School Board President John DeRuyter is seeking reelection to another three-year term, presenting a platform centered on academic achievement, expanded vocational opportunities and strong fiscal stewardship.

DeRuyter’s involvement with the district began well before his tenure on the board. He spent two years serving on an advisory committee before winning a seat as a board member three years ago. Over the past year, he stepped into the president’s chair formerly held by David Wilson. 

Now, as his first term draws to a close, he said he wants to ensure that the educational milestones reached over the past 12 months continue to move forward without losing momentum.

He is one of three candidates for a three-year term on the Oct. 6 ballot; the others are Jayme Howell and Franki Gablehouse.

Among the clearest signs of that progress, DeRuyter said, are 2025 statewide testing scores that placed the school district at the front of the pack across Alaska. During the past year, district students ranked first statewide in mathematics and earned a sixth-place finish in reading. The tests covered grades three through nine.

DeRuyter credited a collaborative school culture for helping produce those outcomes, praising the administration, teachers and families for working together toward higher academic standards.

“I am very excited about moving forward with the significant successes we’ve had this last year,” he said. “We have a superintendent who is so engaged with our community, our students, and our faculty, and who sees academic excellence at all levels as the goal.”

According to DeRuyter, a major factor behind those improvements has been aggressive pursuit of grants, led by Superintendent Joshua Garrett. He explained that because competitive grant funding is separate from the general operating budget, the district can use those dollars for innovative program development rather than basic overhead.

He went on to say these investments span the educational spectrum. They provide resources to strengthen foundational courses in mathematics, science and language arts, while simultaneously introducing modern classroom tools, including emerging artificial intelligence technologies. 

The district has been awarded a $608,000 state grant of federal dollars to serve as an Alaska pilot site for a virtual-reality based program for middle and high school students learning about healthcare sciences and careers in nursing, emergency medicine, behavioral health, dentistry and community health.

DeRuyter emphasized that preparing students for the future requires varied educational pathways.

A comprehensive public education must support students aiming for four-year degrees as well as those pursuing creative arts or career technical fields. He said he wants the district to establish stronger bridges into vocational trades, helping students graduate as certified electricians, welders, or qualified candidates for regional apprenticeships.

“Our community has a reservoir of skilled tradesmen,” he said, explaining that connecting experienced craftspeople with student vocational training will help expand specialized coursework and overcome staffing limits.