Kodiak school board gives Damon Hargraves a one-year superintendent contract

The Kodiak Island Borough School District Board of Education voted 4-0 Monday to make Damon Hargraves superintendent under a one-year contract, with a review in March, when the board will decide his longer-term status.

Hargraves had led the district as acting superintendent since the board accepted Dan Brigman's resignation Sept. 28, less than three months into Brigman's tenure, as Alaska News reported Sept. 29. Hargraves took the superintendent's oath of allegiance after the vote, and the district announced the appointment Friday.

Kerry Irons, presiding as vice president, said before the vote that the board chose not to treat the job as temporary and to give Hargraves the full authority of superintendent. She said Hargraves has central office experience as a director but had been assistant superintendent for only three months.

"For that reason, we chose to make this a one-year contract and we included a provision in the contract to re-evaluate Mr. Hargraves in March," she said.

Duncan Fields said the contract is a public document the board worked on for two to three weeks. "I actually think it's below market if you look at across the state of Alaska," he said.

No salary or other terms beyond the one-year length and the March review appear in the meeting agenda, the agenda book, the board's discussion or the district's release.

Fields, Irons, Jesse Mickelson and Jim Pryor voted yes. Mike Litzow was excused. Earlier that night, the board elected Litzow president in his absence, in a reorganization after the Oct. 6 borough election returned Fields and Irons. Fields said the change reflected a long practice of rotating the chair, not dissatisfaction with Irons, who had been president.

Irons said Hargraves has already raised staffing needs created by leaving the assistant superintendent job unfilled, and the board will support him as those needs are identified.

Hargraves has worked for the district since 2011, including as principal of Peterson Elementary and director of federal programs. He was raised in Ketchikan and began teaching in the Bering Strait School District.