Sitkans will elect two Assembly members, three School Board members and a new mayor, and weigh in on the Assembly’s special election discretion when they vote in the municipal election on Tuesday, Oct. 6.
To help voters make informed decisions, the Sentinel is collaborating with Raven Radio to publish responses from each candidate on questions regarding their backgrounds, and views on key city issues.
School Board candidates’ answers are below. Forums with mayoral and Assembly candidates will be published later this week.
Matthew Potter
Potter, 42, has lived in Alaska since he was 6, and has been in Sitka for about 10 years
He was assistant principal of Blatchley Middle School for four years, then a middle school principal in Seward. He later was assistant principal at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, and spent last year in Oregon as director of a charter school.
Potter and his family returned to Sitka this year when he began working for the nonprofit arm of the Alaska Association of School Boards.
"Even though we've had to move a couple times out of Sitka, we always come back, so Sitka is our home," Potter said in an August interview. He and his wife have one child about to enter third grade, and another soon to enter the school system.
Potter was appointed to the School Board on June 30 to fill a vacancy following a member’s resignation. This is his first time running for public office.
Potter said he decided to run for a full term on the School Board "to make sure that the Sitka School District is the best that it can be – not just for my kids, but for every kid, every student in Sitka. That's what I'm going to try to do if if I get elected for this upcoming three-year term."
Kateri ‘Kat’ Richards
Richards, 53, has lived in Sitka for 24 years, since she moved here in 2002 to work as a traveling nurse.
She is currently on the board – she was appointed June 30 to fill one of the two vacancies created when two board members resigned and moved out of town. Before her appointment, she stepped down as the school district nurse. She owns her own nail tech business, and works for SEARHC as a long-term care clinical nurse educator.
On her decision to run for School Board, Richards said that “as responsible community members, we all need to step up onto some of these boards.”
“It just feels right as a health care professional to take my knowledge that I know from there and try to help out,” Richards told the Sentinel in a July interview, just after she filed. She also ran for School Board in 2014.
Richards and her husband, a school district paraprofessional, have two kids who graduated in 2024 and 2026 from Sitka High.
Phil Burdick
Burdick, 59, has lived in Sitka since 1992. He was elected to the School Board in 2023, and for the last two years has served as board president.
In his 34 years in Sitka, he taught at Pacific High for 15, and was co-principal there for five years. He also was co-assistant superintendent of the school district for five years, before returning to teaching for two years.
He retired in 2022, but maintains his interest in education and the school district. He currently consults with schools, tribes and youth organizations on culturally responsive and trauma-informed education practices.
“Ultimately, education is my passion,” he told the Sentinel in July, when he filed for another term on the board. “If I can’t do it in the classroom, I want to do everything in my power to support those closest to kids: teachers, families and students."
He is married and has two children, one in high school and one college graduate.
Questions from Raven Radio:
1. What’s the biggest challenge the Sitka School District faces today, and how would you address it? Biggest strength?
Burdick: The biggest challenge facing the Sitka District is the same as many districts across the country and every district in the state. We continue to face fiscal uncertainty that forces us to do more with less. We are directed to accomplish mandates with no funding to support our efforts. The only way to address this is to elect officials who understand that public education is the foundation of a stable democracy, a strong economy, and that we need to treat our students, families and staff as the precious resource they are.
The greatest strength in the SSD is our people and our partnerships. We have a dedicated staff and committed community who support our students and families. We have dozens of business and non-profit partners who volunteer and enrich what we can offer.
Potter: The biggest challenge facing the Sitka School District, like many districts across Alaska, is uncertainty around education funding. I would address this by advocating for stable funding, making thoughtful and transparent budget decisions, and keeping the community informed and involved.
The district’s greatest strength is its people—our staff, students, families, and the broader Sitka community. Their commitment to our schools provides a strong foundation for working through challenges together.
Richards: The reality of shrinking financial support of the public school system paired with students that have increasingly complex needs. Honestly, I don’t have a pre-conceived idea of how to address it. I do have the desire to be part of the group that works tirelessly to continue to provide students with quality education while also supporting incredibly talented teaching staff.
Our strength is our community. Peoples want to be involved, as seen by individuals that continue to run and volunteer to be on boards as well as businesses that support fundraisers
2. What’s your budget philosophy for Sitka’s schools? Are there areas you would cut? Spend more?
Burdick: I would like to see a more strategic budgeting process. It’s difficult because of the uncertainty of funding, the timing of the process, and the reactive nature of educational budgeting.
We have already cut all of the fat, most of the meat, and have been gnawing on the bones for the last three years. There is nowhere left.
There is nowhere to spend more. The best we can do is to ensure that we allocate resource to our priorities and our strategic plan.
Potter: My budget philosophy is that school funding is a balancing act, especially when districts are trying to meet growing needs with a shrinking pie. After years of budget reductions, there are no easy cuts left to make, and further reductions will have real effects on students, staff, and programs. I would prioritize what most directly supports SSD’s staff as well as student learning, while making budget decisions that are based on the needs of Sitka’s schools.
Richards: I am not coming in with pre-conceived ideas. I am ready to learn.
3. In your opinion, does the state fund schools adequately? As a school board member, what would you advocate for if tasked with lobbying the Legislature in Juneau?
Burdick: Ummmmmm. Hell no! I would advocate for Rep. Story’s HB 261 that would stabilize funding by using a three-year average count so Districts know how much money they have going into the fiscal year instead of having to guess during the budget process and waiting until the end of the year to find out what the final numbers are.
I would advocate that educational spending be inflation proofed and that it be paid for by a corporate tax structure. We are educating the workforce. The corporations should invest in the human capital that is their future.
Potter: The simple answer is no; the state does not adequately fund its schools. I would advocate for forward funding education and tying the Base Student Allocation to inflation so districts can plan responsibly and funding keeps pace with rising costs. Alaska’s schools should not be used as a political bargaining chip; students, staff, and communities need stable and predictable funding.
Richards: I believe that state funding should match inflation.
4. Monitoring student achievement and developing policies that boost student success is one of the school board’s top responsibilities. What do you see as Sitka’s most urgent area for academic growth? And how would you address it?
Burdick: We need to close the achievement gap. We have talked about it as long as I have been involved in education in the SSD but we have never been able to crack that nut. I honestly don’t know how to address it. For 30 years we have tried policy mandates and goals, programming changes and offerings, professional learning in efficacy and best practice, personnel shifts and department creation and still the gap exists.
Potter: Sitka’s most urgent area for academic growth is to continue to ensure that students are prepared for a rapidly changing world, whether they enter the workforce, pursue career and technical training, or attend college. That means strengthening CTE and hands-on learning while maintaining rigorous academic programs that prepare students for higher education. We must also help students learn to use emerging technologies, including AI, thoughtfully and responsibly, so every graduate leaves school with the knowledge, skills, and adaptability needed to succeed.
Richards: I am looking forward to educating myself regarding student achievement so I may understand the challenges and work with the board and SSD staff to see our students succeed.
5. Across Alaska, school enrollment has been shrinking. While numbers have seen a slight jump in Sitka in the past couple of years, larger trends point to a loss of several hundred students over the past two decades. What steps should the Sitka School District take in response to a shrinking population?
Burdick: We need to make strategic budgeting decisions that reflect the reality of our situation and not simply roll over spending because that’s how we’ve always done it. This is easier said than done because it would rely on a flexible staff who may need to be re-assigned year to year. It’s also not fiscally prudent to simply close a school although we may need to look at how we structure grade bands and programs.
Potter: The district cannot address declining enrollment on its own, but it can be an active partner with the City and Borough of Sitka and other community organizations. We need a coordinated effort to address the issues that make it difficult for families to stay in or move to Sitka, particularly the lack of affordable housing and accessible childcare. Strong schools are also part of what attracts and retains families, so the district must continue offering high-quality programs and clearly communicating the opportunities available to Sitka’s students.
Richards: Again, I look forward to learning the complexity of enrollment and how it impacts funding. It is my understanding that Sitka is not alone in the decreasing student population. I believe working with local administration, as well as networking across the state can increase problem-solving ideas for this challenge.
6. What’s one technology rule you would like to enact in the school district?
Burdick: It’s not a rule but more a guideline. Technology is a tool and we need to teach how to use it responsibly.
Potter: I have not seen that screentime is a problem in any of the schools, however, I believe it is worth discussing age-appropriate limits on screen time during the school day. Technology should be used thoughtfully to support learning while maintaining a healthy balance with hands-on experiences and meaningful interaction.
Richards: Incorporating Ai responsibly. Bringing in and encouraging student to use Ai as an adjunct to their education verses Ai giving answers would be beneficial.
7. How would you work to increase visibility and engagement with the school board?
Burdick: As current Board President, my goal is to have conversations with partners, organizations, and community members to determine what a “Portrait of a Graduate” from the Sitka School District would look like. I would like to start the budget process earlier to ensure community priorities are reflected in our programming.
Potter: I would work to make the board’s decisions and discussions clear, accessible, and easy for the community to follow, asking for input in ways that are convenient, and showing people how their participation can make a difference. Engagement grows when families, staff, students, and community members feel heard.
Richards: Increase social media presence
Questions from the Daily Sitka Sentinel:
1. What should be the role of artificial intelligence in the classroom? Are there uses you would encourage or discourage?
Burdick: AI is here to stay and it has the potential to streamline processes. It is a tool and, like any tool, has its uses and we should teach responsible use of it. However, I think that we need to monitor that we aren’t over-reliant on it through a curriculum that relies on revision, rigor, and relationships. It’s difficult to abuse AI to turn in an assignment when students, peers, and teachers have partnered on a project or paper through multiple revisions.
Potter: AI is here to stay, so we have a responsibility to teach students how to use it appropriately. Decisions about its use may be best made at the school or classroom level based on students’ ages, learning goals, and the type of assignment. I support using AI as a learning tool, while also understanding the value of “old-school” approaches such as handwritten work or technology-free assignments when students need to demonstrate their own thinking and to build foundational skills.
Richards: AI should be embraced and standardized so appropriate use and understanding becomes part of daily routine in the district.
2. What should be the School Board’s role in reviewing curriculum and guiding curriculum development?
Burdick: Board policy is clear that our role is to “adopt a district curriculum which to the extent possible meets the instructional needs of the students while reflecting the desires of the community, the needs of society, and the requirements of law.(BP 6141) Curriculum needs to align to State standards. We recently revised our Curriculum Review Cycle in April which lays out when we will address subjects. (AR 6141) The tricky piece about curriculum development is that it relies on staff who have to do this on top of all their other responsibilities. We don’t have a Curriculum Director as many districts do.There aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the week unless we can fairly compensate teachers for their time and effort. And we don’t have that kind of funding, much less the ability to pay for a new curriculum (if necessary) that could run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Potter: The School Board’s role should be to allocate funding, and approve curriculum purchases through a transparent process. The detailed work of reviewing and selecting curriculum should be led by the teachers, administrators, and other education professionals who understand students’ needs and will use the materials every day. The board should provide oversight and accountability while respecting the expertise of those working directly in our schools.
Richards: I do not have a stance on this as I am on a current learning curve to the education process.
3. What changes for public schools do you hope Alaska’s next governor will enact?
Burdick: You can’t eat a hope sandwich. And to be honest, as detrimental as Gov. Dunleavy has been to education in his eight years in office, the fiscal cliff that education is facing has been building for much longer than his term and he couldn’t have done it without tacit support from the Legislature.
I hope the next Governor restructures the funding process so that Districts know BEFORE the fiscal year starts how much money they have to work with by supporting Rep. Story’s HB 261.
I hope the next Governor decides to pay more than lip service to the phrase “young people are the future” by honoring the work and commitment of teachers and administrators throughout the state by reinstating a retirement plan that allows them to plan for a safe and secure future.
I hope the next Governor pays for the true cost of education rather than deferring it to the next election cycle by funding major maintenance projects that have languished, leaving us with unsafe and sometimes toxic schools.
I hope the next Governor treats students, families, and communities with respect by standing up to those who would tear down the hard work and dedication that all students and educators strive to deliver on a daily basis.
But mostly I hope the new Governor is a decent human being who wants the best for every Alaskan regardless of region, race, or religion by delivering on a promise to make Alaska a safe and welcoming State that holds its citizens accountable, expects high quality work through rigor, and supports us to achieve our goals and dreams. JUST LIKE OUR CLASSROOMS AND SCHOOLS.
Potter: I hope Alaska’s next Governor will make stable, predictable school funding a priority. That means forward-funding education and tying the Base Student Allocation to inflation so districts can plan responsibly and funding keeps pace with actual costs. School funding should be treated as a long-term commitment to Alaska’s students and communities, rather than an annual political bargaining tool.
Richards: State funding becomes more realistic to what is needed to support the infrastructure of buildings, recruiting staff, and needed curriculum to meet the state, federal, and local goals.
