By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
In the wake of Frank Hauser’s announcement that he will resign as district superintendent, the Sitka School Board voted Thursday to conduct a one-week search for an interim replacement and take up the matter again in six days.
After voting to accept Hauser’s resignation as of June 30, the board heard comments from district staff members and others about the process of hiring a replacement.
The resignation and related issues took the first hour and a half of a special meeting at Centennial Hall that had been scheduled for a public hearing on the fiscal year 2024 school budget, which now stands $2.8 million short of funding programs at their present level.
Teachers, administrators and board members joined in a discussion of hiring a new superintendent.
Board member Tristan Guevin proposed a fast search for an interim superintendent who would be ready to step in when Hauser leaves.
“I’d probably want to limit it to the week and do a special meeting next Thursday, to tack onto our work session… If we’re going to get someone, we’re probably going to get someone pretty quickly,” Guevin said. “It’s going to be someone who has that superintendent experience or has some experience in Sitka internally… We’re out looking, advertising (for an) interim for a week, and then be ready to kind of hit the ground running in a week’s time, if we don’t find the candidate that we want.”
He said it could be difficult this late in the year to find a new, long-term superintendent.
“Timing wise, we’re in this zone where it’s not as early as we would like it to be,” he said. “But it’s also not absolutely too late or we’re not too far along in terms of the year to get some good candidates”
There is a desire within the community for a long-term replacement, board president Blossom Teal-Olsen said.
“From the feedback from the community that I have received, from the feedback that I’ve heard from the district, the consensus is there is no rush,” she said. “And I want to stay true to the community and how they feel. And I, ultimately, would like to find a candidate that will be long-term committed to the community, integrated into the community.”
The school district has had three superintendents since 2019: Mary Wegner, interim superintendent John Holst, and Hauser.
Sitka High School’s student representative on the board, Felix Myers, was concerned the board might create new problems by hiring an interim superintendent instead of going for a long-term replacement immediately.
“We might be going into the process of looking straight for interim a little too soon,” Myers said. “I think the main reason for this is that I know the teachers are wanting to negotiate their contract with the next superintendent… They want to make sure that this negotiation happens with someone who’s not going to leave the next year… Making sure that when those negotiations happen with someone that’s going to stay in our community long-term, because that’s what they want to look for – somebody who could stay long term.”
District staff members echoed this sentiment in public testimony.
Pacific High School principal Mandy Summer said she wants stability in district leadership.
“In the past four years, our administrative team has worked with three different superintendents. And every time we work with a new superintendent, it’s like two steps forward, one step back,” she said. “There’s on-boarding, there’s getting used to a new way of doing things… It also feels like we’re rushing into an interim decision, and not taking the time to even look for someone who could potentially be long-term.”
Blatchley Middle School principal Ben White asked the board to hire someone with classroom and administrative experience.
“Please ensure that there’s a well known, well advertised process in place that allows opportunities for shareholders to be heard, staff, students, families, et cetera. Also, when considering applicants, please consider prioritizing two key factors: the candidate having multiple years of actual classroom-level teaching experience, and having multiple years of building-level administrative experience,” White said.
Blatchley language arts teacher Alexander Allison agreed, calling for “a premium placed on significant experience as both a classroom educator and a building level administrator, as those are key to understanding the levels of support needed to keep a district on the same page… Prioritize hiring somebody who is fully invested in living in and being a member of our community, year round with their whole family,” Allison said. “And last, please, to restore good faith between the district office staff and faculty – which has been compromised throughout the course of the current administration – we should prioritize hiring business office employees who are professionally qualified for their positions.”
Sitka High band teacher and former School Board member Andrew Hames cautioned it would be hard to select a permanent replacement by the end of June. “My concern is that that would be a really fast process and it would be a lot on you all,” he said. “Really just remember the months-long (process) and the multiple meetings that we had (when hiring Hauser). I want to make sure that process is as thorough as can be.”
Hauser supported the advantages of having a temporary replacement as superintendent.
“One of the benefits of having an interim is you are able to have somebody in most cases that has experienced being a superintendent, that has gone through the budgeting process that has dealt with staffing issues that can help provide and guide and lead the district through some of those challenges that come through that.”
Following the discussion, the board voted 4-0 to seek an interim superintendent over the next week until the board’s next special meeting on Thursday, Feb. 16. Felix Myers cast a dissenting vote although as student representative he is not a voting member of the board; his vote is advisory.
Budget Briefing
The board next heard a presentation about the $2.8 million shortfall the district faces in the upcoming fiscal year. The base student allocation – the state’s per-student funding – has remained almost static since 2017, Hauser said, though costs have risen.
“Even with enrollment numbers decreasing over time, per-pupil expenditures are increasing over time due to increased fixed costs and inflation,” the superintendent said. “Perfect example is custodial services, transportation and health insurance costs continue to go up while funding from the state has remained flat.”
At present, the BSA is $5,930 per student. It will increase to $5,960 in FY24, but the extra $30 is far from the amount needed, school officials say.
“It would require a base to an allocation increase of just under $900 to essentially break even and potentially even put a few thousand in the bank accounts,” Hauser said.
The Legislature may increase the BSA, but the district can’t count on it to balance the budget now being prepared for 2023-24, Hauser said,
“The board has to have an adopted, balanced budget to the Assembly by May 1, per statute. And so if we do not see the base student allocation increase before the April 20 meeting, when we will be having conversations and finalizing our budget for FY24, we will still have to address that budget deficit and make some pretty tough decisions… To submit a balanced budget to the Assembly we have to have it based on the current money that we know that we’re getting,” Hauser said.
While the city government is supportive of local schools, he added, a reduction in Sitka’s assessed property value caused a $240,000 drop in the maximum amount the Assembly can provide for schools in FY24.
That cap is “about $240,000 lower because of just the assessed property values. And that’s just the way that it is,” he told the Sentinel after the meeting. “But the city and the Assembly have been great,” he added. “And they’ve told us that they would fund the cap, it’s just a matter of that cap (being) lower. And it’s just having an impact on us.”
At present, the district faces a $2,794,211 shortfall for FY24, or around 12 percent of the amount needed to keep programs at present levels. After years of deficits and cuts, Hauser said, important programs could be on the chopping block.
“People have to understand that there is no fat. I mean, we’re lopping off limbs right now when it comes to where we’re at. And that really comes down to what is our single most important resource for educating our kids – and that is our staff,” Hauser said.
Felix Myers, a senior at Sitka High, was concerned for the future of education in the state.
“It is deeply worrying, what we’re seeing right now with education, what the possibilities are if this (BSA increase) doesn’t happen,” the teenage board representative said.
Board member Todd Gebler called for public support for the funding needed to keep the schools operating properly.
“Without proper funding, School Board members are going to be cutting programs, cutting teachers and cutting everything. There’s no more low-hanging fruit to cut,” he said.
Concluding the meeting, Hauser painted a difficult picture of education in Alaska.
“We are at a critical juncture in public education in the state of Alaska. And that juncture really rests on that base student allocation,” Hauser said. “We talk about teacher retention and recruitment, we talk about mental health, we talk about being able to have benefits… One thing that all of them will be impacted positively is if there’s an increase in the base allocation. With an increase in the base student allocation, we can continue to keep the counselors in the schools, and social workers in the schools. And with an increase to the base allocation, we can continue to look at providing support and stability for our staff.”
