Petersburg Pilot -

Stedman Elementary School will be welcoming three new teachers into its ranks this fall.

Principal Teri Toland announced last month that the school had selected new hires from a large, experienced candidate pool.

She said the number of applicants was unprecedented and may in part be due to Alaskan layoffs. Education is facing big cuts with state proposed budgets.

"As we went through the process, it became very clear there was a key group," Toland said.

Coming in to teach fourth grade is Heather Conn, who volunteered with numerous programs in the school during this last year as she worked on...