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The Wrangell School District — its students, staff and parents — will need to practice deep-breathing exercises to relieve the stress as they wait to see if the state Legislature and governor can agree on adequate funding for public education while at the same time waiting on Congress to reauthorize a quarter-century-old federal aid program for rural schools. These are significant and serious stress issues, particularly for Wrangell. State funding, based on a per-pupil formula, and the federal Secure Rural Schools money that comes through the...
Alaska education advocates are gearing up for another attempt to substantially increase state funding for public schools, but they say it’s unclear how a looming legislative stalemate will be broken. Last year, the Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy failed to approve an expansive education package after protracted negotiations. Legislators fell one vote short of overriding Dunleavy’s veto of a historic school funding increase. The Legislature later approved a major $176 million one-year funding boost for schools as a compromise. School adm...
The failure of the U.S. House to reauthorize federal funding to assist rural communities with a lot of non-taxable federal land — such as the Tongass National Forest — presents a $550,000 challenge for the Wrangell School District and borough. If the new Congress doesn’t fix the problem, the district could have to further draw on its reserves, or the borough could have to take from its reserves to plug the gap, or a combination of the two. Or cut spending at the schools — the federal money represents about 10% of this year’s school district...
The Box Tops for Education program has been around for more than 25 years, raising money for schools across the country. But people no longer have to literally cut off the tops from food boxes and household products and turn them in to raise money. Like so many other things in life, it’s now an app. The program, started by General Mills in 1996, had raised almost $1 billion as of last year. Wrangell’s Evergreen Elementary School wants to remind residents of the digital opportunity to help raise a little extra cash for classrooms. It all depends...
In the 2022-2023 school year, over 70% of Wrangell students were chronically absent. That's nearly double the state average and nearly three times the national average. The Alaska Department of Education, which posts school district absenteeism numbers every year, defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% of the school year. In Alaska, that amounts to 18 days of missed classes. "If a student misses those 18 days every year from kindergarten to 12th grade, that will add up to them being absent...
Wrangell students’ filmmaking efforts are going global — at least to Vancouver, British Columbia. This February, Wrangell high schoolers Jackson Pearson and Silje Morse will travel to the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival alongside teacher Laura Davies. The trio was invited to attend the festival by See Stories — an Alaska nonprofit dedicated to building “inclusive communities with film and story.” See Stories and Wrangell’s high school documentary film club, Stikine Stories (whose program is modeled after See Stories), have collab...
Wrangell, like much of Alaska and the country, relies on fundraising for all sorts of good causes. Many of those causes look pretty similar to public services that are covered by taxes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is something that elected officials and the public should keep in mind as they increasingly talk about cutting government spending and relying on donors to pick up the tab. In Wrangell’s case, the borough assembly decision last year to reduce financial support for the Senior Center, school district and public radio sta...
The Wrangell Athletic Club succeeded in raising enough money in its first full year to repay the school district for the cost of sending students to state competition in the 2023-2024 school year. The all-volunteer nonprofit organization was created in late 2023 after the school district determined it could not afford to pay the expenses of students traveling to state competition and needed community fundraising to cover the bills. The costs totaled $25,042 for the 2023-2024 school year, which...
Five, four, three, two, one - wooooooooooo. And just like that, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was alit. Adorned with 10,000 Alaskan-made ornaments and glistening with the power of 5,000 LED bulbs, the 80-foot-tall spruce will remain lit from dusk to 11 p.m. through Jan. 1. While the tree obviously headlined its own lighting ceremony, the Dec. 3 event was equally a celebration of Wrangell and the state. Members of Alaska's congressional delegation, Rep. Mary Peltola and Sens. Lisa Murkowski...
Dec. 4, 1924 A second cold storage plant for Wrangell is scheduled to be in operation within three months after the beginning of the year. E. A. Albright, representing F. Klevenhusen, arrived in Wrangell on Tuesday evening for the purpose of putting the Columbia & Northern cold storage plant into shape to operate again after being shut down for six years. Mr. Albright is the engineer who constructed the Columbia & Northern plant at Wrangell more than 12 years ago. He will make a thorough inspection of the plant and dock and will make an estimat...
The Wrangell school district will not purchase an electric school bus this year. Business Manager Kristy Andrew informed the Environmental Protection Agency that the district would return the $370,000 federal grant it received in 2023. After the school board voted down the purchase on Sept. 9, the district had until Nov. 22 to inform the EPA of its decision, which it did ahead of the extended deadline. This concludes a four-month long saga in which the school board initially expressed optimism about the bus purchase before flipping on the...
The Wrangell school district is running out of money — literally. If state and borough funding continue at the current levels, the schools will empty their reserves within two years. To help counteract the funding woes, the school board and superintendent met with the borough manager, mayor and borough assembly to workshop potential solutions on Nov. 19. The conversation lasted nearly two hours and began with slide deck presentations from Borough Manager Mason Villarma and school district Business Manager Kristy Andrew. Villarma was blunt. “We...
No question about it, the state is delinquent in funding public schools in Alaska. It has failed to do its homework, turn in assignments, come to class prepared and whatever other analogy you want to use. The mathematical fact is that the state’s per-pupil funding formula hasn’t had a permanent raise of any significance since the Chicago Cubs broke a 108-year drought and won the baseball World Series in 2016. And while 2016 was a good year for Cubs’ fans, that shouldn’t also be remembered as the last year the Alaska Legislature and governor agr...
In a unanimous decision, the borough assembly took the first step toward increasing flexibility for the number of annual tax-free days, allowing for anywhere between zero and two days in a year. Currently, there are two sales tax-free days per year, often bookending the summer season so that full-time residents (rather than tourists) can enjoy the town-wide discounts in the spring and fall. On tax-free days, Wrangell’s 7% sales tax is removed for 24 hours. Local businesses tend to run additional sales on these days, with the hope of increasing...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for: - Elementary Library Paraprofessional: This is a part-time, 9-month classified position, working 5.75 hours daily. Salary placement is in Column A of the Classified Salary Schedule. Job duties include but are not limited to working with students individually and in small group settings in the library at Evergreen Elementary School. A High School Diploma or equivalent and an associate degree or the ability to pass the ParaPro Assessment is required. Start date: Dec. 16, 2024 -...
In the run-up to Election Day, high school teacher Jack Carney took a hands-on approach to teaching his U.S. government students about the issues at stake. The class is predominantly made up of seniors. Over the past few weeks, Carney’s students researched, studied and formed opinions on the ballot measures and candidates in the Nov. 5 election. Though just one of the nine students was eligible to vote in the actual election, eight of the nine students participated in the mock election. (One student was absent.) The results were relatively in l...
Alaska has joined a growing number of states that are considering cellphone restrictions in schools. The Alaska Board of Education has directed the state’s education department to create a policy to limit the use of cellphones in schools during class hours. Currently, there is no statewide cellphone policy in Alaska, and any restrictions must be set at the district or school level. Several already do that, including Wrangell middle and high schools. “The Stikine Middle School is cellphone, earbud free,” said Greg Clark, who serves as princ...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for: - Secondary School Secretary: This is a full-time, 10-month position with benefits working in the middle and high school. Salary placement is in Column C on the classified salary schedule. Responsibilities include performing office functions at a public school and serving as secretary to the school administration, students and staff. The successful applicant will begin as soon as possible. For more information and a job description, please contact the District Office at...
Jamie Roberts is leaving Wrangell better than she found it. After 26 years on the island, Jamie is saying goodbye to a town that not only formed her, but that she helped form for the better. The Roberts family moved out of their 11.25-Mile home after the Nov. 20, 2023, landslide. Since then, they have been unable to find a tenable housing solution. Later this month, Jamie will join her husband, Greg, at their new home in Veneta, Oregon. The Wrangell chapter in the book of Jamie Roberts begins...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for: - IEA Tutor/Paraprofessional: This is a part-time, 9-month classified position, working 5.75 hours per day. Salary placement is on Column A of the Classified Salary Schedule. Job duties include but are not limited to working with students individually and in small group settings in the Indian Education Program. A High School Diploma or equivalent and an associate degree or the ability to pass the ParaPro Assessment is required. Start date: as soon as possible. For more...
Though the Wrangell School District has had its challenges filling various positions throughout the years, one position ⎯ the activities director ⎯ has seen yearly turnover with four people in the position in the past three years. Lifelong resident X'atshaawditee Tammi Meissner is the latest hire for the part-time contract, and she is committed to staying in the job "for the foreseeable future." Meissner, who also works as the community navigator for the Central Council of the Tlingit & Hai...
Jeremy Bynum, Grant EchoHawk and Agnes Moran are running to fill the state House seat vacated by 10-year incumbent Dan Ortiz, who decided not to seek a sixth term. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes in the first count, the third-place finisher will be eliminated and voters who picked that candidate as their top choice will have their votes recounted using their second choice. Whoever has the most votes in that second count will win the seat...
This November, when the President steps out on Pennsylvania Avenue and looks toward the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, he's going to see a Christmas tree from the Tongass National Forest. Better yet, Wrangell High School students were tasked with keeping it alive. Members of the T3 program (Teaching Through Technology), a federally funded teaching nonprofit, teamed up with a local inventor to make sure the tree continues to absorb water on its nearly month-long journey from Wrangell to Washingto...
HELP WANTED Wrangell Public Schools is accepting applications for: - Paraprofessional: This is a part-time, 9-month classified position, working 5.75 hours daily in the Special Education Department at Evergreen Elementary School. Salary placement is in Column B of the Classified Salary Schedule. Job duties include but are not limited to working with intensive special education students individually and in small group settings. A High School Diploma or equivalent and an associate degree or the ability to pass the ParaPro Assessment is required....
Evergreen Elementary teachers want the school district office to lock its doors for security. So far, their fight has been an uphill battle. The entire teaching staff of Evergreen Elementary signed a letter last month imploring the school board to make several safety changes. The teachers want to better protect students and staff against hostile intruders and potential school shooters. The teachers requested that the district office doors, which provide entry to the classroom area, remain locked during school hours. They also requested a...
