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Even while Bill Burr, Wrangell's new schools superintendent, is still unpacking, he already is looking toward challenges the district will face in the coming school year. One area of improvement he is optimistic about is bringing enrollment numbers back to previous levels. Last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment in Wrangell schools dropped to about 200 from their typical number around 300 - the largest percentage decrease in any school district in Alaska. Many families chose to...
Legislative efforts to restore an Office of Children’s Services caseworker in Wrangell and fund a commercial fisheries staffer in town survived the governor’s budget vetoes. Wrangell lost its Department of Fish and Game position last year due to the governor’s budget cuts, and has been without a children’s services caseworker for several years. The borough and school district both had spoken in support of restoring the caseworker job in town, with the borough offering to provide free rent and help with the salary to entice state funding. Though...
Wrangell businesses did better than those in Skagway but worse than their counterparts in the larger and more diversified economies of Juneau and Sitka during the economic shutdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an online survey of business owners and managers throughout the region. “On average, reporting businesses in the region lost 42% of their revenue due to COVID-19, while Wrangell businesses were down 48% overall,” the third highest for any community in the area, said the report issued by the Southeast Conference, com...
For the third year in a row, the borough will provide $1.3 million in funding for Wrangell schools, the largest spending category in the municipal budget. About $700,000 of the local contribution to next year’s school district budget will come from Wrangell’s general fund revenues of sales and property taxes, with about $600,000 in federal financial assistance directed to Wrangell under a U.S. Forest Service nationwide program of payments to rural communities. The borough assembly approved the $1.3 million appropriation without opposition May...
The Wrangell teachers union and school board have agreed on a new three-year contract that starts this summer and includes a 1% raise each year and higher out-of-pocket deductibles for teachers enrolled in the district’s insurance plan. The contract also includes an optional insurance plan with even higher deductibles that would reduce the share of premiums paid by the Wrangell Teachers’ Association. Employers have been increasingly switching in recent years to high-deductible plans in an effort to stem the rising cost of health insurance. The...
Wrangell High School graduating class wanted to do something different this year and the students were looking forward to staging the ceremonies on the city dock. But an unkind weather forecast pushed them back into the community gym, where graduation is set for 7 p.m. Friday. “The weather forecast was not so favorable,” Megan Powell, adviser to the class of 2021, said Monday. Though attendance will be restricted only to graduates and limited guests per student, the event will be livestreamed on the school district YouTube channel. The 7 p.m...
The Anchorage Assembly voted last Friday to immediately revoke the city’s mask mandate. On the same day, legislative leaders voted to make mask-wearing optional at the state Capitol — and then shed their own face coverings after the vote. The decision by the Legislative Council followed new guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The new legislative policy recommends weekly testing for those who are not fully vaccinated and for those with COVID-19 symptoms or who...
A COVID-19 outbreak at a high school wrestling tournament in Ketchikan last month is linked to 23 infections in five communities across Southeast Alaska, including one case in Wrangell, according to health officials. Ketchikan High School hosted the regional wrestling tournament, an annual event that attracted athletes from eight other schools on April 24. In addition to cases in Ketchikan, wrestlers from Wrangell, Sitka, Mt. Edgecumbe, Craig and Klawock also tested positive for the coronavirus after returning home, according to Kacie Paxton,...
Legislators will focus the next few weeks on how to spend $1.02 billion in federal pandemic relief destined for the state treasury, with last week's opening acts of the fiscal play showing somewhat different budgetary scripts from the House majority coalition and the governor. Both proposals would direct money to construction projects, the tourism industry and repairing Alaska's damaged economy, though at differing funding levels. The House plan also would direct funds to communities worst hit by the pandemic. And while House leadership has...
The Alaska House of Representatives has passed a bill intended to prevent teacher layoffs the next two years with early appropriation of state funding to local school operating budgets. Though helpful in its intent to provide funding certainty to school districts, it does not solve the budget problems of districts, such as Wrangell, that have seen steep enrollment drops during the pandemic. State funding for local schools is based on their annual student count. In previous years, late budget action by the Legislature has forced some school...
The latest Wrangell School District draft budget for the next school year includes an estimated $700,000 in additional federal relief aid, but board members expressed concern that the money, while welcome, may only stave off spending cuts to a later date. Several board members express skepticism at Monday evening's budget workshop that student enrollment would not pick up much as the pandemic subsides. State funding, the largest portion of school district revenues, is based almost entirely on...
After a long and strange pandemic year, Wrangell's graduating seniors are preparing for the end of their high school education in May. Plans for a different, but in-person, graduation ceremony are underway, while seniors are planning for their next moves in life. While last year's graduation ceremony was held virtually because of the pandemic, high school secretary Megan Powell said they are working on plans for an in-person ceremony for the class of 2021 on May 21. "The kids, they actually...
While Alaska legislators await federal rules for how the state can spend the almost $1.2 billion in federal pandemic relief funds headed this way, communities are waiting to see their allocations from a separate pot of federal aid - and ready to push the state to share some of its money. In addition to the general relief funding going to the state, Alaska communities will receive a share of a separate $231 million municipal allocation under the American Rescue Plan signed into law last month....
With the announcement of three new cases Thursday evening, and one new case Friday morning, Wrangell now has six active cases of COVID-19. One of the new cases was someone at Evergreen Elementary School. “Based upon the information we have at this time, there will be no building closure,” the school district posted to Facebook on Thursday evening. The first COVID-19 case was reported by the city about 3:45 p.m. Thursday. The city said the individual was a local resident, and a close contact of a previous case. The individual has been in qua...
A new COVID-19 case was announced in Wrangell on Thursday. According to the city, the newest case is a Wrangell resident, showing symptoms of the virus. The person is in isolation, according to the city’s prepared statement. In a Facebook post on Friday, the Wrangell Public School District announced that the case was found in Wrangell High School. Given that the schools closed for spring break on Thursday, the district reports that there will be no building closures. Another case was announced by city officials Friday afternoon. The patient, a...
Though the Wrangell School District now projects 259 students to enroll for the fall semester based on the belief that more families will send their children back to the classroom, enrollment would still be down 13% from pre-pandemic numbers and the latest draft budget shows a loss of five teaching positions from this year. School board members reviewed the latest draft budget at their March 18 meeting, with more work to come before adopting a spending plan for next school year. State funding...
Students at Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School will attend class remotely at least through Friday after a staff member at the secondary schools tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Remote learning started the next day, as both schools closed. The shutdown has not affected classes at Evergreen Elementary School, the school district reported Monday. "This individual ... is asymptomatic and is now in isolation," the city announced Monday afternoon. It was Wrangell's second reported...
Though moving to Alaska in 1997 was an unexpected turn in Bill Burr's life when he began his career in education, it has grown on him, he said, and he is thrilled to continue his career in the state. Burr will move to Wrangell July 1 to serve as schools superintendent. He was born in Iowa, but has worked as a teacher and administrator across Alaska. He studied at the University of Northern Iowa, where he said his minor claim to fame was living in the same dorm as future NFL Hall of Fame...
After several weeks without games due to bad weather or spikes in COVID-19 cases in other towns, the Wrangell High School boys and girls basketball teams are eager for scheduled games against Metlakatla on Friday and Saturday. It has been a truly unique season for the Wrangell Wolves and Lady Wolves. The Wolves began their season at the end of January, with two games against their rivals, the Petersburg Vikings. The Lady Wolves began their season against the Craig Lady Panthers in early...
The city announced a new COVID-19 case Monday afternoon. “This individual is a local resident, is asymptomatic, and is now in isolation. There is no other information available at this time,” the city announcement said. Of the 36 cases Wrangell has seen since the start of the pandemic, 25 have been locals, eight non-locals, two residents who were not in town at the time and one residency unknown. The city continues to advise that people “keep close interactions to a very small group of people, ideally just within your household,” and staying si...
The Wrangell School Board has unanimously selected Bill Burr as schools superintendent. He will start in July, replacing Debbe Lancaster, who has been in the job since 2018. Lancaster resigned last year, effective in July. Burr is coming to Wrangell from the Delta/Greely School District, where he has worked as assistant superintendent since 2014. He has also served as director of technology and as fill-in principal at the district in Alaska's Interior, according to the Wrangell School District....
The Juneau candidate for the Wrangell schools superintendent job dropped out, leaving a field of three to meet the community in a Zoom event last week. The school board is scheduled to interview the finalists Friday. The three finalists are: Joseph Aldridge, superintendent of the Columbia Union School District, in Central California; Bill Burr, assistant superintendent of the Delta Junction/Greely School District, east of Fairbanks; and Ralph Watkins, superintendent and principal of Hoonah City...
More than 600 people in Wrangell have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. SEARHC's COVID-19 website reported Tuesday morning that 886 Wrangell residents had received their first vaccination shot. Of these, 612 had received both doses, almost one-quarter of the community's population. Aaron Angerman, with SEARHC, said they have started to share data online about how many vaccines have been administered in their communities....
While shop classes are common in schools across the country, not many offer students a chance to build their own boats. The marine fabrication class at Wrangell High School had decades of history, according to teacher Winston Davies, who said it teaches students important lessons for their lives and careers. "This marine fab program, I think got started back in the '80s with Dave Brown," Davies said. "He was my shop teacher, and it's been going ever since. ... It's kind of a hallmark of the...
The Wrangell School Board has narrowed down the list to four superintendent applicants to succeed Debbie Lancaster, who plans to leave the job June 30. Three of the four candidates work in Alaska, and one is from California. The board met in executive session Saturday to review applications, and announced in a Sunday press release the four finalists who will be interviewed: Joseph Aldridge, of California; Tim Bauer, of Juneau; Bill Burr, of Delta Junction; and Ralph Watkins, of Hoonah. A...