By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
With the end of federal funding for at-school meals in the fall, some Sitka students went hungry in class, Sitka Tribe of Alaska Deputy Education Director Sarah Ferrency said Wednesday night at the School Board meeting.
In response, she said, STA is developing an assistance program for families in need of nutrition.
The purpose of the program “is to support Tribal families so that they’re receiving adequate nutrition during the school day,” Ferrency said. “We had some reports at the beginning of the school year that when lunches went from universally free to paid, there were a few students who came to our attention who were not eating lunch or breakfast because of the increased cost to their families. So we are in the process of launching a program that will pay Tribal citizens’ lunch bills this year.”
The new program isn’t up and running yet, but Ferrency expects the applications will go live within a week. The program should run through the end of 2024, she added.
In December, the School Board voted to make breakfast free to all students for the remainder of the school year, using a $28,704.84 grant from the National School Lunch Program received two months earlier. The prices of school lunches went unchanged, at $4.50 for elementary students and $4.75 for middle and high schoolers, with some students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Turning to the upcoming budget deliberations, the board discussed plans for interacting with state lawmakers in the coming months. District Superintendent Frank Hauser said that in meetings with legislators board members should stress the need for an increase in state funding. State per-pupil funding for school districts has not been increased since 2017.
“Flat funding, while not a cut toward the actual money that’s allocated toward public education, with the increase in inflation it is reduced funding,” Hauser told the board. “And that does have an impact on our schools… We need to see an increase in the base student allocation and foundation formula.”
The board also entertained the possibility of re-establishing strategic planning and curriculum review committees.
In a written report, board member Tristan Guevin said “effective implementation of an organization’s strategic plan requires ongoing monitoring, evaluation and course correction by key stakeholders, and I believe that a restructured SSD Strategic Planning Committee with new written charges is imperative to the School Board’s ability to ensure the strategic plan comes to fruition.”
Guevin said he hoped that a strategic planning group would “develop an inventory of SSD initiatives, teaching and professional development activities, curriculum and instructional materials… (and) provide input on the SSD Strategic Plan’s implementation.”
The committee could meet quarterly, he suggested, and should include a variety of stakeholders in the school district.
Board member Melonie Boord said the board could benefit from spending more time working on issues outside regular monthly meetings.
“I feel like we need more time together to work on things, because at the monthly meetings, I don’t feel like I’m being helpful,” Boord said. “So I’d like more time with you guys to get things done… I would love more time with the different committees.”
Board president Blossom Teal-Olsen supported the idea.
“I’m all for this discussion and I’m eager to hear more ideas and be actively involved in getting the plans in place,” Teal-Olsen said.
The board will meet Jan. 17 at the district office in Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary for a budget work session and on Jan. 19 at Centennial Hall will participate in a joint meeting with the Assembly on fiscal issues.
