The Wrangell School Board held a somewhat unique meeting Monday evening, March 16. Due to concerns about the Coronavirus, though there have been no confirmed cases in Southeast Alaska as of this date, the board limited attendance to the meeting to a maximum of 10 people. Others interested in attending could sit in nearby rooms and watch the proceedings via livestream. Other than the limitation on how many people could be in the room, the meeting went on much like any other.
During this meeting, the board moved to adopt a budget for FY 2021. Next year's budget has been the topic of many meetings and workshops over previous months. The assembly adopted "option B," out of two potential budgets they were presented with. This budget has revenues set at roughly $5.68 million, and expenses at a little less than $6.08 million. This budget assumes a local contribution from the borough of $583,830, which is slightly lower than last year's contribution of about $610,000. The largest expenses planned for in this budget include "instruction" at $2.88 million, "operations and maintenance of plant" at $780,000, and "district administration support services" at a little less than $587,000.
"I urge you to pass the budget," said Teacher Ryan Howe, addressing the board. "I know you're probably leaning that way, but I just wanted to tell you that your staff would be very appreciative just to have some kind of assurance that something will be normal."
Superintendent Debbe Lancaster said after the meeting that this was not the final form of the budget. The district still needs to determine how much of a local contribution they could expect, and to make revisions once that is set, before sending the budget off for local and state approval.
The school board also approved of a new transportation contract during this meeting. As mentioned in a Jan. 23 story in the Sentinel, the Wrangell School District has contracted with Etolin Bus Company to transport their students in the past. However, company owner Greg McCormack recently announced his intentions to retire. The district decided to sign a new contract with another local business, John Taylor & Sons, to handle the district's transportation needs. The board agreed to a five-year contract, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, at a cost of $1,314.22 per day for multiple bus transportation and $1,182.80 per day of single bus transportation.
A resignation incentive for certified staff was also agreed to during the meeting. Should any certified staff, with 20 or more years of work completed in the district decide to resign from their position, the district will offer them a $20,000 bonus. This incentive is scheduled to take effect on June 30. This was approved by the board unanimously.
During the meeting, the board also approved of a proposal for telecommunications and internet service with GCI, heard a student representative report, and reviewed various other policies.
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