I was here before are gone,” Bradshaw told the board. “A lot of the superintendents have to worry about the political arena and keeping their job, I think. I don’t have to worry about that. And so as a board, if you need to rein me in sometimes when I say some things, feel free to rein me in or at least attempt to rein me in. Because – as people will tell you that I’ve worked with  – I’m pretty passionate about public education. And I believe that not increasing the foundation formula is killing school districts in this state…. We have got to continue, first politely, to ask for an increase, and if politeness doesn’t do it, then we’re going to have to start pounding on doors. And I know our representative, and I know Mr. Stedman – I believe they will help us get there. But this school board, it’s critical as a board that you speak out.”

Bradshaw served as the superintendent of schools in Sitka for 13 years, beginning in 2001. He returned to Montana, where he began his career in education, for a final six years as superintendent there before retiring.

His one-year return engagement in Sitka has been generally well-received by staff, however the climate on the board has changed. Twenty years ago, the Sitka School Board had a tradition of long-serving members and relatively low turnover. The current board has two appointees, only one of whom has filed for a full term in the upcoming municipal election in October. Barring a successful write-in campaign, the school board will have to appoint two additional members after the election.

Bradshaw says that to build a strong program in schools, “consistency on the board is critical.”

“So I encourage members of the community that haven’t run for the board before to consider running for the school board,” Bradshaw said. “But consider it as a five- to 10-year type of term. Because to be on there for a couple of years, it’s not always the best thing. We’ll take whatever people are willing to give and volunteer, because this is not an easy job, being on a school board. You pay me to have people yell at me. Okay, I can handle that. But you don’t get paid for that. And when you have to go through tough times, it’s not easy. And then when you go to the grocery store, and somebody else beats up on you, it makes it even more difficult. But it’s critical to have a consistent board that’s just as passionate about education as any employee or any community member that we have.”

Bradshaw told the board that the district administration was working full speed to prepare to open the doors to students later this month. The first day for teachers is August 15. The first day for students is August 22. Bradshaw said his top priority in the coming year would be working on the budget.

Former Sitka School District superintendent Steve Bradshaw is returning to the job.

After a two-and-a-half hour executive session on Monday (3-20-23), the Sitka School Board unanimously voted to hire Bradshaw as interim superintendent, without discussion.

Bradshaw comes to the role with over 40 years of education experience in Alaska and Montana. He most recently worked as superintendent for Columbia Falls School District in Montana. He was Sitka’s superintendent for 13 years, and served as Sitka High School’s principal for three.

Bradshaw was one of two applicants the board interviewed to replace Sitka’s current Superintendent Frank Hauser, who submitted his resignation in February, effective June 30.