Daily Sitka Sentinel

School Activities Funding Tops Work Session

By SHANNON HAUGLAND

Sentinel Staff Writer

Two members of the Sitka School Board held a work session Tuesday with district staff and members of the public on the challenges of paying for extra-curricular activities at Sitka High, Blatchley Middle School and Pacific High School.

No solutions were reached, but the work session gave the public and the board a few things to think about:

– a ballot question on raising funds for activities.

– organize fundraising on a districtwide level.

– provide funding on a per-student basis, rather than by activity.

One of the major expenses of all activities is travel, and the costs and scheduling associated with it. Travel by air costs more, but students miss less class time. Travel by ferry is cheaper, but kids miss more school.

Costs have also gone up because the number of students participating has increased over the years.

LieuDell Goldberry, SHS activities director, told the dozen people attending the meeting that the number of boys in activities has gone up from 134 in 2005-06 to 174 in 2013-14. The number of girls taking part has gone from 78 to 103 for the same time period.

There are more school-funded activities, too, presently 17 at Sitka High. School activities cost around $600,000  per year. The city funds activities at about $132,000 a year. The rest of the money comes from fundraising and player fees.

Those at the meeting raised other possibilities for saving money on travel by using Allen Marine or Harris Air for travel around Southeast, instead of the ferry system and Alaska Airlines. But both options come with separate challenges, including the need for the district to purchase an extra insurance policy to use the smaller aircraft.

Board member Tim Fulton said the board and the public need to stay engaged in the discussion. If activities advocates want to solve the budget issue through a ballot question, they need to come forward to the board and Assembly with a proposal. He said the board and community need to be creative to solve this issue, since activities seem to keep kids more interested in school.

“We really need to put our heads together,” he said. “We need to keep our kids involved.”

Tim Pike, SHS teacher and parent, said the high cost of activities for families is keeping kids from participating.

“We’ve created a barrier,” he said. “We’re missing a lot of talent, athletic talent ... Those students are not going to come forward because they don’t want a handout... It’s time we ask the community, what do they value. If they value it, are they willing to fund it? If the answer is no we need to clip what we’re doing. If it’s yes, let’s do it.”

Fulton said it wasn’t a popular suggestion when board members pitched it to city leaders.

“It needs to come from you,” he said. “Our community has always supported our schools, and they will probably support this.”

After the work session, District Superintendent Mary Wegner said one of the suggestions that resonated with her was to distribute activities funds by the student, instead of by the activity, an idea brought up by a parent at the work session.

“The other thing is if we could get more ferry service – I don’t know if there’s any capacity to deal with that,” Wegner said.

She said she would like ideas that would somehow lower the burden of fundraising on the individuals, coaches and teams; and distribute the funds in an equitable manner.

Asked whether she would support going to the voters, she said she liked the idea if it was related to more than just activities, since the district has so many financial challenges at this time.

“This is a big, big issue, and it’s going to take us as a community working diligently to fix it,” she said. “Look at what our real needs are, and not just activities. Right now we’re dipping into our reserves to fund the curriculum.”

In other business, the board members heard a presentation from Trillium Learning, a company that sets up projects to engage students in real-life science and technology work with agencies such as NASA.