FAMILY FUN – Crystal Johns holds her son Zayne , 2, as she follows her son Ezekiel, 4, up an inflatable slide Saturday at Xoots Elementary School during the annual Spring Carnival. The event included games, prizes, cotton candy, and karaoke. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Rep. Rebecca Himschoot says in the discussion on educ [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Song, dance and a cast of school-aged actors will brin [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Don’t talk to people claiming to be from Medicare o [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
The Alaska House of Representatives voted Wednesday to allow comp [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dismissed an appeal filed by [ ... ]
Mr. Whitekeys
In Sitka to Tell
Gold Rush Tale
Sitka Historical Society and Museum will present ‘‘Th [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 17
At 9:08 a.m. a transformer was r [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The threat of major cutbacks to the subsistence socke [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With the first vote on the city budget for fiscal yea [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
In the final day of play in the recreational division City League volleyball [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Three amateur athletes from Sitka were among tens of [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
A proposal to require Alaska schools to keep opioid-overdose-r [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Kobuk River, which flows out of the Brooks Range above [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 16
At 8:07 a.m. a woman [ ... ]
Presentation On
Medicare, SS
SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium and Cynthia Gibson, CFP®, an [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Musicians from Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High scho [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Whether you enjoy scaling mountains, walking in the p [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Two-time Alpine Adventure Run winner Chris Brenk cont [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee expanded a [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS and
CLAIRE STREMPLE
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 15
A protective order was issued at 1 [ ... ]
Chamber Speaker
Event Wednesday
The Chamber of Commerce speaker series will continue noon Wednesday at [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
From high costs and low availability to challenges sur [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A number of participants at Thursday’s community me [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Windfall Funds Go To New Staff, iPads
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka School Board formally accepted its share of the city’s CARES Act and Secure Rural Schools funding at a special meeting Wednesday night, and voted to use it to fill gaps in the district’s staffing and technology needs.
The more than $600,000 in additional revenue from the two sources was not anticipated when the fiscal year 2021 budget was adopted in the spring, and the board immediately applied it to projects and staffing that could not be covered with the original funding available.
The plan approved Wednesday night is to use $400,030 in CARES Act funds to bring in a dozen Americorps volunteers and purchase laptops and iPads for students.
Ensuring that every student in the Sitka schools has access to modern technology remains a high priority, said Interim Superintendent John Holst.
“Everyone’s going to have the same (technology) access, which is a priority,” Holst said at Wednesday’s meeting.
Sitka Tribe of Alaska has also chipped in to cover the cost of new electronic devices for students.
“This is a great partnership with the Tribe,” Holst said in expressing appreciation for the STA’s help.
The $229,035 in Secure Rural Schools funding will be used to fill a counseling position at Pacific High and a full-time physical education teacher at Blatchley Middle School.
District Business Manager Cassee Olin told the board that the technology purchase will be for more than a thousand devices for students to use.
“It’s going to be about a $718,000 purchase that we will be making. And it will actually be for roughly 900 iPads, along with about 400 laptops,” Olin said.
She said the 12 new Americorps workers will bring the district’s total to 17, and they will stay for the full year.
Holst said there may be some difficulty in filling the counselor position at Pacific High, because of the short notice.
“We can go down this road and go ahead and advertise and see if there is anybody out there,” he told the board. “And we will very likely be back in a month or two telling you that we can’t find anyone suitable for this position. . . Be flexible, is my advice.”
“We should push forward and at least put the ask out to see if we can find a counselor,” board member Paul Rioux said.
Board president Amy Morrison agreed, but noted that since the funding allows for only a one-year position, there may be difficulty because of that.
“If we can’t promise them that this will become a full-time position in the school district from here on out, I can see why someone might not want to do that for one year. It’s risky,” Morrison said.
Board member Eric Van Cise concurred, adding that he would like to see a professional social worker at Pacific High.
“I would like to see this exhausted, the possibilities for a licensed professional social worker at Pacific High,” Van Cise said.
The board heard from science teacher Rebecca Himschoot, who voiced her support for a full-time counselor at PHS.
“I’m a little concerned with this direction, there was a long public process saying we need counselors. And there has never been a time like now,” Himschoot said.
In addition to the counselor position at PHS, the board dedicated funding for a full-time PE teacher at Blatchley. Previously, the Blatchley counselor wore two hats, counseling and teaching PE. Holst said that this move will keep the counselor from having to divide time between two roles.
The next scheduled board meeting will be in late July.
In the meantime the school district’s Smart Start Task Force will be working on a plan for the safe reopening of the schools, taking into account the continuing need to protect against the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Holst has said that any plan will likely involve a combination of distance learning and classroom teaching.
Login Form
20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
Photo caption: Sen. Lisa Murkowski talks with students in Karoline Bekeris’ fourth-grade class Thursday at the Westmark Shee Atika. From left are Murkowski, Kelsey Boussom, Laura Quinn and Memito Diaz.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
A medley of songs from “Jesus Christ Superstar” will highlight the morning worship service on Palm Sunday at the United Methodist Church. Musicians will be Paige Garwood and Karl Hartman on guitars; Dan Goodness on organ; and Gayle Erickson on drums.