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The Petersburg School District Board unanimously agreed to join the Coalition for Education Equity of Alaska (CEE) at the board meeting Tuesday night. One reason the district board is joining the coalition is because of its "unique" ability to "use legal avenues to ensure the state and legislature carry out constitutional responsibilities regarding education." Founded in 1996, CEE is a statewide member-based nonprofit that champions access to quality, equitable and adequate public education in...
Dear Friends and Neighbors: After roughly 24 hours of debate and consideration of 137 amendments, the House passed the operating and mental budgets last week. Leading up to passing the budget on the House Floor there were weeks of subcommittee hearings, where each agency’s budget was scrutinized, amended, and then passed to the Finance Committee for consideration. As a reminder, my subcommittees were the Departments of Public Safety, Corrections, Education and Early Development, and Fish and Game. In the Finance Committee each agency’s budg...
Children and staff lined the halls of Stedman Elementary School Friday morning to celebrate Principal Heather Conn's recent recognition as "Alaska Elementary Principal of the Year." The Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals (AAESP) selected Principal Conn as National Distinguished Principal for 2024 for her exemplary educational and community leadership. "I feel very honored, humbled, excited, and emotional all at the same time," Conn told the Pilot in an email. A life-long...
April 11, 1924 – H.J. Jorgensen already has a large number of signers for a roadway proposed to be built from the city limits to Sandy Beach. It is a needed improvement. Sandy Beach in the summer time is the playground for Petersburg people, owing to the fine sandy beach there, and the roadway would give an outlet for autos and growing business interests. When roads were first started in Juneau, there were but a few autos, but with every mile of road built, the number of machines increased rapidly and the same will hold true for Petersburg. A...
Dear Friends and Neighbors: After a lovely and restful Easter weekend the House is continuing to debate the operating budget. The House Finance Committee is working through nearly 100 amendments, but so far very few have passed. After the committee finishes the amendment process, they will vote on whether to pass the operating budget out of committee. After the bill moves from the House Finance Committee it will be another opportunity for members to offer budget amendments on the House Floor before the budget package is debated and voted on....
If you read the mainstream papers and blogs and spend just a little bit of time on social media these days, you will see, read, and be told that the education sky is falling. The people promoting this narrative might be right, but not just because of funding. Education in Alaska needs reform. I’ve been very transparent in my conversations with the Legislature, school district administrators, the education lobby establishment, and the public. My message – yes, there needs to be additional funding for education, but we also need some changes to...
Unfortunately, the campaign for increased funding for public education has reached an impasse with the governor’s insistence on reforming the charter school approval process. This reform would allow charter schools to bypass the approval of local school districts and instead go directly to the State Board of Education. It is the first and most significant step in a plan to reduce the power of local authorities and provide opportunities for private and religious schools to access public funds. AASB strongly opposes this reform through its r...
The state government risks losing millions of dollars in federal funding because it did not comply with requirements for pandemic relief funds, according to a letter from the United States Department of Education. The state’s education department disputes the claim. The result is a federal “high risk” designation that could cost the state grant funding. Members of the Senate Majority caucus said the state could lose more than $400 million. “Without a plan and quick action, our local schools could be out additional federal resources, and the... Full story
When Carol Mooers came to Alaska to teach, she was not compensated for all of her previous teaching experience in Maine and Texas. That is because state law allows only six to eight years of out-of-state teaching experience to be counted when calculating salaries. She is still a school counselor in the Bering Strait region, but said Alaska would be more attractive to teachers like her younger self if that limit did not exist. Mooers testified in support of a new proposal that would allow... Full story
Dear Friends and Neighbors: In a frantic week last week, and a busy day Monday, the House met twice in joint session with the Senate. Yesterday we held a joint session for the purpose of overriding Governor Dunleavy’s veto of SB 140, the omnibus education bill, and last Tuesday we held a joint session to consider a dozen Executive Orders the governor introduced at the beginning of session. As you have likely heard, Governor Dunleavy vetoed SB 140 last week, and Monday afternoon, by a vote of 39 for to 20 against the legislature failed by on...
Alaska lawmakers fell one vote short Monday in an attempt to override the governor’s veto of a comprehensive school funding bill, which included a permanent increase in the state funding formula for K-12 education. The vote in a joint session of the House and Senate was 39-20. A two-thirds majority of 40 votes of the 60 legislators was required for an override. All 20 of the votes to uphold the governor’s actions came from Republicans. A dozen Republicans voted with Democrats and independents in the failed attempt. Even if lawmakers had succeed...
Hosted every other year to promote health and wellness in the community, the Petersburg Medical Center Health & Safety Fair takes place this weekend -and this year's theme is "Nurture Your Health With Nature." The main health fair event will take place on Saturday, March 23 at the community center. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be over 25 fair booths available to visit in the community gym. "We have a lot of local people, as well as some regional folks coming in from out of town that will be...
Dear Friends and Neighbors: It feels like everyone in the Capitol is holding their breath as we count down the days until March 14, the deadline for the governor to sign, veto, or allow SB 140 to become law by taking no action. As a reminder, SB 140 is the bipartisan education bill that will increase the Base Student Allocation by $680, provide assistance and a faster timeline for charter school approval, adds funding for student transportation, internet speed increases in remote schools, charter schools, and the Individual Reading...
A field of snow near the Petersburg Reservoir glistened in the morning sunshine where, at 550 feet above sea level, Forest Service Hydrologist Heath Whitacre jammed a hollow aluminum tube through the snowpack to measure its depth and collect a core sample, making sure to strike the muskeg underneath. The Petersburg Ranger District has monitored two of several snow survey sites in the Southeast region since 1979: The Raven's Ridge site at 1,650 feet above sea level, and the site near Petersburg R...
A $9.7 million bailout package to ensure that the Juneau School District can cover a nearly $8 million deficit this year and help toward resolving a projected deficit of nearly $10 million next year was approved March 4 by the Juneau borough assembly. The package, consisting of a loan and taking over some “non-instructional costs” from the school district, won final approval after several weeks of consideration by city and school leaders. The Juneau assembly voted to provide the district with an interest-free loan of up to $4.1 million dol...
This week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that four school districts in the country would receive the new Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award, for "their trailblazing and innovative efforts to improve the nutritional quality of meals for their students." Petersburg School District was among those four receiving the national recognition. These awards - part of the Biden-Harris administration's Healthy Meals Initiative (HMI) - celebrate school districts who embrace... Full story
It was a perplexing week in the Legislature. While the Senate Finance Committee was reviewing honest numbers about real budget needs hitting up against the limit of available state revenues, the House was debating whether the exalted Permanent Fund dividend belongs in the Alaska Constitution, putting the PFD above all else in life. The Senat committee last week was doing the math, realizing the state would not have enough money for a fat dividend this year, no matter what the governor and too many legislators may pledge, promise and promote....
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an ultimatum to state legislators on Tuesday, saying he will veto a multipart education funding bill unless lawmakers pass separate legislation that contains his education priorities. Speaking from his office in Anchorage, the governor said lawmakers have two weeks to reconsider teacher bonuses and changes to the way charter schools are approved, two items that were voted down during the debates over Senate Bill 140, the education bill. If they don’t act, Dunleavy said he will veto SB 140, killing a permanent f... Full story
Tonight at the Sid and Vera Wright Auditorium, Petersburg High School's theater program will debut its production of "Peter and the Starcatcher," directed by Elsa Wintersteen. She described the play as "an exciting show full of heart, humor and a sprinkle of whimsy." The Tony Award winning play is based on the 2004 novel "Peter and the Starcatchers" by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, the play serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie's classic tale, "Peter and Wendy...
The Associated Teachers of Petersburg (ATP) and Petersburg School District are negotiating the next labor agreement that will take effect in the fall of 2024 and span three school years through spring 2027. Past negotiations between the teachers union and the district, which occur every three years, have largely focused on updating the contract language. This year, however, ATP and PSD are focusing more on when, where and how to allocate what limited money the district has to work with. ATP is...
February 22, 1924 – Salmon may migrate distances of 1,000 miles or more, it was proved in an experiment conducted by the United States Bureau of Fisheries and recently reported to Dean John N. Cobb of the College of Fisheries. A number of salmon, each identified by a tag, were planted during the year of 1922 in waters near Alaska by Dr. C.H. Gilbert, professor of zoology at Stanford University. A Siberian fisherman reported that one of the salmon had been caught in the Pankara river on the coast of Siberia, more than 1,000 miles from the c...
Wrangell borough officials are concerned that Wrangell continues to lose population, while those who stay in town grow older and leave the workforce. As a whole, the state has lost more residents than it has gained in new arrivals every year since 2013, with only the birth rate keeping Alaska from showing a population decline. However, unlike the statewide totals, Wrangell recorded more deaths than births between 2017 and 2022, adding to the community’s overall population decline. The state’s latest estimate for Wrangell’s population, as of las...
The Alaska House of Representatives voted on Wednesday against increasing the amount written into law saying how much the state should spend per student in public schools. Wednesday’s action isn’t final, and the House could change course as soon as 11 a.m. Thursday, when debates are scheduled to resume. House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage, said it would be accurate to consider things in a holding pattern. “Obviously, we haven’t come to a deal yet. But the bill will be in second (reading) tomorrow. So we’ll still have the opportuni... Full story
February 15, 1924 – Petersburg is a real home town. Home conditions are ideal. Lots for building can be bought from $50 up. There is just the right drainage to the land for sanitation; the water is pure; no better school facilities can be found anywhere; there are many beautiful places for summer picnics and outings; there are churches, social halls, a library and, last but not least, there is the most beautiful and safe harbor in Alaska. Wind storms that rage elsewhere never cause more than a ripple in Petersburg Harbor. Once a boat is tied u...
