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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state has suffered recent blows in lawsuits driven by opinions issued by Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson, with one legislative critic saying Clarkson is providing ideological opinions. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat, also called Clarkson an activist attorney general. But Michael Geraghty, a former attorney general, said he wouldn’t second-guess Clarkson or another attorney general and notes lower-court decisions can be reversed. On Thursday, a judge in Juneau sided with lawmakers in an edu...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska school district has introduced a new computer monitoring program prompting concerns over student privacy and data collection. The Juneau School District installed and launched the Bark program Sept. 13, Juneau Empire reported . An email was sent Sept. 15 with initial details and that more information would be provided to students, parents, staff and board members. The software monitors for content deemed harmful including school shooters, self-harm, pornography and cyberbullying, school district officials said. T... Full story
The Petersburg School Board passed updates to 17 policies to align with the Association of Alaska School Boards' changes in policy to reflect state laws in its first reading at their meeting on Oct. 8, but a new board policy regarding restrictions on sex offenders on campus was put on hold until the next board meeting. The changes to the 17 board policies were minor language changes that didn't affect the meaning of the policy, according to School Board Vice President Sarah Holmgrain. One board...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The message on the front page of Alaska's second-largest newspaper was unmistakable. A nearly 2-inch (5-centimeter) headline, outlined in red, in Monday's edition of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner contained a single word: OVERRIDE. It appeared over a full-page editorial calling for state lawmakers to "save Alaska" from severe budget vetoes by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the likely economic devastation that would follow. Emotions are running high ahead of a joint legislative s...
June 13, 1919 A special election will be held by the citizens in Petersburg for the purpose of ascertaining their wishes regarding the bonding of the town. It is proposed to ask Congress to allow the town to bond itself for the purpose of raising money to build a hydro-electric plant and to build a new modern school house. The town must be bonded to move ahead with raising the necessary monies. June 9, 1944 A distinguished visitor in Petersburg this week is Joergen Galbe, Royal Norwegian Consul, with headquarters in San Francisco. This is the...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Legislature, locked in a fight with Gov. Mike Dunleavy over education funding, moved one step closer Tuesday to a lawsuit over the issue. The House and Senate voted to give the committee that handles legislative business, the Legislative Council, authority to sue. Sen. Gary Stevens, the Legislative Council chair, told reporters a lawsuit could be filed if the money for K-12 schools is not released. Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, said the council composed of House and Senate members would have to vote to move f...
WRANGELL — Members of the Wrangell School District and the borough assembly came together for a joint workshop on the school district’s recently adopted budget. As Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said in the past, and repeated in Monday evening’s meeting, this was a “no fat” budget that was operating very close to the district’s bare minimum. The FY 2020 budget is assuming $6.34 million in revenue, and almost the same in expenses. In comparison, this is a decrease from the FY 2019 budget whic...
At a school board meeting last week, Petersburg School District Director of Activities Jaime Cabral said that a recent research project revealed that school districts within Southeast Alaska spent $1.9 million in one year traveling with Alaska Airlines. The figure only takes into account the amount of money the region spends on travel for activities, like basketball games at other schools or regional and state competitions. Cabral said that Alaska Airlines is looking at possible solutions to...
Education is too critical a part of our state's future to allow for reduced funding of that line item at the expense of a super-sized Permanent Fund check. K-12 funding should be left intact as was agreed to at the close of the legislative session last year. This week, 130 Alaskans were evenly split on the super-sized PFD as outlined in Gov. Mike Dunleavy's Senate Bills 23 and 24. In testimony last week, two-thirds of the public comments were against the super-sized PFD. From 2016 to 2018, the...
After Gov. Mike Dunleavy released his proposed budget earlier this month that looks to solve a $1.6 billion deficit through cuts in statewide funding, the Petersburg School District’s base student allocation would be reduced by $1,050 per student, according to Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter. On Tuesday, the Petersburg School District is going to host a community conversation in the Wright auditorium at 6 P.M. to discuss the district’s budget. Currently, the school district receives $5,930 in funding from Alaska for each of the dis...
Author and lecturer Frederick Lane spoke at the Wright Auditorium on Thursday evening to discussion cybersafety and the impact mobile devices are having on children. Approximately 92 percent of teens use a cell phone with at least 75 percent of teens using a smart phone, according to Lane. In 1995, children ages five through sixteen spent three hours in front of a screen per day. By 2015, that number doubled to 6.5 hours per day, with some studies estimating as high as nine hours per day. The am...
January The borough assembly received a proposed update to its zoning code that would introduce a new form of affordable housing, an expansion of the historical and industrial districts and the end of a requirement for businesses to include parking downtown. The borough assembly held a work session to discuss a plan to impose restrictions on the senior tax exemption. A possible annual fee to sales tax exemption card holders was agreed upon ranging between $50 and $60. Police Chief Kelly Swihart...
With a total estimated cost of approximately $3.5 million, the Petersburg School Board approved its project priority list for the 2020 through 2025 fiscal years on Tuesday. The Department of Education requires school districts to submit a 6-year capital improvement plan before Sept. 1 of each year for statewide ranking for the distribution of possible funding. For the duration of the six fiscal years, beginning in 2020, the school board has laid out its priority projects with each year taking on a different project. Four projects will focus on...
WRANGELL - After 30 years on the bench, Wrangell's district magistrate will conclude her legal career today. Chris Ellis has served as a magistrate judge for First District Court in Wrangell for 14 of those years, with most of her preceding tenure spent in Craig. When she graduated with her bachelor's degree in 1973, law hadn't been on her mind, but Alaska was. "Basically I studied anthropology with a specialty in archaeology, and my goal was to come to Alaska," she said. Ellis found herself dra...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska lawmakers ended the extended legislative session early Sunday after passing state spending plans and a flurry of other bills in the waning hours. Despite running long, the session lacked the drama of the past several years, which were marked by drawn-out special sessions and bitter fights over the budget and taxes. House Speaker Bryce Edgmon said legislators in both chambers decided they would have to trust one another, work together and compromise “in order for us to get out of here in an orderly manner.” The S...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The process of laying off teachers in what’s known as “pink slip season” — May 15 to the last day of school — attracts most of the attention when education loyalists argue for funding. But there’s another category known as “displaced” or involuntarily transferred teachers that also stems from budget cuts. It involves keeping a teacher in the district but putting him or her up for bid to a different school. Teachers selected to be laid off or displaced are identified by school principals and generally are the latest hi...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Legislature is in its final week of a scheduled 90-day session, with budgets to complete and questions over what it will take for lawmakers to consider their job finished for the year. Senate President Pete Kelly said lawmakers possibly could finish “in proximity” to the 90-day mark, which is Sunday, but declined to speculate further. Voters approved a 90-day session limit but the state constitution permits sessions of up to 121 days. He told reporters Monday that the House and Senate aren’t in the “full-o...
January The Borough assembly started approval of a program called Local Improvement Districts, which asks Petersburg residents whether they would pay for road work in their neighborhoods. The Petersburg School Board discussed the possible loss of federal funding through a program called Secure Rural Schools. The school district reported a case of a Pertussis, or whooping cough, confirmed in Petersburg. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said it was not a public health emergency. An engineer led...
Ndesamburo Kwayu is the retired headmaster of the Sokoine Secondary School in Tanzania. His wife Rose is a retired elementary school teacher. The couple visited Petersburg last week to provide a report on projects that the Petersburg Lutheran Church and the Petersburg Rotary Club have supported, and also to inform the community of the continuing needs of the school and neighboring town. The secondary school is comparable to a high school level program in the U.S. It has 650 students and a staff...
October is National Seafood Month, a distinction bestowed by Congress 30 years ago to recognize one of America’s oldest industries. Alaska merits special recognition because its fishing fleets provide 65 percent of the nation’s wild caught seafood, more than all of the other states combined. Ironically, there is little to no fanfare in Alaska during seafood month. My hometown of Kodiak, for example, (the #2 U.S. fishing port) never gives a shout out to our fishermen and processors, nor do local restaurants celebrate seafood on their Oct...
The Petersburg School District wants to be clear to the public why it switched to a single phone system, and how a toll-free number will increase accessibility and better facilitate workflow for educators and administrators. Jon Kludt-Painter, the technology director of the Petersburg High School, headed the integration of a one number system. He said recent reports on school bulletins have advertised the new phone as a “District Office” number. It is not an office, rather an operator with nine call options, including a line to every sch...
District Governor Harry Kieling visited the Petersburg Rotary Club this week and commended the club for its work in the community and at the international level. "You are doing a great job with Youth Exchange and all the civic projects that make your community better," Kieling told the club at its Wednesday luncheon meeting. The Petersburg Club sends local students to the Rotary Youth Leadership program, hosts inbound and outbound students, provides high school student scholarships and...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A teacher shortage across the nation has added to Alaska’s ongoing problem of educators fleeing the state, leaving school districts scrambling for teachers with just a few weeks until classes start, school officials said. Numbers from August 4 show 155 teaching positions and 90 special education positions are open across the state, according to Alaska Teacher Placement. About half of Alaska’s school districts are still looking for teachers to hire for this school year, KTOO-FM reported. Lower Kuskokwim School Distr...
Last week the United States Senate passed an omnibus bill to fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2017. A member of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced a series of provisions within the bill that will provide resources to support programs with significant impacts in communities throughout the state. “With our state in the midst of a fiscal crisis, this bill will provide a much-needed boost to our economy. The bill provides new investments f...
Massive cuts could be in store for the agencies and people who provide the science and stewardship to preserve and protect our planet. The budget proposed by Donald Trump that starts in October puts on the chopping block the agencies and staff in charge of fisheries research and management, weather forecasting, satellite data tracking and the U.S. Coast Guard. Trump called the cuts a tradeoff to “prioritize rebuilding the military” and to help fund the border wall with Mexico. The Washington Post broke down a White House memo to the Office of...
