Daily Sitka Sentinel

Keet Play Area Falling Short, Board Told

By BRIELLE SCHAEFFER

Sentinel Staff Writer

Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School’s covered play area needs a facelift.

The structure, built in 1988, has reached its lifespan, Sitka School District Maintenance Director Mark Bautista said. But chances of the project being covered by the state are very slim, he said.

Children play at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School this morning in front of the covered play area. The replacement of the structure’s roof is a maintenance priority. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

Bautista spoke at Monday’s School Board meeting, where the board also rearranged its current year budget and took action on a couple of sports and activities issues.

Bautista told the board the $460,000 project to renovate the Keet shelter made it onto the Alaska Department of Education’s capital major maintenance projects list last month, but it’s 64th of 106 projects seeking funding.

The Department of Education ranks projects by need and funds them based on the budget passed by the Legislature. It is requesting $156.7 million from the state for all of the projects. 

This is the third year the play area has made the list but the number keeps dropping in rank.

“There have been times in the past where the state has funded all projects in major maintenance, but with money being tight that is not going to happen,” Bautista said. 

The state funded only five projects last year, he said. 

If it’s not selected this year, he said, he will have to look at the project in a different way. 

“We’ve been very fortunate with the funding we’ve got in the past,” Bautista said. “All of the schools besides Keet Gooshi Heen have been renovated.”

Bautista attended the School Board meeting this week to talk about the district’s six-year plan for capital improvement projects. Those on the list include electric boilers and revamped playground equipment for Keet and Baranof Elementary schools, district-wide LED lighting and paving of school parking lots. 

“Those are the things we are going to shoot for in the near future,” he said.

The boiler projects would save the district money on energy, Bautista said. He’s hoping to be able to remove the Keet boiler funding request because the city is already working on a project to install one at the school. 

For now, it’s a wait and see for the district, Bautista said. 

“It’s really out of our control,” he said.

Budget math

The board had to rearrange funds to balance its budget, as some expenditures were higher than anticipated. 

The board voted to transfer an additional $162,650 from the general fund, bringing the total from that source to $1,328,699.

The transfer makes the bottom line of the 2017 budget $304,700 higher than originally budgeted.

The official student enrollment came in at 1,276, which was 24 fewer than anticipated, which means $243,782 less from the state in per-pupil funding. However, the Sitka schools have enrolled six more intensive-need special education students, which entitles the district to $385,450 more than budgeted. As a result the district ended up with $141,688 more than anticipated in enrollment-based funding from the state.

However, the budget line items for schools and programs, administration, student activities and school board were up. 

School Board member Jennifer McNichol said she would not have voted for an extra strategic planning session for the board had she known it would put costs over budget.

Superintendent Mary Wegner responded it was a necessary expense.

Board development is a “very crucial thing,” she said. “That is an investment in being able to effectively manage the district. ... As much as it makes sense to make cuts it is important to be realistic about needs in the end.”

Big leagues

The board also approved a request allowing the Sitka High baseball team to attend a tournament in Arizona this spring. 

“We tend to be the big fish in a little pond,” Coach Ed Conway said. “We try to get them out of here every once and a while and get them in a nice tournament.”

The team will pay its own way and will not be requesting money from the school district, he explained. 

Responding to the concerns of some School Board members about the classes the athletes would miss by going to the tournament, Conway said:

“This may be the smartest group of baseball players we’ve ever had.”

Activities charge

The board gave unanimous approval to a statement on a new direction for the district’s activities committee:

“Given the documented importance of co-curricular activities in engaging students, as well as their role in contributing to student success, the Sitka School Board will maintain an ongoing Activities Committee. This committee shall meet four times per school year to address the challenges faced in maintaining a strong activities program, including, but not limited to:  funding, travel, eligibility, and equity issues.”

The committee will be made up of principals, teachers, parents, students, district administrators and school board members.