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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
Members of the Alaska House Finance Committee revised their latest budget draft Tuesday to include more money for child care and eliminate funding for an experimental reading institute operated by the state. The committee spent most of the day Tuesday debating amendments to the state’s operating budget, an $11.3 billion document that pays for state services and Permanent Fund dividends during the 12 months that begin July 1. The committee is expected to consider additional amendments through Wednesday at least, and the budget would then a...
With three months until the deadline, only 16% of Alaska high school seniors have applied for federal student aid. The funding mechanism, called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, is an indicator of college-bound students. Alaska has the lowest rate of applicants in the nation, which has been true for at least the last decade, said Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education Executive Director Sana Efrid. “The No. 1 reason we hear from students and families that they do not enroll in post-secondary programs is the c... 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
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...
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
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
Petersburg has been blessed with great Teachers To the Editor: Last Saturday, the town celebrated a prince of a man, an amazing and caring educator. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Friends lined up to speak about Paul Bowen and his love of Alaska, LeConte Glacier, geology, duck hunting, trolling for salmon – especially those summers with his family. We personally enjoyed sharing stories with Paul of our own special memories of fishing as a family. We agreed – it just does not get any better than that. Not many of us knew of...
The governor’s growing obsession with charter schools is frightening for the future of public education in Alaska. He talks as if charter schools are by far the best answer to the state’s low student test scores. He has told Alaskans he would not support an increase in state funding for public schools unless the Legislature also backs his proposal to bypass local school boards when parents want to start up a new charter school. At the same time, he resists providing adequate support for public school districts that have not seen any real inc...
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...
The Alaska Legislature’s big education funding bill will reach the floor of the Alaska House of Representatives by next week, a leading Republican lawmaker said Monday. “We’re going to get it out. It’s not going to sit anywhere,” said Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage and chair of the House Rules Committee. On Saturday, members of Johnson’s committee heard more than seven hours of public testimony, mostly in favor of a large increase in Alaska’s funding for public schools. The committee declined to fulfill that request before advancing Sen... Full story
In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...
Student enrollment in Petersburg School District increased beyond initial expectations, providing a boost in revenues. Student enrollment in PSD increased by 39.1, bringing enrollment to a student count of 469.1. State funding for PSD increased by $1,162,300, arriving at a total of $7,198,073. The State of Alaska funds school districts based on the number of students enrolled, known as the Base Student Allocation (BSA). There is a state-mandated 20-day student count period in October that establishes a district’s enrollment number as something...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy is starting his sixth year as the state’s top elected leader. Sadly, he’s not providing much fiscal leadership, other than beating the drums for his perpetual political bandwagon that trumpets the Permanent Fund dividend at the front of the parade, with public schools playing second fiddle. It’s sour music, off-key and off-base. The governor unveiled his proposed state budget last week, setting out a spending plan for the fiscal year that will start July 1 and which legislators will start working through when they recon...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy said education is among his top priorities in the coming fiscal year. He proposed spending millions on education, but did not include an increase to per student funding, known as the base student allocation, in his proposed budget. His proposed budget puts $1,267,522,300 to the education department, a 9% decrease from last year, due to shrinking enrollment. “I want the public to understand that, as a former educator, I understand that schools cost money, education costs money, there’s no doubt about it,” Dunleavy said. “The... Full story
The Petersburg School District recently enhanced security measures at Stedman Elementary, Mitkof Middle School and Petersburg High School. As of Nov. 27, the front doors of PHS and MMS lock after classes begin at 8:05 a.m. Doorbells with cameras and an intercom system are installed on the front doors, alongside signage to clearly direct people who may try to access the building. Office staff can now see who is ringing the doorbell, which allows them to assess and approve people before allowing them to enter for better security. During the Nov....
Staff for Gov. Mike Dunleavy quashed the publication of a new Department of Labor and Workforce Development report examining the competitiveness of teacher pay in Alaska, an act that current and former staff say could damage the apolitical reputation of the division that publishes state economic data. “This is data that typically is available to the public, and it’s never good to suppress good, objective data,” said Neal Fried, who retired in July after almost 45 years as an economist with the department. The report, which had been the cover... Full story
Unconscionable. Indefensible. There are many words to describe the disrespect for the public and disregard for honest government by the actions of the governor’s office to block publication of a factual report on teacher salaries in Alaska. Even for the administration of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, this is a low point in putting politics ahead of good government. And that’s saying a lot for an administration that has been criticized by the court for firing state employees who refused to pledge political loyalty to the governor. State government should...
With high oil prices driving up state revenues, Southeast legislators say to expect a larger capital budget next year for public works projects, more money for deferred maintenance and another attempt to boost state funding for public schools. That’s assuming oil prices stay elevated as the state works its way through the fiscal year that will end on June 30 and remain high in the forecast for the next year. Lawmakers will return to work at the Capitol on Jan. 16. With oil prices last week 30% higher than assumed in this year’s spending pla...
In the middle school where I teach, it’s now commonplace to have two or three classes report to the gym each day where they play basketball, read books, or do nothing, because there is no substitute to cover for absent teachers. How can our schools improve outcomes like grades, test scores, and mental health if they can’t afford adequate staffing? The Legislature has a constitutional obligation to maintain a system of public schools. This year, the legislature approved a one-time $175 million increase in school funding. Our schools need a rel...
Early in the season, one of my deckhands started the joke, “Pay to Bay,” dreaming of people paying money to fish on a drift boat in Bristol Bay, like people pay to climb Mt. Everest. That joke came around to bite us. We had a breakdown during the peak of the run, then the day we got fishing again Trident posted the 50-cents/lb base price (before quality incentives amounting to another 30 cents or more). The processor we sell to, Silver Bay, seemed sure to follow Trident’s lead. I sent my deckhands home with checks for $5,000 each—not much fo... Full story
In Alaska, only a third of children meet the state’s goals to be ready for kindergarten. But the state’s share of funding for Head Start, a mostly federally funded child care and health program that promotes school readiness specifically for low-income families, is lower than it was a decade ago. This year, the Legislature earmarked $5 million for an increase so the state’s Head Start programs could match federal contributions, but Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed most of it, slashing the increase to $1.5 million. It’s left program directors like Ma... Full story
Alaska State Rep. Rebecca Himschoot visited Petersburg last week to meet with constituents as part of a tour around the Southeast communities she represents in the Alaska House of Representatives. Himschoot, a career educator and former member of the Sitka Assembly, finished her first legislative session in May after being elected to the House last year. She represents House District 2, which spans from Prince of Wales Island to Yakutat and includes Petersburg, Sitka, Kake, and Craig. "It was...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed Alaska’s $6 billion state budget into law Monday after vetoing more than $200 million from the document approved in mid-May by the Alaska Legislature. The governor’s biggest single cut was half of a $175 million one-time funding boost for K-12 public schools. Lawmakers intended the addition to partially compensate for inflation-driven cost increases. Because school districts have already had to set their budgets for the coming year, Dunleavy’s veto leaves some of them facing additional budget cuts or the prosp...
