Sorted by date Results 801 - 825 of 920
Petersburg School District Finance Director Karen Quitslund presented a bare bones draft budget in front of the school board Tuesday evening. Quitslund said next year’s school budget is the most challenging budget she’s worked on in her three years as finance director. Staff had to plan the budget while dealing with several financial unknowns due to changes in education funding in the State legislature. Declining enrollment, which influences a state funding formula known as ‘foundation funding’, in Petersburg school’s also presented a challen...
Community members packed the assembly chambers last Monday to support continued local education funding for the Petersburg School District. District staff and parents responded to across the board budget cuts proposed last week by several assembly members. Sue Paulsen said while she understands difficult discussions will need to take place at some point, now is not the time for generalized budget reductions. “I bow to you,” Paulsen said. “You will be having these discussions. It’s not going to be easy. But a general reduction in services right... Full story
This weekend, the Petersburg Fire Department will be hosting the SE Region Emergency Medical Services Council’s 30th Annual Emergency Medical Services Symposium in Petersburg. This will be the first time in SEREMS’ history that the 4-day educational event will be held here. Approximately 100 speakers, vendors and attendees will descend on Petersburg for the educational offerings, social events and the opportunity to experience the community of Petersburg. According to Bobbi Leichty, Executive Director of SEREMS, “It will be the ‘safe...
The Petersburg School Board unanimously selected Dr. Lisa Stroh to be the new Petersburg School District (PSD) Superintendent. Stroh, who is the current superintendent of Valdez City Schools, officially begins July 1, 2014. "When I look at the (Petersburg) district, things are going very, very well," Stroh said. "What I need to do is get familiar with the programs, listen to people, talk with them and find out from them what's going well, what things we need to tweak, and how can I help them... Full story
April 4, 1914 – The supreme court has rendered two decisions this week of importance to women: the first is an attack on the ancient legal fiction that woman's identity is swallowed up in that of her husband. In England, for centuries, it was pointed out, woman was prevented from acquiring a domicile for any purpose in a jurisdiction other than that of her husband. Only in recent years the United States has allowed a wife to establish a domicile in a jurisdiction other than that of the husband for the purpose of suing for divorce. Now the c...
With some assembly members proposing cuts to school and mental health services funding, Petersburg School District (PSD) Superintendent Dr. Rob Thomason and Petersburg Mental Health Services (PMHS) Director Susan Ohmer each rallied against the potential cuts. Thomason explained that State and local funding has remained flat for the last four years. The State funds public school districts on a per pupil basis-an amount of $5,680 per child. Declining enrollment and increased operations and...
Former Petersburg Community School District Maintenance Director Tye Petersen plans to plead guilty to Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography—three counts that carry up to 20 years of imprisonment each and a $250,000 fine for each count. In exchange for the U.S. District Court's acceptance of Petersen's guilty plea, U.S. prosecutors agree not to prosecute the defendant further for any other offenses arising out of the investigation related to Petersen's indictment, the plea agreement states. Last July, FBI investigators i...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly couldn't come to a consensus last Tuesday for next year's budget spending after it was tasked with providing direction to borough staff to make any changes the assembly would like to see. The assembly met with department heads last week and went over budget line items department wide. During Tuesday's budget hearing, members of Petersburg's community service organizations-organizations the borough funds annually-lobbied for their respective funding needs....
Two superintendent applicants toured Mitkof Island, Petersburg and visited with various community members including district staff and administrators on Wednesday. Virginia Jewell Jewell grew up in New England and has spent more than five years of her educational career building start-up American schools in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. "Interestingly enough, overseas, you get a lot of non-Americans who want to have an American education," Jewell said. She is currently working at a start-up school... Full story
The Petersburg Medical Center submitted a balanced budget to the assembly earlier this month. The budget for fiscal year 2015 anticipates a net gain of $333,014 after covering $13.5 million in total operating expenses compared to $13.3 million last year. More than $9 million is budgeted for salaries, wages and employee benefits—an increase of around $229,000 from the year before. Net patient revenue is anticipated at around $13.7 million compared to $13.5 million last year. In creating next year’s budget, the PMC Board operated under sev...
Summer break will start early for Stedman Elementary School students this year after the Alaska Department of Education Commissioner gave the Petersburg District School Board tentative approval to release students four days early so construction can begin on the elementary school’s exterior renovation project. The $2.3 million project will require a large amount of shuffling of classrooms and supplies and the extra few days will allow staff to pack up and move before full access to the building is granted to contractors on June 6. Exterior w... Full story
Three Petersburg School District Superintendent applicants land in Petersburg early next week for interviews and will speak with PSD staff and administrators, visit with the community and tour the island. Jay Thomas, Virginia Jewell and Lisa Stroh have all been selected as finalists for the position. Thomas is currently the Assistant Superintendent in Unalakleet, Alaska. “During my 13 years in rural Alaska, I have been a coach, mentor, teacher, principal and assistant superintendent,” Thomas wrote in his application’s cover letter. “In every s...
Petersburg High School may soon offer a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course. PHS Principal Rick Dormer said the course would be added to the school’s vocational technology class offerings. “It would allow kids to walk out with a diploma and a CNA certification,” Dormer said. PHS currently has a shop and aquaculture program. The CNA program would consist of one school year’s worth of classroom lessons as well as clinical experience at Petersburg Medical Center. Angela Menish, PMC Director of Patient Services and Registered Nurse, would b...
The Seas Masons—Petersburg High School’s Alaska Tsunami Science Bowl team—placed 4th out of the 18 teams from across Alaska that competed in the science bowl in Seward two weeks ago. The competition consisted of three categories: a research paper, a presentation and a quiz bowl. In those categories, the Petersburg team placed 9th in the research paper, 2nd in the presentation and 3rd in the quiz bowl. The Sea Mason’s spent the past seven months researching the effects of ocean freshening through the air-sea interface. Sea Mason’s team capt...
Gov. Sean Parnell visited Petersburg last week and spoke with Petersburg Pilot staff about regional issues as well as the future of Alaska’s economy. Parnell said, because of oil tax changes, oil companies are increasing investment in production. “What that means in real life is that money is going into wells where there is known oil which means new state revenue which means not only jobs for Alaskans but more revenue for communities that depend on that revenue,” Parnell said. But it will take time for the revenue to become real. A slim state...
Gov. Sean Parnell came to town last Monday and heard from Petersburg School District teachers and administrators about his education reform bill along with other issues in the education arena. Sue Hardin, district teacher, was concerned about Senate Joint Resolution 9-a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase state funding for private and religious schools. "Because in our way of looking at it, all it's doing is taking public money and putting into schools that don't take all... Full story
A borough committee may organize to further investigate the merits of instituting an excise tax on tobacco after it was brought up for discussion during several sales tax ordinance committee meetings. While an excise tax on tobacco doesn’t fall under the purview of the sales tax committee’s mission—which is to review and recommend changes to the sales tax code so the borough can generate an equal or greater amount of revenue—it did unofficially make a recommendation to the borough assembly that it consider a tax on tobacco. Committee member... Full story
February 24, 1914 – The Bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Hon. McKellar, which provides that fish kept in cold storage for more than two months cannot be shipped in interstate commerce is so worded that it would cover frozen and preserved as well as fresh fish. If this cold storage bill should go in its original form, it would be a great calamity to two of the largest industries on the North Pacific Coast-- that of mild-cured and frozen salmon. These products are packed in the main for export to Europe and unless a r...
The Petersburg School District brought home major accolades from Anchorage last weekend after it swept student, teacher and administrator awards at the Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE)-an organization dedicated to promoting access to technology and connectivity to information resources. Petersburg Senior PK Bunyi won Alaska Technology Student of the Year. Teacher and Technology Coordinator Jon Kludt-Painter won Alaska Technology Support Teacher of the Year and PSD... Full story
Stedman Elementary school students are participating in a statewide program aimed at increasing physical activity. The Healthy Futures Challenge encourages students to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week for four consecutive weeks outside of gym classes. The three-month contest is part of a larger program called the Healthy Living Grant or the Obesity Control and Prevention Grant from Alaska Department of Health and Human Services—a $600,000 grant program that provides funding in installments for four years. A...
Petersburg School District Superintendent Robert Thomason released additional information regarding former school Maintenance Director Tye Petersen’s possession of non-pornographic images of local children. Petersen was arrested last fall and local police and the FBI searched school facilities for signs he had taken images of students. At that time, no evidence of access points had been found. But since then, the FBI has confirmed images of local and visiting students among photos confiscated from Petersen. “Some photos were of visiting stu...
Investigators discovered images of Petersburg children in connection with the pending criminal case against Tye Leif Petersen, former Petersburg School District maintenance director, who was arrested last fall for multiple charges related to possession and distribution of child pornography. Petersburg Police Chief Kelly Swihart said he couldn’t comment on the matter but said investigators have not found any pornographic images of local children. In written release, FBI Special Agent Matthew Judy states, “The FBI has not discovered any chi...
The Petersburg District School Board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to allow students participating in the Alaska Tsunami Ocean Science Bowl to earn half a credit. The Ocean Science Bowl is a regional competition for high schools in Alaska where teams of students study topics related to oceans and present research papers, give oral presentations and participate in a timed quiz competition. Middle and High School Principal Rick Dormer said Petersburg students dedicate a significant amount of time to the project. “The kids are putting in t...
A school board member and the elementary school principal hosted a community meeting to learn what local residents want from the incoming superintendent. The community meeting was part of a comprehensive survey also given to district staff, which aims to assess the most common professional and personal traits desired in a superintendent as well as education issues the district faces. School board member Cheryl File and principal Erica Kludt-Painter wrote down resident’s ideal qualities on a large poster board and after each category was filled...
A local man charged with several counts of possessing and distributing child pornography will see his trial pushed back after a district court judge granted a motion by his attorney last December to declare the case complex. According to U.S. Code, a pretrial or trial can be delayed if a case is “so unusual or so complex, due to the number of defendants, the nature of the prosecution, or the existence of novel questions of fact or law, that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings…” But at a January 28 trial...
