Ashton wants stronger partnerships with schools

Esther Ashton sees an opportunity to strengthen partnerships between the school district and entities such as the borough and U.S. Forest Service. She is running unopposed for a one-year seat on the school board.

Ashton, 45, is the tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association and had held the position for five years. She's been with the WCA since 2014. She has also served on multiple parent committees and is the chair for the Indian Education Committee.

In the past, she was on the board of directors for a women's shelter in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and volunteered with that city's chamber of commerce.

Collaboration and communication are the two areas she wants to see changed during her time on the school board.

"I would like to see increased communication between the school board, the administration, the parents and the community," Ashton said. "I'd like to see more partnerships and collaboration with other entities in the community."

Ashton also wants to promote the longevity of staff, "retaining those important staff members."

She would also like to see more family involvement in school activities. She said the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the ability for families to be involved in their children's educational activities for safety reasons.

"I'd like to encourage a change for the ability for more family involvement, but safely," Ashton said.

She'd also like to see an increase in cultural components within the school curriculum.

Above any other issues, Ashton believes the budget is the most pressing challenge.

"I see the budget as the largest challenge, which is one of the reasons I decided to run because I feel like as the tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association, we partner so well with different entities in the community and we have access to pots of funding that other entities might not have access to," she said. "We have some great collaborative movement with the city, with the Forest Service, and I think bringing the schools in to collaborate with the tribe to find additional funding and help with the budget is just going to be really beneficial."