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The budget that legislators approved last week and will send to the governor for his signature into law or veto would provide about $425,000 in one-time additional state funding to the Wrangell school district for the 2023-2024 classroom year. That would deliver almost a 9% boost to the district’s total operating budget revenue, which is comprised of state money (more than 60%), a borough contribution (32%) and federal dollars. “It will still need to pass the governor, so it’s not guaranteed,” Bill Burr, Wrangell schools superin...
As Wrangell prepares for its biggest event of the year - the Fourth of July - one teen has taken it upon himself to ensure that the celebration will be prosperous for years to come. Though Ander Edens is the only contestant in this year's royalty fundraising competition, he is setting his sights on a record-breaking run. The ticket sales are the main fundraiser for the chamber of commerce, which organizes the holiday festivities. The current fundraising record is $126,408 in raffle ticket sales...
Parents looking for someone to watch their children so they can earn a living may have to keep looking for the time being. Efforts to find solutions to a lack of child care locally and statewide continue to move forward, but providing the service is taking more time than most people might like. The number of child care providers has dropped by 11% throughout the state since 2021. In Wrangell, there have been some efforts to increase the number of child care options, though only one, through the Wrangell Cooperative Association, is moving...
The end of federal pandemic assistance and years of flat state funding have hurt the school district’s ability to cover its costs. The borough assembly has stepped up for the second year in a row to help close the budget gap. At its meeting April 25, the assembly unanimously approved a $1.6 million contribution to Wrangell Public Schools, which is the amount Superintendent Bill Burr said the district needs to essentially balance its budget. The assembly approved$700,000 from sales tax funds and $900,000 from the federal Secure Rural Schools f...
It is a voyage of 43,000 miles encompassing the Pacific Ocean, and it begins in Southeast. The Hawaiian canoe Hōkūleʻa and its crew will set sail from Juneau in June to circumnavigate the vast, blue body of water over the course of four years. On its way south, it will stop in Wrangell for a few days. The double-hulled plywood, fiberglass and resin canoe, which was built in 1975 and made its first voyage the following year, was lifted out of the waters of Honolulu Harbor and was scheduled to be delivered to Tacoma, Washington, last Friday. Fr...
Active shooter drills have become as commonplace in schools across the country as fire drills. However, that is not the case in Wrangell just yet. At the school board meeting on April 17, Devyn Johnson, a parent with two children enrolled at Evergreen Elementary School and one in Head Start, asked that the schools implement some kind of drill. “Wrangell has high access to firearms. Mental illness is high. Depression rates are high. And substance abuse is high,” Johnson said to the board during public comments. “In my opinion, these are all the...
As the school year hastens to its May 25 end, the district took its first steps toward updating its strategic plan, a document that lists specific goals and outcomes, how those will be achieved and the deadlines for each. Though discussions about updating the plan were held at the beginning of the school year, the district has recently issued a survey, inviting community members to share what they think the schools should focus on. “This is our initial foray into getting as much information as possible,” said Schools Superintendent Bill Bur...
As the school year nears the end, so too do the one-year contracts of some staff members. While Mason Villarma, who took the job of activities director at the beginning of the school year, has opted not to renew his contract, a new principal and IT director have signed on for the 2023-2024 school year. Villarma said adding the school district activities director job to his ongoing workload became too much. “I think with the current load, being the (borough) finance director and coaching, there was not enough room on the plate to do a really gre...
After weighing the options of buying an electric school bus through a federal grant, Taylor Transportation, the company that provides the Wrangell School District with busing, has decided to pull the plug on the purchase. Citing the “unknowns” about electric vehicle operation and maintenance, John Taylor said the company decided it wouldn’t be economically feasible to purchase an electric bus. “We’re not doing EV,” he said. “The benefits did not outweigh the costs. We didn’t want to be a government guinea pig. Even though it’s free, it ain’t fr...
Similar pieces of legislation to increase state funding for public schools are awaiting hearings in the House and Senate finance committees as lawmakers face a mid-May adjournment deadline and school districts make spending plans for the 2023-2024 school year. The House bill, which was amended and moved out of the Education Committee on March 22, would increase the funding formula by a little over 11% in the first year and 2% in the second year, about half of the bill sponsor’s original proposal. The Senate version, which moved out of its E...
After three days of intense play, the Wrangell High School boys varsity basketball team won fourth place in the state Division 2A championship in Anchorage. It was the first time the team went to state since 2015. The Wolves defeated Petersburg at regionals a week earlier to secure a second-place finish, giving them a spot at state. Petersburg was selected in a wild card draw after the loss to Wrangell, also giving them a spot at state last week. In the end, Wrangell finished higher up than the...
In four days of tough battles on the hardwood, including an overtime win in the third round, the Wrangell High School boys basketball team took second place in the Southeast regional championships last Saturday in Juneau and a berth at the state tournament The boys and girls varsity teams, along with the cheer and pep squads, traveled to the capital city to vie for a chance to compete for the state championship in Anchorage. Like the boys team, the cheer squad took second place to qualify for...
A school budget presentation meant to engage the public in the decision-making process on Feb. 27 drew a scant few to ask questions and offer suggestions. Outgoing district business manager Tammy Stromberg, whose last day was Feb. 28, went over the draft budget for the 2023-2024 school year, detailing projected revenues, expenditures and where the Wrangell School District could fall short. According to the current draft, the district is projected to be short by $53,179 in its spending plan of about $5 million, and will draw on its general fund...
In a change of plans from just a few weeks ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System reports it lacks enough crew to operate the Kennicott this summer. The loss of the Kennicott from the schedule likely would mean dropping service to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and the loss of two additional port calls in Wrangell each month, May through September. It also could jeopardize state ferry service to Yakutat on the cross-gulf route, and abandoning plans to run the Kennicott to Bellingham, Washington, once a month to help move the heavy load of summ...
The Wrangell school board voted unanimously Feb. 20 to approve a contract for business manager services with a private company based in La Center, Washington. K12 Business Services will fill the role after district business manager Tammy Stromberg submitted her resignation in January and left the job at the end of February. Kristy Andrew, the owner of K12, served as business manager for the Cordova School District before relocating to Washington state to be closer to family. Because she still...
At times, the cheers for the Petersburg Vikings were almost as loud as the cheers for the Wrangell Wolves. And the cheers for the Wolves were almost deafening. The Wrangell High School gym was alive and packed with teams and fans last Friday and Saturday as the Wolves celebrated homecoming week by playing against longtime rival Petersburg. Roars of excitement shook the gym as teams battled it out, leading to two wins for the girls varsity and junior varsity squads, a win and a loss for the boys...
When it comes to reaching the finish line for graduating, Devlyn Campbell's ambition is definitely not running on empty. Campbell's senior project is starting a high school track program to give student-athletes a springtime sport, something that's been lacking since the last baseball team was fielded in 2017. "I was on the state championship cross country team, so that made me want to run more," he said. "I realized we have a lot of kids with a high potential in running. We also don't have a...
Learning to adapt and improvise can be a key strategy in basketball, which is what Wrangell’s basketball teams had to do last weekend against Metlakatla. However, it was not enough. The Wrangell High School varsity boys and girls teams traveled to play against the Chiefs and Miss Chiefs on Friday and Saturday. But once the Metlakatla teams got a solid lead, they never let it go, winning all four games. Originally, the Wrangell players were scheduled to play at the Stikine Hardwood Classic in Petersburg, but those plans fell through and the t...
Feb. 15, 1923 A number of parents and invited guests attended the father-son and mother-daughter dinner at the gym last Monday evening, presented by the Wrangell Boy Scouts. The boys darted busily here and there, seeing to it that everyone was fed. Not a woman or a Girl Scout was permitted to help, and the entire credit for the success of the dinner rests on the Boy Scouts. Just before the gathering dispersed, Superintendent Gross made an announcement of interest to the community, and especially to the young men who comprise the high school...
The last time they met on the hardwood, the Wrangell High School boys varsity basketball team fell in two games against the Sitka team on Sitka’s homecourt. “Our guys played really tough,” head coach Cody Angerman said after those games in December. “I would love to play this Sitka team again when we get Ethan (Blatchley) back.” And play the higher-division team again they did on Feb. 5 and 6, splitting the two games. Originally, the Haines team was supposed to come to Wrangell to play but those plans fell through. At that time, Angerman...
Marlene Ann Clarke passed away Feb. 7 in the Wrangell long-term care facility. She was born on April 3, 1936, to Nellie Prescott and Howard Messinger in Wrangell. She spent most of her childhood in Wrangell except for short stays in Juneau, Haines and Anchorage. She came back in the third grade and graduated from Wrangell High School in 1954. Working summers in the shrimp and fish canneries gave her the push to move to California to try something different after graduation. She took business...
Wrangell Cooperative Association members will vote later this month to fill four seats on the eight-member tribal council, which oversees decisions for the tribe. Council members must be members of the WCA; the deadline to apply for candidacy is Feb. 14. Voting takes place on Feb. 28 at the WCA cultural center on Front Street. Tribal administrator Esther Aaltséen Reese said there are a few aspects candidates should be aware of if elected to a two-year term. "We have one meeting a month, it's usu...
Coordinated plays, three-pointers galore, solid defense and near misses defined Wrangell High School basketball teams’ games against Craig High School last Friday and Saturday. The boys varsity and junior varsity teams each won both of their games against the Panthers, while the girls varsity lost two games and junior varsity had one win and one loss in Craig. Boys varsity squad members were back in good form, as team members were healthy and energetic on the hardwood. From the tipoff in Friday’s game to the final buzzer in Saturday’s, the W...
"I have always had a passion for animals," said senior Rylee Chelette. "When I was younger, I had cats, I had dogs, I had fish and I had hermit crabs I loved to play with. And I begged my mom to let me have goats, but she didn't fall for it." That love of all creatures great and small led Chelette to volunteer her efforts at the St. Frances Animal Shelter for her high school senior project. Not only will she be volunteering her time to care for the animals where possible, she will be putting her...
If not for drawing on its fund balance, the Wrangell School District’s 2023-2024 budget would come up short. However, by drawing $112,000 from its general fund balance, the first draft of the budget matches revenues with expenditures. Tammy Stromberg, the district’s business manager, presented the draft to the school board in a work session on Jan. 16. In the draft budget, total expected revenues for the 2023-2024 school year are $5,036,098, whereas expenditures total $5,148,136, a difference of $112,038. Drawing on savings covers the gap. “We...