Community Members Speak Out During School Board Meeting

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Maggie Wall/KMXT
Morale among Kodiak’s teachers is at an all-time low and communications within the district and with parents leaves a lot to be desired.
Those were just a few of the concerns expressed by residents who spoke during Public Comment periods during last night’s regular meeting of the Kodiak Island Borough School District Board of Education.
The meeting was the first since the recent contract and performance review of Kodiak School District Superintendent Stewart McDonald.
The Borough Assembly Chambers was packed, though only a few people spoke publicly about a problem. References were made by those who did speak that teachers and other school district employees fear that speaking out publicly would adversely affect their employment with the district.
Anticipating what was coming, School Board President Katie Oliver spoke to the issue shortly after the meeting got underway:
“It’s also my recommendation and intent to schedule at a near future public meeting, a discussion item about the process of inviting and accepting public input into the evaluation of district employees…I think it’s important to honor the time and energy that community members put into correspondence with the district and I think we can bring clarity to the process, particularly in the area of timeline and in the area of the goals that the board sets, which provides a framework for evaluation. And I think we can have a conversation about the extent to which we consider written comments that are anonymous and unsigned. So as your president, that is my intent and recommendation — future executive session, future discussion item on the process.”
Ron Gibbs was the first to speak. He said he did not come to the meeting to attack or tear down, but rather to make suggestions on how the district might handle what he called an increasing opportunity for improvement.
           “We value the commitment that you have made, and respect the efforts that you make on behalf of the district. Unfortunately, comments made by board members do indicate a disconnect between the board’s perceptions and what is actually happening in the schools in the community.”

School Board Discusses ‘Worst-Case’ Budget Scenario

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Brianna Gibbs/KMXT
The Kodiak Island Borough School District’s Board of Education met for a work session last night and heard about a handful of budget scenarios the district might be looking at for FY 2015.
Basically, the school district doesn’t know how much money will be coming its way from either the state or the borough, so Superintendent Stewart McDonald said any budget before the board is tentative, and subject to a lot more decisions that will be made in the months and weeks to come.
McDonald presented a proposed budget during the work session – one that he said was a “worst-case scenario.” At most, McDonald said the district could have a $1.69 million deficit for next year, and he proposed cutting a total of 24 positions, ranging from custodians and safety officers to the Kodiak High School athletic director. He said those proposed cuts are far from inevitable, and many will actually be done through attrition, meaning the district won’t hire a new employee to fill the role of a retiring one.
“Two to three weeks should make a huge difference in what we’re talking about. The books that you will have I believe should just go ahead and represent worst case scenario because you’ve got to prepare for it. And then we’ll make adjustments from there. What I’d like to do is just start with this as the initial proposed prioritized list and where the cuts would come from.”
McDonald said the hope is that state funding won’t be a worst-case scenario this year. Ideally, as the budget picture becomes clearer, and hopefully more positive, the 24 cuts proposed last night will decrease accordingly. McDonald said the number is already down from 29 cuts that were associated with budget projections in January.
During the public comment period, Alexus Kwachka (kwach-kah) said he was concerned about the district’s use of attrition to solve its budget problems.
“I think that you guys need to be really sensitive to what’s going on, we’re losing a ton of really good people. And yes, there’s always going to be an attrition rate, but what’s going on is alarming to me because our students deserve the best that we can get. And I am really, really concerned about Bryan going away and I’ll speak to that directly. Bryan is a dynamite guy, he’s doing a dynamite job and I’m really concerned about where this goes.”
Kwachka was referencing Bryan Ferris, the current athletic director at Kodiak High School. Changes to the athletic director role have captured many community members’ attention, especially with news that Ferris’ job might be in jeopardy.  

School District Hopes to Upgrade High School’s Boat

Brianna Gibbs/KMXT
Upgrades might be on the way for Kodiak High School’s teaching vessel. The 42-foot K-Hi-C is owned by the Kodiak Island Borough School District and used for teaching maritime courses during the school year. The boat is shared with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and used by the organization May through September. A cooperative agreement between the district and fish and game says the department can use the boat and is responsible for annual maintenance and upkeep.
But now vessel needs more than annual maintenance. Fish and Game would like to make significant upgrades to the boat, but it can’t really do that, or at least fund it with state dollars, if it doesn’t own it.
On Monday the School Board gave the district’s attorney the go ahead to meet with Fish and Game’s attorney and work on some sort of agreement.
School Board President Katie Oliver said the hope is that they pursue a contract that continues shared use, but gives the department what it needs to fund the upgrades. She said that contract, when created, will return to the school board for approval.