By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka School District announced the names of the four finalists for district superintendent Tuesday, and has scheduled a virtual town hall for Friday, at which the candidates will take questions from the public.
Sitkans have until noon Thursday to email their questions to Timi Tullis (ttullis@aasb.org) of the Alaska Association of School Boards, which aided in the superintendent search for the Sitka School Board.
The finalists are Laura Rogers, a former Sitka High School principal; Frank Hauser, principal of Service High School in Anchorage; Jeffrey Ritchley, a teacher and administrator in upstate New York; and Stephen Vigliotti Sr., an educator in San Francisco, California.
The Sitka school district office said the School Board will interview the candidates on Feb. 19, and make a decision on Feb. 20. John Holst, who has been interim superintendent since the resignation of Mary Wegner last spring, will serve until June 30, when the new superintendent will take over.
Following are details about the candidates released by the School Board:
Frank Hauser was the principal of Service High School in Anchorage and won an accolade as an Alaska Principal of the Year in 2019.
“Hauser brings 23 years of elementary and secondary (middle school and high school) experience with Anchorage School District as a classroom teacher, principal, district administrator and, since 2016, principal of Service High School, one of the largest comprehensive high schools in Alaska.”
Jeffrey Ritchley, has worked as a teacher and education leader in small school districts and specialized in special education, curriculum development, and vocational programs.
“With 20 years service in public education, 7 years as a teacher and 13 as an educational leader, Ritchley cites his positive and successful experience in small school districts, curriculum development, special education, career technical programs, vocational programs, school improvement, building and grounds, and developing positive community relations.”
Laura Rogers’ experience “includes 6 years in Sitka as the principal of Sitka High School and assistant principal at Blatchley Middle School. Additionally, Rogers brings 20-plus years’ experience as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and counseling coordinator in New Hampshire. Rogers cites a proud accomplishment as improving the graduation rate at Sitka High School.”
Finally, the document notes that candidate Stephen Vigliotti Sr. has nearly two decades of experience as a superintendent. The district announcement highlighted Vigliotti’s role in improving schools’ academic achievement.
“Vigliotti Sr. has 18 years’ experience as a superintendent (pre-kindergarten, elementary, secondary) and is recognized for his success in moving ‘Schools in Need of Improvement’ to ‘Schools In Good Standing’ for academic achievement,” the district wrote.
The Friday town hall meeting will be hosted virtually on Zoom 5 to 6:15 p.m. through a link on the district website, sitkaschools.org.
Popular questions submitted by the public prior to noon Thursday will be sorted by topic and the candidates will have a chance to respond at the town hall.
Questions on some subjects are not allowed by federal law and cannot be asked, the School Board news release said. These include questions about birthplace, age, religion or creed, political affiliation, fraternal organizations, marital status or children, and criminal record, unless related to work.
The ground rules for the online session state that stakeholder comments may be submitted anonymously and will be compiled and submitted to the school board in advance. Those who submit questions and comments are also asked to state which of four stakeholder groups they most commonly identify with: Students; Teachers, administrators and staff; Parents and community members; and community partners.
The full agenda for the town hall is available on the district website as well.
