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The Petersburg School District Board unanimously approved a major revision to the FY23 budget during its meeting on Dec. 13, which will see a new projected ending fund balance of $622,672. According to Finance Director Karen Morrison, the proposed budget revision was based on an average daily membership student count of 429.6 students, which was calculated in October and is above the threshold for three school funding. The final student count numbers brought the district's foundation funding up...
During its meeting on Dec. 13, the Petersburg School District Board voted unanimously to amend the district's COVID-19 mitigation policy, changing when students and staff can return to school following a positive test. The new policy states that students and staff who test positive can now come back to school on a date determined by the Petersburg Medical Center, possibly allowing them to return earlier than what the previous guidance allowed. If students and staff who test positive do not obtai...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly is expected to take a look at adopting a trial program to support local child care providers in Petersburg at its next meeting. The Education Incentive Program, modeled after the Hiring, Educating, and Retaining Teaching Staff (HEARTS) Program implemented in Juneau, aims to increase retention, encourage child care professionals to continue their educations, and improve quality of care. The program would award tiered bonuses every six months to child care educators...
Volunteers rallied at the Community Cold Storage on Nov. 21 to distribute 1,748 pounds of moose burger meat to local organizations. According to Desi Burrell, recipients of the meat included the Petersburg Indian Association, Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood, Petersburg School District, the Catholic Church soup kitchen, the Baptist Church Wednesday night meals, Monday night meals, Humanity In Progress, Petersburg Children's Center, Mountain View Manor Assisted Living, Mountain...
WRANGELL — School districts statewide be looking to the Legislature next year for an increase in state funding, but any boost in the state’s per-pupil formula likely will depend in large part on oil revenues and also Permanent Fund earnings. And neither looks good this month, less than seven weeks before lawmakers are scheduled to convene in Juneau. The state funding formula for K-12 education hadn’t moved in about five years before this year’s 0.5% mini-nudge upward. Meanwhile, districts statewide are facing budget deficits and program...
The Petersburg School District board voted 4-0 to accept the draft of the FY22 audit during its meeting on Nov. 8 with Board Member Jay Lister excused. Bikky Shrestha of BDO USA, LLP, the district's accounting firm, presented the draft of the financial statements to the board and said that though it is still being reviewed, they do not expect the information in the draft to drastically change. Shrestha reported that there were no corrected or uncorrected misstatements related to accounts or...
November 17, 1922 – In what is said to be an attempt to influence election judges in Southeastern Alaska, a suit was filed in the District Court recently in which George Mason, a native, asks for $5,000 damages for being refused a chance to vote in at the primary election last spring. The suit was filed on the eve of election by W. L. Paul as attorney for Mason and is against L. M. Churchhill, one of the election judges at Wrangell at the primary election. November 14, 1947 – Community response to invitations to attend classes during American E...
Thank You To the Editor: We would like to express a heartfelt THANK YOU to the community of Petersburg and all the volunteers that made November Rain possible this past weekend! The three day swim meet hosted teams from Petersburg, Ketchikan, Craig, Wrangell, Juneau and Sitka with a total of 114 swimmers participating in over 100 events. Without our dedicated volunteers and their many hours of work, this meet would not have been possible. The Board of Directors and over sixty Viking Swim Club swimmers want to say Thank You to each person that...
November 10, 1922 – In a talk before the Juneau Commercial Association luncheon, Roy Jones, an aviator from Ketchikan currently in Juneau with his plane, stated that while it was not generally known, two representatives of the government had been here and elsewhere in Alaska recently looking up the feasibility of establishing aerial mail routes. The investigators were members of the army. Mr. Jones laid stress on the wonderful possibilities of aerial service in Southeastern Alaska in particular and throughout the territory in general, p...
November 8th is our State Election; don’t forget to Vote! To the Editor: Mark and I are supporting Rebecca Himshoot for State House representing our district. She is a strong supporter of education, teachers and stabilizing school funding. She will work for accessible housing, invest in infrastructure, work to improve our Alaska Marine Highway, and will safeguard our Permanent Fund for future generations. Rebecca will stand up for women’s reproductive rights in our State. She is committed to fishing issues and creating more jobs that will hel...
Early in-person voting for the 2022 state general election opened on Monday. Petersburg residents can vote ahead of election day in the community center activity room Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Nov. 7. The election will use ranked choice voting where voters will be able to rank the candidates in each race based on their preference. After the polls close, each voter's first choice vote will be counted. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the candidate who...
The Petersburg School District board unanimously voted to revise its FY23 budget during its Oct. 11 meeting to account for $262,000 in one-time funding allocated to the district by the Alaska Legislature. The one-time funding will make up for cuts to activities, instruction, and support line items made when the budget was first adopted in June-before the legislature approved the funding. The initial budget did not include the $262,000 in one-time funding and was also based on a district student...
The five candidates running for the two seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly participated in a candidate forum on Monday in the assembly chambers hosted by KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot. Assembly Member Jeigh Stanton Gregor, Assembly Member Chelsea Tremblay, Donna Marsh, Scott Newman, and Kurt Wohlhueter were presented with the same questions and were each given one minute to respond in a random order. The first part of the forum saw candidates answer questions asked by members of the media...
September 21 – Petersburg Police Department (PPD) received a report of a dog wandering near Jenny Lane. An officer assisted a citizen on Sandy Beach Road with a lock out. PPD received a report of property lost on Charles Street. PPD received a report of reckless driving by individuals on 6th Street. An officer performed a welfare check on an individual on Sandy Beach Road. PPD received a report of suspicious bear activity on Lumber Street. September 22 – An officer located and secured a garbage can accessed by a bear on Dolphin Street. The Pet...
Sarah Pawuk Holmgrain What is your age? 51 What experience do you have? I have served on the school board since I was appointed and then elected in 2009. Why do you seek public office? I still have the time and energy to put into volunteering on this Board. How would you like to see the budget managed through the challenges the school district currently faces? Actually, I think the budget has been managed quit well for over a decade with fewer and fewer resources and funds. We have had...
The Petersburg School Board unanimously approved a motion to reinstate funding for activities, curriculum, and professional development during Tuesday’s meeting. The action looks to increase funding by about $100,000 combined according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter which would get funding for those items closer to the amount that the district spent on them last year. The board passed a conservative budget that saw reductions in multiple areas during its June meeting, seeking to account for a number of unknowns at that time. Those i...
For over two decades Joe Viechnicki's voice on the local radio station has been an ever-present staple of the community. He has been an up-beat, dedicated newsman, and, more than that, a dedicated community member, spending hours upon hours volunteering locally to help make Petersburg a better place. "The best advice I can give to someone coming into the world of journalism is to be involved in the community and look for those opportunities where you're not a journalist," Viechnicki says....
Some new and some returning faces have joined the ranks of the Petersburg School District staff in preparation for the upcoming school year. Elsa Wintersteen will teach English language arts and a drama class at Petersburg High School. She completed her undergraduate studies at Montana State University, earning a literature degree and an interdisciplinary degree, and for a short time studied theater at the University of Montana. Wintersteen is originally from Montana, but her mother's family is...
Some new and some returning faces have joined the ranks of the Petersburg School District staff in preparation for the upcoming school year. Erin Hofacre will be starting her first year of teaching in one of Stedman Elementary School's two first grade classrooms. She earned her bachelor's degree at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington where she received endorsements for elementary, reading, and special education. "I was able to go to a great program with lots of practical work so I feel l...
The Petersburg School Board updated its COVID-19 mitigation plan for the upcoming school year during its meeting last week. The school district is required to update its plan by the Alaska Department of Education and under the American Rescue Plan funding. The new guidelines resemble those the district had at the end of the previous school year but with a couple of changes. Masking will remain optional for students, staff, and visitors and there will be no trigger for universal masking or...
August 4, 1922 Cascade Creek is Second Yosemite — It is getting to be quite the fashion among Petersburg people to make the trip to Thomas Bay and up Cascade Creek to the two lakes it is proposed to develop for water power. The trail is a good one from the beach to the lower lake and the going is not too hard for good hikers between the two lakes. Those who made the trip recently are very enthusiastic about the scenery and claim that it rivals the famous Yosemite Valley. Last Sunday Mr. and Mrs. T. F. Rayner and Mr. and Mrs. M. S. Perkins m...
If elected, would you work to improve access to affordable child care? Kenny Skaflestad: This is a priority. And this is a priority again from the smallest village to our more prominent communities. The need for addressing the child care challenge in each community is a major topic. It's one that I'd be glad to champion as far as the Alaska State House has to do and I think that could be a great deal depending on the energies put towards it. I'm glad to have seen some of my predecessors in the H...
Two candidates have filed for candidacy in this year's election to fill Rep. Jonathon Kreiss-Tomkins' seat in the Alaska House of Representatives. Kreiss-Tomkins, who first elected to the seat in 2012, announced earlier this year that he will not seek reelection. House District 2, which was newly created by the Alaska Redistricting Board, spans Southeast Alaska from Prince of Wales Island to Yakutat and includes Petersburg, Sitka, Kake, and Craig. The candidates running for the seat are Kenny...
The Petersburg School Board adopted its FY23 School Operating Budget at the final meeting of the school year Tuesday evening in a 4-0 vote with Member Meg Litster excused. Finance Director Karen Morrison gave an overview of the budget which at this point still has “a lot of unknowns.” The budget has a revenue of $7,962,605 and is based on 413 enrolled students which is below the funding formula enrollment threshold of 425 students. Being below that threshold drops the district down from three school funding to two school funding. As of Jun...
School got out last week, but Bridget Wittstock still had one week to go until she ended her final year with the Petersburg School District. She is set to retire after 29 years of service and there will no doubt be a void left that will be difficult to fill. The district recently held a surprise party to recognize Wittstock and, of course, the eventwas catered by Wittstock's mother Julie Dahl and included a song written and preformed by the Luncheonettes. "I cried, it was very touching,"...
