Mat-Su School Board: September 2, 2026 - MSBSD School Board Meeting

Good evening everyone. I will call to order this regular meeting of September 2nd, 2026. Welcome you all for attending in person. Thank you. And I'll ask Member Larson to determine a quorum, please.

Member Colleen. Here. Uh, Member McCollin. Present. I'm also here on the phone.

Uh, that's Mr. Larson. Uh, Mr. Brooks.

Present. Um, Board Member Cruz.

Present. Board Member Burgie. Present. And Board Member Shane has been excused. Uh, you have a quorum.

Thank you. And Member Larson has also agreed to read the board goals tonight. Thank you.

Thank you. And that's who— Susanna Borough School District vision, mission, and goals. Vision: Matsue Borough School District will be a model of excellence in teaching, learning, and engaging all students. Mission: Matsue Borough School District prepares all students for success. Goals: Number 1, improve academic excellence through merit and 2, develop excellent educators and leaders.

3, Use innovative practices to improve the education system. 4, Base all decisions on the needs and the best interests of students, parents, and community. 5, Promote safe and healthy environments. 6, Ensure equity of opportunity and fair treatment. Thank you.

Thank you. And now we'll invite you to join us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please.

Thank you. And now we will recognize a moment of silence.

Thank you. Um, we're on item 1.2, approval of the agenda. May I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda?

I move to approve the agenda. Second. Second. Is there any objection to approving the agenda?

No objection. No objection.

No objection. Seeing none, the agenda is approved. We're at item 2, red administrative reports. All right, uh, slightly different approach. You know, we normally have students.

We had kind of a last-minute cancellation of a group that's going to come at a later time, so we reached out to one of our newest teachers in one of our exciting new programs, a hybrid class. Um, we have Kristen Cook with us who's going to talk to us about her culinary arts hybrid program. So welcome, and you have to push the button and it will turn green, and then the floor is yours. Okay, good evening. Uh, yep, I'm Kristen Cook, and I was just recently hired from the industry.

I've owned a restaurant for 11 years now, but I've been in the culinary or hospitality restaurant industry for about 20 years. So the hybrid culinary classes are brand new, so it's pretty fun with me being brand new as well. So we're all learning. That I have students from Palmer and from Wasilla who are there full-time, and then I have some students who are homeschool who just come in for the afternoon classes. Uh, it's kind of fun because they're longer periods because it's actually a 2-block class, so I'm able to get a lot more done.

And then they're also doing some online work, so whereas it's typically a semester for Culinary 1, I'm going to be able to go from Culinary 1 to Culinary 2 with these classes, and so they'll be able to get a full credit. Um, some of the things we're going to learn are across the board. We started with popcorn and we're going to pizzas and cookies, and so we're learning baking and we're learning different cooking methods and knife skills. And then I'm able to connect with some of my previous chefs that I knew through the industry and different distributors, and so I'm having them come in and actually help us do labs and bring some products that are theirs, and so that they can share with us as well.

Am I supposed to advance your slides, or do—. No, I don't think there is any. I didn't know it was a quick one. You have any questions? I, I would like to ask a quick question.

So thank you for taking this on after your retirement, and, um, and And it is so fantastic to have people that are straight out of industry into teaching. And I really appreciate that you're doing this.

How do you see the facilities that you're working in as adequate or inadequate, or what would you say? Well, Palmer has a—. Not like your own kitchen, probably, but—. Well, they're actually nicer probably than my own kitchen or the kitchen at Gravetab. Um, Palmer Kitchen is beautiful.

It has been loved, and, uh, the program was going for many years, so they have a lot of the really cool things. They have all the supplies I need. Um, the Wasilla Kitchen, it's been a while, and so there's definitely some repairs that need to be done, but the kids are excited, and they're just going forward and using what they have at their disposal, and we're just kind of making it happen.

Thank you for that. Is there any other question or comment?

Member Larson, is your hand up? Are you just—. So how's it going to actually work, the hybrid class? Are you going to have a percentage of kids in there, or how many you're going to have at one time? So I think that's still being worked out on the district level.

Uh, right now I asked them to cap the class around 20 because I'm new and I only have, um, at Wasilla I really only have about 4 kitchens that are kind of usable, and so maybe 5 kitchens, and I don't want too big of groups in there. And so the Wasilla program right now is, I think we have about 18 students, so that's where I want to cap it for now. Now in the future it could be bigger depending on the resources and if we're able to update some of the—. What grade level? What's that?

What grade level? Of course, are you going to have—. Nope, you're good. Juniors and seniors. Just juniors and seniors?

Yes, because then on their off days they're doing online work. The colony arts, in my opinion, are very, very important. Um, I knew, uh, well, two kids who, um, when my children were going to school, that went in, they didn't have a real culinary arts. They had some. They ended up working in a restaurant, uh, first as a dishwasher and working themselves up, and they're both fabulous cooks now.

And that's what, what you're teaching is a lifetime skill, even if they don't go into the field. So absolutely. And we focus a lot on the industry, so I definitely talk about the industry standards and what I used to do a lot at my restaurant or different restaurants I've worked in. And so we do focus a lot on that. But every now and then, I'll say, well, when you're at home, you could do it this way.

But if you're in a restaurant, this is how you need to do it. So we do focus and we talk about the employability and the industry standards. Yeah, because it's funny, a cook in a restaurant does cook at home too. So there is a—. Well, we're supposed to.

We're supposed to. All right, thank you. Thank you.

Member Kohli. So is the, the goal to have all students enrolled, um, just from an interest standpoint, or is the end goal to have students who really want to get into the culinary arts moving forward into their career post-high school?

I definitely have both students right now, so I think one of the things I've talked to them about is even if right now you say you don't want to, it's a job that could go with you anywhere in the world. And so it kind of goes back to what Mr. Larson said, that it's a, it's a skill that not only is a life skill at home and for your future, but something that you could kind of fall back on even if it's not what you want to do right now. So with that said, would there be like different interest levels of teaching? How can I say that? Um, like different teaching levels to gear to those who want to go right into the culinary arts post-high school versus those who are there just—.

So I, if I can chime in, if you don't mind. I'm Tyler Gilligan, Director of Current Technical Education. So So we try to cater all of our classes to provide the opportunity for students to engage in a certain content area. And then if they want to pursue it past that, then we provide advancement opportunities through our— right? So a Culinary 1, Culinary 2, Culinary 3, et cetera.

We try to aim at industry standards across the board. So it's great that we're providing the life skill. That's the goal as well, because any student who's going to take any of our classes should walk away with something with also the opportunity to tie into industry.

That's kind of the overall goal. And then we differentiate that instruction inside of the classes. And so if maybe a student, uh, is really going to be passionate about something within the culinary arts, our instructors are able to differentiate and maybe, uh, provide that emphasis for them built into that course. That answer your question? Yes, thank you.

Perfect. Yeah, I think with that as well that we're trying to partner with some community, um, activities as well. So you're going to have your students who really want to kind of go forward in the culinary arts, they're probably going to be the ones that volunteer to go into those community projects.

So thank you, thank you, and thank you, Mr. Gilligan, for using the word cater. I did notice that when you're talking about culinary. Nice job. And industry standards, that's really important in all those career tech classes. Thank you.

All right, we're on persons to be heard on non-agenda items, and Member Larson is doing our clerk duties today, so he'll do the, the persons to be heard.

Okay, the speaker— this is a persons to be heard on non-agenda items. The speak— uh, the speaker states his or her name For the record, the speaker is limited to 3 minutes per meeting. The speaker is limited to non-agenda items. The speaker's comments should be appropriate for all audience, including school-aged children. The speaker is limited to comments of a general nature, positive or negative, which may not be attributed to any specific individual.

Issues involving and concerning specific to any single individual should be submitted in writing and given to the board clerk to be resolved. No disruptive or disturbances or willful interruptions of the board meeting shall be permitted. Pursuing by an individual or group shall be grounds for the chair to terminate the privilege of addressing the meeting. The board may remove disruptive individuals and order the room cleared if necessary. This is not a question and answer time.

Speakers may be referred to the superintendent or designee, or the board may take the issue up under advisement, maximum of 1 hour per meeting. Uh, the first person is Stephanie, uh, Yudi. I really butchered it, and I apologize.

Okay, good evening. My name is Stephanie Yudi, and for all transparency, I've been an employee of the district since fall of 2010. Most recently as the librarian at Cottonwood Elementary. But I am speaking as a mom, if I can. 2 And a half years ago, Nurse Chappelle was a godsend.

January of '24, during her third grade year, our youngest daughter Lennox was admitted to the hospital and had her carefree childhood ripped away from her and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is just one of the many chronic illnesses that are in our schools. The average type 1 diabetic makes anywhere from 180 to 300 related decisions every day. There are There are at least 42 factors that affect your blood sugar, anywhere from the type of food you eat to whether it's a carb, a fat, a protein, how much fiber is in your meal, what order are you eating your food. Uh, 2, I got very little sleep last night due to a low blood sugar and had to be woke up to eat something.

The weather affects your blood sugar. Sometimes just waking up and standing upright affects your blood sugar. Instead of being horizontal, it can make your blood sugar rise. Emotions, stress, anxiety, debating, uh, depending on your own personal biological makeup. You can have high blood sugars because of that, or you could have low blood sugars because of that.

Girls, menstrual cycles, hormones affect blood sugar and the amount of insulin you need to take. If you end up with high blood sugar, you need more insulin than normal, but how much of it varies by person. It is a very personal thing based on your biological makeup, on, on the way that your body responds to this chronic illness. I joke that also it depends on which way the wind is blowing because that's how it feels sometimes. But blood sugar is more than a number.

With those highs and lows comes a wide range of emotions and side effects. Feeling hyperactive, being unable to focus, feeling dizzy, lethargic, grumpy, irritable, which is definitely not conducive to learn anything academic. She's moved on to middle school to a building that I am not in, but I had heard amazing things about Nurse Karen at Teeland.

Our transition has been bumpy. But Karen has been amazing at making me feel confident that somebody is looking out for my child. We talk every day. While in middle school, they try to have students become more independent. She's still a child though, and it takes much— we want to take the load off of her so she can be a kid and not have to hold the entire load of her chronic illness.

Unfortunately, because of the future of school nurses are facing and forward, there's— Karen is moving to a different position Outside of the school district, T-Lin is suffering a dramatic blow and there is no solid plan for chronically ill with life-changing and really childhood-sucking diseases. All of that. I know, solution-oriented. If there's a committee formed, please include parents of chronically ill students. Money is an issue for everyone.

It's a hard call, but I do feel there are certified positions and buildings that should come second to student health.

Miss Udy, would you mind submitting your written paper? Thank you.

Thank you. Somebody that's been around as long as me, Michael Carson.

Good evening. Michael Kersen. This is from the state of Alaska, an executive proclamation by the Governor Mike Dunleavy. Suicide Prevention Week. Whereas protecting the health and wellness of all Alaskans is essential to ensure a stronger future for our families and communities.

Suicide is the most tragic consequence of mental and emotional illness and distress and remains the leading cause of death in Alaska, occurring twice the national average. Whereas Alaska experiences high rates of many high-risk factors associated with suicide, including previous attempts, substance misuse, feelings of hopelessness and sadness, isolation, and access to lethal means, physical and sexual abuse, history of mental health disorders such as clinical depression, lack of access to mental treatment services, chronic pain and serious physical illness, and incarceration. Whereas individuals of all ages are at risk for suicide, making it vital for all Alaskans to recognize the warning signs and take action when concerned about a family member or loved one. Whereas mental illness and suicide are often stigmatized, discouraging those in peril after seeking help they need. Therefore, we must work to break the stigma and ensure every individual is treated with respect and compassion.

Whereas the State of Alaska is committed to supporting those in need, equipping agencies, personnel to provide effective relief and care through the Alaska Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, which provides outreach and education, and the Alaska Division of Behavioral Health community-based suicide prevention program, which supports communities promoting resilience training and basic prevention techniques. Whereas if you believe someone is struggling, the right thing to do is ask A, ask if they are thinking or ending their life. S, share. Share that you care. Keep them company until you connect with a Caroline Alaska Other Suicide Resources or someone they trust.

Thereby, Michael Dunleavy, Governor of State of Alaska, hereby proclaims September 13th through the 19th as Suicide Prevention Week. In Alaska, encouraging all Alaskans to take the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to community, family, and life, and reach out to those who are struggling with thoughts of depression. May I—. Karen Ingram.

I try not to get emotional too, but first I want to thank you. Um, I truly do. I know you guys are all in a really difficult position. Um, but I also want to say something respectfully, and I don't think you are being painted the complete picture of what it looks like from the inside of our schools. I absolutely agree that the MSBSD nursing and health services need to be reviewed.

We should always be looking at ways we can do better, more efficiently, and more sustainable. But reviewing a service and identifying it as a budget line to cut are two very different things, because the health and safety of our children should not be a safety line.

I think the reason parents and staff are so upset is because we are seeing a mismatch that may be visible from the outside. The growing health and needs and acuity of our students are growing. The workload nurses are carrying and the gaps in training in our systems and the level of responsibility are being placed on one nurse currently. So before decisions are made, I'm asking you to have did you know moment. Did you know that nurses are actually managing the inside of all of these schools every day?

Did you know how much happens behind the scenes and never makes it onto that budget spreadsheet? And if we are talking about school safety, including increased security measures and gun policies, then why aren't we also looking at the health safety? Who is there when a child has a seizure, anaphylaxis, a diabetic emergency, cardiac event, serious injury, or any other medical crisis? Not asking you to protect a job. I'm asking you to make sure that you are making these decisions with the whole picture.

Before we cut, let's look inside. Before we restructure, let's measure the actual workload and risk. And before we remove those safety nets, let's understand what that safety net is holding up, because our children deserve to be safe, not just on paper, but in the reality of their school every day. Thank you.

That's the end of the list.

Come on up.

Thank you. Um, good morning. Uh, no, sorry, I did this, uh, before. Good afternoon— good evening, um, everyone. Um, hi, Mary Dewar, speech-language pathologist for the district.

Um, and I don't have anything other than some chicken scratches here, but I felt it was really important to be here. So starting a new school year, lots of changes since the last time I was here. Um, 3 schools closed. I was at Meadow Lakes, now I'm at Cottonwood Creek. I'm happy to be there.

Um, but you know, lots of changes to get used to, and we also have new special education administrators, and you know, we appreciate that. Um, you know, everyone's starting with a fresh page. Um, but I, I was assured by them that the SEET meetings, the special education education team, that those meetings will continue. And Ms. Gardner, I would like to thank you for what you did last year, coming in and speaking at one of those meetings to explain the budget to them. I think that was really important.

Um, and I just want to ask each of you to please come to one of these meetings. I don't know if they've set a date yet. It's—. There's once per quarter, but I really think it's important for you here making important decisions to come to one of these meetings to hear the parents of students that are really impacted, almost more so than other students that, you know, that might be in the general education setting. Um, and I'm going to make the same request to the Matsu assembly members that they attend one of these, um, SEAT meetings.

Um, okay, well, 121. Okay.

Um, yeah, please, please be thoughtful, as I know you are trying your best to make decisions in what isn't necessarily green pastures. But anyway, thank you for what you're trying to do. I continue to ask you to please push the assembly. Mr. Larson, I appreciate what you did last year with, you know, pushing for that. So thank you.

I will continue to recommend our community please push and state level. And, you know, it'd be great if they fully funded IDEA. You can speak to Senator Sullivan about that and Senator Murkowski about that. Anyway, okay, and our school nurses, uh, really there needs to be one school nurse per building. I work with students that have feeding and swallowing issues, at risk to choke, and, um, yeah, there's many of them in, in most of the schools.

So I can speak separately on that at another time, but anyway, so thank, thank you for what you're able to do.

Is there anyone else in the audience who would like to speak on non-agenda items? Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to borough and city reports.

Uh, there are no borough and city reports. Okay, item 5, consent agenda. The consent agenda consists of the minutes from August 19th, 2026, our regular school board meeting and the minutes from August 20— or sorry, sorry, August 19th, 2026. Maybe I said that. And the minutes from August 26, 2026 work session.

May I have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda? I make a motion, uh, to approve the consent agenda of minutes of August 26, 2026 work session. August 26, 20— 26 in the minutes. And what else? Oh, in the minutes.

That's it. Thank you. Second.

Sorry, is there any objection to approving the consent agenda? No objection. No objection.

No objection. Okay, seeing no objection, the consent agenda has passed. And now we have public comment on action or non-action items. I have, uh, no list for anybody on action or non-action items. Okay, all right, seeing none, we'll move on to item 7, which is action items.

And today at item 7.1, we have the second reading of BP 9321, Executive Session. May I have a motion and a second? Make a motion, uh, for BP 9321 revision for, uh, bylaws of the board.

Second.

Yeah, I'll make a correction. It's the second reading for BP 9321 executive session. Do we have an executive session? I'm, I'm sorry, I was reading at the top bylaws of the board executive session. I, I apologize for that.

Thank you. And do we have an administrative report? Um, so I'm not sure if our folks online have access to this.

Yeah, yep. So, uh, yesterday in the, in an email you should have received, uh 2-page kind of a response to some of the questions that we had posed to our legal counsel about, you know, was, was, were these changes consistent with law. And so it's, we have a paper copy here for you 3 folks who are here. We're happy to try to answer questions if you have any about these, and we do have legal counsel here later tonight too.

Member Larson. I'd like to make a friendly motion, uh, to, uh, to change, uh, under, under the executive, under the section that says unless determined otherwise by the board, I think an asterisk at the bottom or somewhere it should say the majority of the board, not the board, just to clarify that.

Okay, I'll second that motion. Is there anyone opposed?

Anyone online opposed? Not opposed. Not opposed.

Okay, I heard the—. I heard the other one too. So, okay, so that, um Motion to amend is passed. Do we have any further discussion on this item?

Okay, seeing none, uh, we'll vote on item 7.1, the second reading of BP 9321 revisions.

We have to—. Okay.

President McCauley. Yes. I also vote yes. Uh, I apologize, uh, Mr. Pritchard, I called you, uh, Board Member Brooks. Board Member Pritchard, your vote?

Yes. Board Member Cruz?

Yes. Board Member Berge?

Yes. Board Member McCauley?

Yes. Okay, thank you. Item 7.1, second reading BP 9321 executive session, has passed. Item 7.2, major maintenance prioritized projects list approval. We have a motion and a second.

I make a motion of major maintenance prioritized, uh, project list and approval.

Second. Okay, and we have a report. Thank you. Good evening, board members. Um, in, uh, bringing forward the prioritized projects list for the major maintenance request, we wanted to provide some context.

The board had had some questions earlier this year, and we thought it was just important to review some specific information regarding our facilities and how this major maintenance prioritized list, uh, is created and prioritized. And so, uh, first, um, I think, uh, it's just important to understand a little bit more about the size of our operation in terms of the facilities. So when we look at all of the buildings that are owned by the borough and operated by the school district, the total value of all of those facilities is in excess of a billion dollars. So when we think about the funding that is requested and set aside and used in support of those facilities, we really are a billion-dollar organization. Uh, unfortunately, our total current deferred maintenance costs at this point in time, uh, is in excess of $400 million.

We have over 3 million square feet, uh, of, uh, facility space in all of our facilities, both schools, the administration, the warehouse. 45 Facilities in total. In addition, throughout the district there are about 110 portable buildings being used for primarily classrooms and instructional spaces. Our two oldest buildings in the district— I probably should have set this up as a quiz to see if anybody would have guessed— um, the original structures for Palmer Junior Middle School and Swanson were both constructed in 1953 and are the oldest original buildings that are still currently in operation, though both have seen major renovations since that point in time. And the average age of our facilities is, uh, almost 35 years.

So, uh, just with some interesting context as we look at, uh, major maintenance within our district, I wanted to reiterate, and we've talked about this in the past, that this is really a shared responsibility. Uh, the school district has a share, and the borough also has an important share. The school district is primarily responsible for custodial services, preventative maintenance, and minor maintenance, um, where the statute outlines that the borough has responsibilities for new school construction, uh, which we've seen a lot of in Matsu over the last decade, and also for major maintenance projects.

Funding for these projects really comes from four primary places. The first on this list, not necessarily the first in any kind of order, is the state does have a grant program where they allocate funds for construction and major maintenance across districts in Alaska. We annually submit projects through this grant application process. It is an excessive amount of work. There is a lot of detail that goes into it.

We've seen our projects score better as we've put additional time and effort and strategy into those applications. Unfortunately, we have yet to receive any funding from the state of Alaska for either construction or major maintenance projects through this grant process. Something we've talked a lot about at the board level and have some conversations with our state legislative delegation. I think it's probably time for the state to really look at that program. I think it's due for an overhaul, but we continue to pursue this funding and do our due diligence to try to secure funds and support of the facilities that we oversee.

Uh, in addition, there are general obligation bonds for schools. I know the board's very familiar with these. Um, we're going to talk a little bit more about those general obligation bonds. We just had, uh, a bond passed in, I think, 2024 in support of 3 new school facilities. Before that, we had a bond in 2012 that I've got some summary information on.

Uh, but this is primarily how our new school facilities are, uh, paid for, as well as how we have spent, uh, almost $50 million in support of major maintenance over the last decade. Uh, new to funding major maintenance projects is the partnership that we've had with the Matsu Borough to designate funds as part of their capital improvement project. Uh, and so what we're asking the board for approval for tonight would be to submit the prioritized list to the borough through this funding source, through this line item. And then in addition, the school district, as we've had funds available either at the end of a year or funds available for one-time purposes, we do have an internal CIP fund, and we have done both major and minor maintenance projects through that funding source.

So as we look at the general obligation bonds, just for a little bit of context in history about what funding has been provided in 2025— I was a year off Uh, the, uh, voters approved $58 million in support of 3 new schools. Uh, as we know, uh, one of those projects, uh, is not moving forward with construction as it's relocated into, uh, the former Larson Elementary School building. Uh, before that 2025 $58 million project, there was a, uh, 2012, uh, $214 million bond project that was passed. Uh, that project included the construction of 5 new school facilities 5 athletic field installations, and also $47.9 million for major maintenance in schools across the district. Uh, since that time, we have not had a bond to support any major maintenance.

It has all been done through, uh, local efforts, both by the borough and the school district.

One of the questions that I believe Member Larson asked, uh, a few meetings ago was for a summary of what has been provided for from the borough for their capital projects. And we really have two separate, uh, summaries here. The first, the $4.4 million, uh, are the projects that have been approved at the board's request. So these are the projects since 2024 that the board has approved a prioritized list. We've provided that prioritized list to the borough, and the borough has set aside funding of a certain level, uh, to work through these projects.

And these are clearly major maintenance projects, primarily they're boiler replacements, upgrades. We've had one septic system replaced, uh, a lot of work on elevators, and some work on HVAC controls. In addition, the borough has set aside, uh, a little over $6 million on other projects outside of this CIP request. Uh, there were 2 locations that had boiler replacements and repairs that occurred. Uh, access road improvements, uh, has been something that has been worked on, and then there were water system replacements that happened at 3 locations.

Um, in addition, there's a, a large project that is going on this year to replace the siding at Iditarod Elementary School. Uh, so those are some of those supplemental projects that have happened. Um, with borough funds outside of that prioritized list. Of course. So the $6 million in supplemental projects, uh, when did that happen?

The other one says since 2024, or is— are they both since 2024? Uh, I believe the supplemental projects is maybe since 2023, so it's a very similar timeline. The most expensive project on the list, uh, is, uh, the Iditarod siding replacement, which is about $2 million.

Okay, thanks.

Uh, in addition, we wanted to provide a summary since 2022 to show some of the internal CIP projects that the school district has used operational dollars to help support. Uh, these have been things like access control additions, building safety and security upgrades, both for cameras, uh, locking vestibules, uh, those kinds of things. Uh, we've had interior renovations and repairs. Primarily these will be flooring replacements. Um, exterior renovations— these might be windows or siding that need to be repaired.

And then also parking lot, uh, repairs and upgrades, both crack sealing, striping, uh, and, uh, larger scale paving projects have occurred, uh, in all of these locations. So, uh, the school district certainly does also contribute, uh, and set aside funding in support of maintaining our facilities.

And then I think finally we wanted to make sure that we talked about the, the current debt service schedule. Uh, this is, uh, an excerpt from the borough's, uh, adopted budget. The original, uh, plan for setting aside funding in support of major maintenance was to, as debt fell off this schedule, we would replace, uh, funds on a one-time basis to support CIP. So you can see that from '26 to '27, there's about $3 million in debt service, and that primarily most of that debt service really starts to fall off in 2032. And the 2012 megabond completes its debt repayment schedule in 2035.

In 2036, those $2 million, uh, projects that go through are all for the new schools, uh, that were approved in 2025. So we'll continue to keep an eye on the debt service schedule, and as resources become available, continue to work with the borough to make sure that, uh, these are resources that are available in support of school major maintenance.

Member Larson. Yep. Yeah, going, um, going back to, uh, the, uh, what the borough is, is, uh, giving there. And, um, what's kind of amazing to me is, uh, it, uh, the four 4.4 million and the 6.1 million, that's come out of tax money. And I'm not sure what the difference between that and bonding, because that comes out of tax money.

The reason I'm saying that is, is not most of this 4.4 million upgrades emergency upgrades, whereas they will, you know, virtually, uh, like boilers and septic systems and HVAC and elevators were failing And that's what I'd like to see us get ahead of instead of— and same with the boiler replacements on the $6.1 million. The access roads, I think, was for the new schools, and the water system replacement is also failed system. So what we're working on, on the, uh, $400 million that we have out there, is when something fails, we fix it. But we don't do any preventive maintenance at all because, uh, we haven't been able to get a— or we haven't developed a, a bond for school maintenance. Is that what I'm seeing here?

Uh, through the chair to Member Larson, so you're correct in that the, the method under which we prioritize projects will have, uh, the most immediate need at the top of that list. So these are our boilers where, yes, we, we have had a boiler failure that required an immediate replacement. Uh, the septic system— this happens to be a project at View Elementary, uh, that was a septic system that was not functioning well, needed to be replaced. So these are systems, yes, that are past their useful life. Um, I mean, we do do preventative maintenance, so that is happening on a very regular basis.

Are we ahead of our—. Okay, I apologize for that. I know I didn't mean we don't do preventative maintenance. Okay, but sure, what I'm saying on this is the reason the borough is helping us out and we're getting the money is because of failed systems. We don't have the money to do this.

We do a good job of preventive maintenance, but you can only do so much preventive maintenance on a 20-year-old boiler or 30-year-old septic tank too. Well, I'm sorry for interrupting. Um, I think the, the concept started in a really effective way to look at this debt service, um, identify funding that may be available without increasing taxes and reinvesting those funds back into schools. And when we reinvest those funds back into schools, uh, with one-time dollars supporting one-time expenditures, it means we're not incurring a repayment schedule that may exceed the useful life of that piece of equipment. What, what is a struggle, and what I think you're alluding to, is if we look at these fast facts, is as of today we are $411 million in, in deferred maintenance.

So those are projects that are overdue based on the state schedule. We often see equipment that has a longer useful life than that state schedule, but it means we're already behind, so we're playing catch-up. We're not necessarily planning ahead, and our team does a really good job of keeping things running for a very long time. Uh, having this money from the borough maybe on a more regular or predictable schedule would certainly be of benefit so we can really plan, uh, for multiple years out what projects may be needed, what projects we're seeing age maybe more quickly than we had originally anticipated. Um, because none of these projects happen immediately.

They all, uh, need to be designed, they need to be bid, and then the schedule for replacement for some of these major building systems uh, needs to coincide with a longer break. And so if we have some predictability, we can continue to work on that predictability, especially as we see some of the debt service, uh, retire, and, and we can look to reinvest those dollars. I think that would be of benefit if we did look at a bond, and if the board wanted to look at a bond, it would be to catch up on some of that $411 million. Well, um, Because you're, you're talking about 4 or 5 years out before the debt service starts dropping off. Is that— yeah, 2031, '32, a little bit in 2031.

Yeah, so you're talking 5 years out before the debt service really goes down and 8 years out before it really goes, um, you know, we can struggle along for those years, but you know, as, as the system gets older— well, I'm preaching to the choir, I apologize. You know, I, I just think we need a long-term, at least request, and the state will give us absolutely nothing, even though— how much money does, does the state put out in maintenance a year? Uh, through the chair, it is, uh, a fraction of what is needed across the state. Um, I think it's in terms of the percentage of requests, it's in the single digits. So this, the state, while it can be anywhere from $30 to $50 million that they might set aside for capital improvements across Alaska, there are hundreds of millions of requests that come through on an annual basis.

Thank you.

Uh, and then the last thing I'll say is the, the list, the prioritized list, uh, is included. We provided additional detail this year So you can see, uh, not only the locations but, uh, the specific work that will be done. Uh, it'll be our recommendation that we submit the complete prioritized list to the borough so that they can see it. However, we recognize, uh, and aren't necessarily anticipating that all, uh, $39 million, uh, will the borough have capacity to support in a single year. We also recognize that our top priority projects Um, are large projects.

These are roof replacements for 3 schools where the roofs are failing, and so, uh, it may take more than one budget cycle to, uh, set aside enough funding in support of these 3 projects. Uh, but these are, uh, roofs that are, are failing and need to be repaired. They are currently leaking.

Okay, thank you. Is there any further discussion from the members online?

Oh, and you have—. No, but Larson, we're going to present this next week. Is that not true? Through the chair? Yes, Member Larson, we will, uh, if approved, uh, without changes or even with changes, we'll be presenting it at the joint meeting, uh, with the assembly.

That should be interesting.

Okay, any further discussion online?

Okay, hearing none, we'll take a vote on this item. I vote yes. Uh, Member Pritchard?

Yes. And Member Cruz?

Yes. Member Berge?

Yes. Member Cohen? Yes. Member McCollum? Yes.

Okay, that item has passed. Major maintenance prioritized list, and I do appreciate the detail on that list this year. I know it took a lot of work, and it was great to see it all. 11 Pages. Okay, we'll move on to our superintendent report.

All right, thank you. Uh, there's my 5 goals. If I were going to point to one thing, it might be aligned leadership is what I'm going to try to focus on most in this report. Um, before we get to that though, I know that we have Mr. Moore online. Um, he's going to give us an update of the crazy voting— the crazy election season that we're in right now in Juneau.

Yeah, thank you, Superintendent Traini and President McCollum. And I believe Eldon is on the line with us as well tonight.

Excellent. I am. So just to— I'll just provide a real quick overview of where we're at kind of in the cycle right now. As many of you are aware, primary elections were about 2 weeks ago. Certification for those elections was supposed to come through on Monday, and it came with kind of a surprise Work our way from the top of the ticket down.

Top of the ticket, Senate race, U.S. Senate race is clearly between incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan and former Representative Mary Peltola. I'll say, looking at the numbers that have come through and compared to some, some other data that's out there, Senator Sullivan's lead isn't— or sorry, his deficit is not as great as the primary numbers would make it seem.

The primary gave us a snapshot in time of where we were, but it's heavily weighted in certain directions, and I wouldn't call it something that you could really set as an indicator of what's actually going to happen in the general.

The House race is pretty clearly between sitting Congressman Nick Begich III and Bill Hill. I think that one leans pretty heavily towards Mr. Begich, but then we get into the gubernatorial race. Of course, the top 4 finishers are the ones that move forward into the ranked-choice general election, which takes place in about 9 weeks. First 2-place finishers were the 2 Democratic nominees on the ballot, JKT, Jonathan Christ Tompkins out of Sitka, and former State Senator Tom Begich out of Anchorage.

Third place was Bernadette Wilson out of Anchorage, and fourth place was former Mayor Dave Bronson, also out of Anchorage. However, as many of you are aware, Mr. Begich went ahead and withdrew from the race, uh, vacating that 4th spot. Everybody moved up, so the 5th place finisher was then going to move up. That would be former Attorney General Craig Taylor. On Monday morning, Lieutenant Governor declined to certify Mr. Taylor's candidacy.

Citing some open complaints from APOC.

So there were some questions about who was going to come behind him. Shortly after that happened, the 6th place finisher, Click Bishop, and his, his second both withdrew from the race also to make sure that they wouldn't jump up into the 4th place. And about 5 minutes before the Public Office Commission closed, or before the Division of Elections closed on Monday, Candy English, who was Greg Taylor's running mate, stepped into the gubernatorial spot, which was procedurally the way it was supposed to happen. And then Greg's wife, Jodi Taylor, stepped in as the lieutenant governor nominee. There are still some open questions about the disclosures that Mrs. Taylor filed because they are almost identical to the disclosures that Mr. Taylor filed, and those are the ones that APOC complained about.

But regardless, the English Taylor ticket was certified earlier today by the Division of Elections, and it looks like those are our top 4. But it, it's kind of crazy to think that we were in a scenario on Monday at about 4:45 PM where the 7th place finisher almost ended up as the nominee on the ballot that was supposed to be the top 4 because of withdrawals and gaming. I don't think this scenario bodes well for the people that are trying to maintain the ranked choice format in light of the citizens initiative that's coming up in November. If the election were being held today, it's hard to tell which way things are going. I think a snap election today would probably benefit Mr. Christopkins just because he has sort of a unified base behind him.

And then as you roll through ranked choice, things are going to split off. But, you know, we'll see. We have 9 weeks of campaigning. A lot can happen between now and then. I think our friends on the right side of the aisle are going to try to work a unifying campaign while we'll see our friends on the left side of the aisle really tack towards the center to pick up people that didn't vote for those top 4 nominees.

And there are 40% of the electorate didn't vote for the top 4. So there's a lot of people that didn't have homes that are going to be looking for one in the coming weeks. Uh, 9 weeks is an interesting number for us. We're not going to know the turnout of the gubernatorial election in 9 weeks. It's actually going to be closer to 11 weeks.

Um, after polls close, we'll know who the top 4 finishers are and in what order, but then ranked choice is going to kick in. They're not going to run that algorithm until all the votes are in, so it'll be closer to November 18th that we see, uh, the actual finisher. For the governor declared. About a week later, that'll be certified. In that ensuing time, and then another week and a half after that, they get sworn into office on December 7th.

That new governor will then have about a week to put together their budget and submit it on December 15th to the legislature. So we'll have a very fast and furious time of appointing acting commissioners and rewriting a budget. Between November 18th and December 15th when it's published. And that'll be a very interesting time to look out for. Depending on how things go, we may see cuts proposed from a new governor, or we may see additions coming into the education system.

It's really unclear which way things are going to go at this point. Legislatively, again, the crystal ball is very, very cloudy. So we don't know where things are going to go. If the elections were today, I think we would probably see another coalition in the House and another coalition in the Senate are the most likely scenarios.

But again, 9 weeks is a long time for people to run their campaigns. And I think turnout is going to have a lot to say about where things go with the legislature next year and organization in the 35th legislature. So that's a lot of words to say lots of fun things have been happening, but we're no clearer, no closer than we were weeks ago to knowing what the next year holds for us. It's been described by some as a clown car that turned into a dumpster fire, and we'll see what comes next. Eldon, did I miss anything?

The elections certainly are entertaining, and I would agree with Ben 110%. For those who are trying to defend the ranked-choice voting, this acrobatic performance that's occurred over the last week has certainly done a lot of damage to any argument about the validity and strength of that kind of process. So that's my first take. The second is, you know, what's silently happening in the background is that the price of oil has ticked up. And right, wrong, or indifferent, that means that perhaps the budget pressures from previous years won't be quite as extreme as they were in the past, and there might be some funding available.

As I think about that, you know, the first thing I would do or encourage from our standpoint as a school district is to pursue making the one-time fundings that were available in the past, make them permanent. Get them, you know, stabilized and established into law so that they're permanent and we don't have to continue to fight for that, you know, increment to a past increment. That becomes problematic. The second thing I'd look at is, you know, I've been around the system for over 40 years, and this is the first time since the late '80s that I can recall virtually every school district in the state is facing budget shortfalls and school closures. That really hasn't happened since the late '80s with the oil crisis back then.

And you saw this mass emigration out of Alaska and school closures. So I think the legislature is going to be sensitive to that. I know each school district is feeling that pain internally as these are very, very difficult conversations between the boards, the administrations, and the parents. Everybody loves their local school. So, nobody wants to see them closed, but financial realities are financial realities.

Hard to face those. But I do think it opens an opportunity for a conversation about how do we address it this time? What lessons did we learn from the past? And where can we go? I would call— I mean, in the past, I do know that it did spur calls and did actually create a budget foundational rewrite.

Again, I would encourage caution about getting all up and excited about a budget rewrite for the Foundation only from the standpoint that right now Natsu is fairly well positioned within the Foundation, and I'm concerned that a new cost study would show that we might actually lose ground in in that whole process. So, but that said, I think it's worthwhile to have the conversation about how do we address declining enrollment and a shrinking, you know, young population as it pertains to schools. And how do we continue to provide a quality education for our kids when, you know, there aren't as many kids and the system that we founded everything on is somewhat flawed. So those are my observations at this point in time. I'm so happy to join you, Madam Chairman, and board members tonight, and we're— Ben and I are happy to answer any questions.

Member Larson, when you were going over the governor's race in the 5th place, you said there was the step-ins, right? There was 2 people that exited that ticket and 2 people have stepped in, a husband and wife, is that correct?

Sorry if I was unclear on that, Ole. So Tom Begich and his lieutenant governor nominee both stepped out of the race, vacating 1 spot in the final 4. So moving up into the, from the 5th place position into the 4th place position was Treg Taylor. Tregg's running mate was a— is a woman named Candy English. When Tregg was disqualified statutorily, his lieutenant governor nominee becomes the governor nominee.

But she wouldn't have been certified until she had a lieutenant governor to also run on the ticket with her. So later that afternoon, she picked Tregg's wife as her running mate. So, um, so that—. Yeah, Treg Taylor is no longer a nominee for any position at the statewide level right now, but his wife is now the lieutenant governor nominee, and she was never voted on. So she's, uh, she's on a ticket similar to the last presidential ticket where an individual wasn't voted on either.

So is that normal? Correct. She, she was not part of the slate that was voted on during the primary. Um, That's correct. But she will be part of the general election.

There are some things hanging out there, some what-ifs and some maybes, some real small chances. You know, there's a small chance of a lawsuit that's coming out there, some hanging apoc complaints that could change things up, but it's very unlikely. I think the most likely scenario is the slate of candidates we see right now are the 4 that we'll see going forward. But Yes, that 4th place position being filled by Ms. English and Mrs. Taylor, that wasn't the slate that was voted on in the primary.

That wasn't the slate. Member Larson, yeah, Member Larson, Zeldin, I will agree with you. That is such an odd outcome. I scratched my head at how did this actually happen? How do you have a lieutenant governor potential candidate rise to becoming a gubernatorial candidate, especially when it's someone no one virtually knows.

Um, so, but as Ben said, apparently buried in the bowels of the statutes is the fact that if the gubernatorial candidate is withdrawn for one reason or another, that lieutenant governor person moves forward. It's illogical to me. As it would be to most Alaskans, I think. But that is the process.

And you said December 7th is when the new governor comes in line?

Yes, sir. I'd need to double-check my calendar. I can do that right now. But the swearing-in, I believe, is Monday, December 7th at noon. That's quite the day to be sworn in.

One great disaster deserves another, sir. I mean, really, I would pick a different date. Thank you. That's— it's statutorily, it's the first Monday of December at noon is the turnover. And then the— also by statute, the budget will need to be submitted to the legislature by Tuesday the 15th.

Yeah, by statute, it looks like you can adjust whatever you want to. So I'll leave it at that. Thank you. All right, thank you, Mr. Moore. Mr. Mulder, absolutely.

Thank you. Thank you.

Um, as you know, this is the time of year when we go through enrollment at the beginning of each one of my presentations. So as of this morning, our current ADM, uh, with preschool is $18,320. Uh, we project $18,737. 416 Short of our projection. In context, when I checked this morning, we had gained, I think, 186 from the last time I showed you this.

We have until close to the end of October is when the count period is over. It starts, I think, September 28th this year. Um, so we're obviously watching it. If we gain another 180-ish every 2 weeks, we'll be close.

Same, same chart as last year. Obviously, you know, adding 180— there's 180 more kids added on here, but it's hard to pick it up when we're as close as we are in each one of these. The choice programs, which is primarily, uh, primarily Matsu Central, which is approaching where we projected already, and then Burchell and Valley Pathways are the other programs that are lagging considerably.

Um, same two graphs I showed before. Um, these haven't really changed. It still is really interesting that less than half of our students attend their boundary school, and then those correspondence and hybrid numbers in the upper right have stayed the same as two weeks ago as a percentage.

I think this one is really important when we talk about declining enrollment. You can see it here. Typically, um, you know, like 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 years ago, had we put this up, this would be inverted. Our senior class would be our smallest class, our kindergarten class would be our largest class. And you can see that as of this morning, our kindergarten numbers are our lowest.

Um, and I think that this is what— when you hear people talk about the birth rate, this is where we see it. And that's not just this one year, actually. You can see that for the last 4 years, those classes are smaller than the older grades. So, yeah, one question, and maybe we can get this information out, um, not tonight but soon. Um, are we seeing a higher enrollment like K-3 students in the correspondence schooling?

That, that would be interesting, those numbers to see. Yep, yep, we can get those numbers. Of course, enrollment or correspondence is still growing. It's, you know, most of the growth has been in that, so they're still, they're still being added in. Traditionally, after the last day of fair, we usually see a kind of an uptick in our correspondence students.

But yeah, we'll get that information. Um, this is a report we— that the state collects. It's called the First Day Vacancy Report, um, and it's about— the easiest way to think of it is classroom teacher positions. Um, not everybody has the same first day, so it's not a day in time, it's each district's first day. This is last year's data.

We have already reported this year's First Day Vacancy Report, but we won't get everybody's until next year, so it lags a year behind. The important part here is, um, and this is a shout out that I've given to the group of people that work here in the district office who are already working on hiring people for next year, and you can see that the Matsuburo School District, um, leads the pack in making sure that our classroom teacher positions are largely filled on the first day of school. Um, and it's not just a blip in time. So this is, uh, 3 years' worth of data. We're the gold-colored one, and you can see our, our 3 other comparators that are here in the same area as us.

And we traditionally lead by quite some margin. So this is just a good thing I wanted to share and recognize those folks. It's not just the folks here, of course. It's all the folks, um, in every school district who are doing the hiring and all the advertising. So we are able to attract, uh, candidates and get them hired in time for the kids each year.

Um, I talked to the school board about this several times last year, and I just wanted to give a quick update now that we're 3 weeks into school about what we're doing for that— for 6th grade, basically.

So last year I showed you this data. I, I gave you a bunch more than this, but I just brought this on to remind everybody what we see, and we have seen for some time, is our scores on statewide assessments go up from 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, they peak, and then there's a sudden drop-off in 6th grade. So, um, in this data, which was 2025 AKSTAR, it dropped 7 points in English language arts, and it dropped 13 points in mathematics. So we worked with a group of, um, a fairly large group of educators last year to examine the problem and brainstorm solutions. And what we came up with as general marching orders were: one of the biggest differences that we see between a 5th grader's day and a 6th grader's day is the amount of time spent learning English language arts and learning mathematics.

So we challenged each of our middle school programs to address that in ways that fit their building. So I'm going to run through each of our large middle schools and show you just what they're trying to do this year. None of them are exactly the same. Many of them are similar. We'll meet in our data dialogues and basically we're going to do spot checks like, okay, which way is working?

So just a quick run through. I won't read every word on every slide. I know you all can read. It's mostly just so when I report back to you, um, you know, at the end of the year, like, here's all the things we tried and here's the one that worked best. That's what we're hoping to be able to tell.

So Colony Middle, um, to increase that instructional time, they have two double block cores. They meet four days a week, so there's a math, science, and an ELA and social studies. You'll see that lots of the schools have done like a double block approach to this, so that lets the teachers spend more time in literacy and math. Houston Middle School, their core instruction, they— what they really focused on was taking their WIN time and embedding it within their ELA and their math. So their ELA students are now going to get 540 minutes of ELA, which is way closer to what they got when they were in 5th grade, and 400 minutes of math a week.

And you might recall that last year most of the schools were in like the the 250-minute, 270-minute range. So it's quite a, quite an improvement in the time that they're spending. PJMS, they're, they're doing 70-minute blocks of ELA and math in a 3-block period. So math and ELA share the 3-period block. They've taken their WIN time and they've got that third one.

So, you know, if you go 70 times 5, 350 minutes of math and ELA a week.

Um, Reddington Junior Senior High, the weekly schedule provides 575 minutes of ELA and 390 minutes. And really what they've done is, if I were to like summarize it, that their morning is going to look more like 5th grade. So they're out in portables, they're all together, they, and they're getting a whole bunch of instruction, ELA and math, and then they kind of join the inside the big building for a more traditional 7th, 8th grade experience. So way more minutes in ELA and math. Teeland, um, they're divide— they've divided the 6th graders into AM and PM cohorts, and they have extended blocks of ELA and math.

It's that double block idea.

And then Sioux Valley Junior Senior High, um, what they're doing is they're integrating their social studies and science. So rather than have a standalone social studies and science ELA is embedded within social studies and science is embedded in math. It's a different version of the double blocking. So our measure of success on all of these— I know I ran through them really quickly— is what happens to our scores. Unfortunately, we won't get our scores from this year when we take the test in the spring until about this time next year because we just got an embargoed look at our scores today.

I got to see them. I can't say anything about them until tomorrow because they're embargoed until tomorrow. Wasilla Middle, the double block thing again, um, they're double blocking in ELA and math. And I wanted to share one good thing, and I usually don't highlight a person, and I'm not highlighting a person this time, although she deserved to be highlighted. I'm highlighting a bunch of people in our district, like Principal Magnin at Snowshoe and her whole team.

I happen to be there last week, and I got to see her team work with a brand new student who had never been to school before, was a second grader. And that's probably why it echoed with me, because I never went to school until second grade. And this, this little guy was having quite a time of it. And I watched her whole team. It took 10 people to make sure that this person was safe, and they did so many de-escalation strategies.

Working with that young person to get them back regulated and into the building and getting ready to learn again. And I was just so impressed with the way she handled the situation and her whole staff. And I know that that sort of thing happens every single day. So this isn't just a shout out to Lee Magnin. It's a shout out to her whole team and all the people who work with those brand new kids who've never been to school before, and they help them navigate those first 2, 3, 4 weeks of school.

So thank you, and I can take any questions.

Thank you. Yep. So we'll move on to, um, our first readings. And you want to run through those, Dr. Traini, or do you want me to? Uh, yeah, I can.

Okay. If maybe I can— it's not Pulling up right now.

So I, I know that, uh, this was something that was brought forward by Member Larson and Member Berge, and the change— the suggested change in this one is that a board member may only serve as an officer for 2 consecutive years and may only be reelected as an officer after a 1-year hiatus.

Member Larson.

Oh yeah, I would like to speak to this since we brought it forward. Um, uh, in my tenure on the school board, I have seen people, um, in an office for up to 7 or 8 years with a fixed voting bloc of 4. And in order to prevent that from occurring in the future, it would— and be able to have other members in the minority hold an office. That's why this came forward, and it gives people the opportunity. It really does, and it has people step out.

I know a lot of people don't want to hold an office, but if you're on a school board and you finally get comfortable, that's a new challenge to do that. But when you have a 7-board member and you have a 4-block my majority, uh, you control the, uh, the offices. And that's why this— in my tenure, I have seen this more than once. I've seen this multiple times, um, and it's kind of a shame. And that's why I put this in.

Thank you. Along with Mr. Berge.

Um, okay, then the next one is, uh, a similar change recommended by Member Larson, Member Berge, um, and it's BP 9130. And this would just define that the, the current school board president can only serve as an ex officio member if the other committee members are unable to attend a meeting. And these are those committee meetings that we appoint people to— well, we don't, the president appoints people to at the beginning of each year, um, like the school site selection committee, the committees that work with the borough, etc.

Member Larson, the Arbitral Rules of Order doesn't speak to the first one that we talked to, at least it's silent. Arbitral Rules of Order says, and the literature I've read over the, over the years on this next one, virtually says the president is virtually the person that allocates who is going to be on boards and receives the information back from the boards. And one article I read, and you can read a million articles for the opposite, of course, it says that when a lot of times when a board president, and maybe bigger boards than this, goes on to a committee dampers a free flow of information because it becomes the board president's committee. And that's the, the power behind the board president, of course, according to this article. And I'm not saying this happens here, but, but that's the justification about it.

And it kind of, again, As a board president, and I've been there, and you, and you delegate everything down to your fellow board members, including committees, and then you receive that information back and you discuss it with a committee, either the chairman or the committees, uh, to filter through it and then present it to the full board. And that's the role of the school board President, thank you.

Member Cruz, may I comment? Yes, go ahead, Member Cruz.

Um, I have some comments on these two. One of the comments I made in the Policy Committee for why I did not support these changes concerning the first policy is that We already get together and vote following the election, which allows us as a group to choose who we think would be best suited for that position. The president requires travel and additional meetings to set the agenda and obviously additional duties. So that requires an individual to have to be available for that.

And I think that is pretty limiting for those of us that are working full-time, full-time duties that can't take off during the day or travel to Juneau for periods of time. So I don't see the reason in procedurally limiting ourselves and making another— making us choose potentially a second best choice.

As for the president not being on committees, I also think this is preferential limitation that would make it harder to fill committees when we have working-aged people on this board. And I'm— I think that's great. I think it's great to have a spectrum. I think we need people who have had different life experiences, people who are different ages and stages of life, but it makes it very difficult when the majority of the committee meetings are done during the workday on top of the other commitments for working people to be engaged and take these assignments. And so if we continue to create limitations, that prevents people who are otherwise excellent at being on committees, certain committees, for instance, a retired teacher being on a curriculum committee would be a great example.

I think that that's, that just is not logical. If it's not an issue that is ongoing now, one thing, but we are flexible with Robert's Rules as a way to manage board currently, and I don't think that creating more restrictions to make it much more difficult to fill these committee spots with people who are going to be able to attend and are going to show up to those committees is a good idea. And I, I'm very uncomfortable with saying that we have to pick, potentially pick a second choice. I mean, we just had a discussion about what an absolute disaster ranked choice voting has shown itself to be just in this cycle alone. And that's picking 40% of the people who voted don't even have someone on the ticket.

That's wild. So I think we should keep things straightforward. We should keep things simple. We should not procedurally limit ourselves out of productivity. Um, and be understanding that there are members of the community that want to run for these positions and want to do this work, but have to work a job also for this volunteer position.

So I, I just really caution against making changes that create extra red tape and extra difficulty for the board to operate. Thank you.

Thank you, Member Cruz. And I'll just comment on this board committee one. Um, I do know that it's been difficult filling committees and that myself as the board president had to fill in on a couple committees when people were unable to attend. And we can't just leave these joint committees with borough assembly members and have no school board members showing up. So I did step in on a couple of those committees, on that one committee actually, but, but reading this through the way it's written, I would like somebody to look it over, perhaps our attorney, because it seems like it actually violates open meetings because our policy— our committees, um, also have to meet the Open Meetings Act.

And so, so there's some wording in here that I'm concerned about would affect that. So thanks. Okay, okay, uh, 8.4, um, first reading. BP member Pitcher, can I speak? Oh, member Pitcher.

Yeah, I don't have much to say, um, apologize, I'm sick. Um, you know, I, I'm trying to figure out, wrap my mind around these ones, and I guess my simple way of putting it is it sure seems like It's just adding a lot of bureaucracy and red tape, as was mentioned. And I don't, I don't know that that's the path forward to take. Generally, I think most Americans would agree bureaucracy and red tape has not benefited the nation in any way, shape, or form. It would seem like the members of the board are already fairly equal.

I don't think like anybody's not having an equal opportunity. You know, Albert Einstein said that bureaucracy is the death of all sound work, and it just seems to tie up everything. It seems to slow everything down, and I'm just not sure that I see the benefit in these two proposed policies. Thank you.

Member Larson. These policies are not put forward to slow anything down. It's to make the organization work in an efficient manner where the president, just like the president of a corporation or anything else, uh, delegates things down to the board members or to their staff and, and doesn't jump into and allows the free flow of thought within those committees and doesn't jump into those committees committees, because the board president or president of a CEO or anybody else that is a head of an organization simply is there to oversee and to receive that information. And this is a simple way to have that free flow of information within those committees. As far as people not being able to do committees, You take time to be on the— you know, I'm sorry to say this, but you take time to be on the school board, your obligations are there.

And the truth, some people can't make those. I've not made those committees, and that's why it says only if— where the board chairman can, or board president can subfill if nobody or an individual can't be there. But are not official members of that committee if people can't be there. Thank you. I'm just going to say one more thing.

I am an elected member of this board. We are a small board, and I have as many rights as anyone else to attend committee meetings. That's my ending. Thank you. Please don't— I am not pointing my finger.

Member Larson, you were not recognized to speak just now. So your time is up. You're telling me that I am pointing a finger at you? I am not. I'm talking about the president position, not you in that position.

Member Larson, you're out of order. Thank you. Thank you very much. I don't mind being out of order.

Um, 93—. Especially when you accuse me of something.

Our next one is 9320, it's 8.4, and this change would be applied to roll call votes. Um, it's the idea that when somebody is on not in person, we would use a roll call vote, which we do, but it would just dictate that the order we do those roll call votes is you start with District 1 on the first item that's voted on, and then it goes District 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The next vote would start with District 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, etc., and it would cycle through.

Member Larson, I'll put this one forward also. What happens in roll call votes, and what I've seen in my tenure, is somebody gets called on first all the time. I'm not saying that this board does this, but this is what I have seen in the past. Or somebody gets voted on last all the time, and, and it's a political move when you do that. And because if the, the person that gets called on last can see what the vote looks like and then vote from there, or the one that gets called on first all the time then has to make the decision without seeing what the other board does.

And this rotates everybody through it pretty equally, so nobody gets called on first or nobody gets called on last on a continuous basis. It just simply rotates the voice vote on a rotating basis. It's a pretty simple system. It's been used in many boards, and that's why we put this one forward.

All right, uh, hearing no comment on that one. The last one before we get to draft legislative priorities is 8.5 BP3260, and there's an addition at the end of the existing policy that would limit any increases to those fees by no more than 25% per year.

Activity fees—. Oh, I'm sorry, Member Larson. Activities are an engagement tool that is a very big must for our community, for any school district. I don't know how many articles I've read about it. It—.

They go over everything on any kind of activities and how it enhances the educational role.

Um, trying to find one article here. It virtually says it helps better educate— it has better education outcomes, it enhances schooling and engagement and sense of belonging, positive youth development, skills, health, and it just keeps going on and on and on. And this also includes music, art, theater, sports activities, and everything. If we increase our fees beyond what they are, uh, the lower economic, uh, Citizens will not be jumping into it. And it also says that all the information I've ever read, if in fact you don't have these programs there and if you don't have those programs where everybody can be part of it, you're— and you start losing people in these activities, your absentee rate goes to the ceiling, your scores go down.

I mean, there's study after study after study on this. And it also— the studies show that anybody that's active in your sports and theater and stuff, their GPA goes up. They know they have to get their grades up because they have an eligibility in it, and it just continues to go on. And I— I feel that there should be a limit on any increase in sports fee. Instead of saying sports fee should jump up to match, well, what is being spent on it, or the other alternative, the other idea is to match the actual facility.

We have facilities for sports We have facilities for music, we have facilities for, for the arts, uh, such as theater. The maintenance, the building, the part of that should not even be considered within, uh, the cost. And, and it is in this particular memorandum where it says, well, it cost $8 million to do this, $7 million for this sport. Then in that case, then if that money is, is going to show on that kind of thing, then when you when you have the, uh, when you have the, uh, where you say 70% of our funds go to the classroom, and what you're saying is the building funds on this particular go to the classroom, and you should just go ahead and add that in. You don't add in, uh, on that the actual physical building that we do our education in, or the classrooms, or the, or the or the cafeteria or anything like that.

So that's pretty unfair to put that information in there. And we're simply talking about sports fees, and sports fees should not pay for building maintenance. Um, it's simply, uh, if that's the case, then you will end up losing that, uh, lower economic, uh, citizens. And I'd like to For, um, for reference point, I would love to see a chart come back in our Board Connect and for next meeting of the percentage of free and reduced lunches, the percentage of students that are lower economic levels, and those are the students we will lose. If we increase the sports fee beyond, uh, what we have now in astronomical amounts.

Thank you.

Member Cruz, may I comment? Yes, Member Cruz.

I am not opposed to a reasonable increases, you know, over time. Certainly that's very reasonable. I do want to add context to the discussion in the Policy Committee regarding sports fees. The budget for extracurricular sports is $7.2 million annually, at least it was for last year. There's an enormous amount of student BSA dollars that are supposed to go to education.

I don't think there's anyone more pro-sport and PE and physical education than myself. I do acknowledge the studies, and I think it's incredibly important. When we're talking about not having nurses at schools with children that are type 1 diabetics, we're talking about having teachers that are in the classroom not being able to fund that position because making additional cuts going into this next year, which it looks very likely that we will have to, um, not cuts that we want to make. I don't think we should be limiting ourselves through policy as to what kind of changes we need to make. If I had to choose between an elementary school student having a teacher in their classroom and maintaining the teacher-to-student ratio over an extracurricular sport, I would choose the teacher every day of the week.

I think we need to be very thoughtful about what our goal is as an organization and our priorities are. Our priority is to teach, pass on knowledge— reading, writing, arithmetic, science, history. PE, art, and music are included in that, but that does not mean every after-school club and every sport. We may have to do what every other district that I've seen in Alaska does and raise those fees, because if we don't, we may be looking at further cuts, those essential parts of our service. And we should be very practical and reasonable and honest about that.

With the voters so that they know what to expect. If we are doing anything suddenly, like for instance one school district in, in Alaska, but quadrupled, I think, their rates in a single year because of their serious budget problems. We are not that kind of school district. We need to plan and know what, where our options are for budgeting. Like I said, I will not support budget that prioritizes— deprioritizes teachers, like, all staff over extracurricular outside-of-school purchases that are used with education dollars.

The reason that we have— I mean, we all pay and they take from our PFDs and they put That money into education is supposed to be going to the K-12 education. That is our priority. Our priority is those classroom teachers. That's what we should be hyper-focused on, especially when we have to make these really difficult budget decisions and they don't seem to be easing up. And we're not going to have a giant influx of funds suddenly, we have lowering enrollment and lower birth rates and fewer kindergartners.

We need to be able to make these really difficult decisions. I, as a parent, would pay a higher sports fee to participate— my child participate in sports outside of school. Booster clubs are wonderful groups of people that help raise funds, and every time girls from volleyball stop by my house, I buy a food card from them and support every group that I can. Community will help. They'll help with scholarships, get kids can't afford it, and we need to give them time to ramp up those services again.

But we also need to be very realistic that what our job is passing on knowledge in the classroom, and that's what we really need to be focused on.

All right, um, our last, uh, first is 8.6, FY27 draft legislative priorities. Um, we, we made changes based on our meeting that we had last week. I did want to provide an update under the old item number 3, which is struck out on this document and has been replaced with the new item number 3. I did reach out to the Commissioner of Education and heard back from her really quickly. Based on their legal counsel, they don't believe that state law would support a, a statewide correspondence school receiving in-person funding at all.

So that makes us pretty confident that we no longer need to have this as a priority, especially now that we have it in writing from from the commissioner. Question, Member Larson. Did you say she put that in writing? Yeah, I have an email from her that the state would not— the state would not allow it under current law. Under current law.

Can you make sure we get a copy of that, please? Yeah.

I guess that's it. No further discussion on the legislative priorities. Thanks for reviewing those from the last work session meeting. That was a good meeting with lots of good ideas. So, um, I don't think there's any further persons to be heard here on non-agenda items, so we'll move on to any any correspondence or board committee reports?

Any correspondence or board committee reports?

Well, I, I will say that I was at the joint borough assembly and school board members meeting, and, um, there were not very many people there, but we had some good discussion about looking forward to the future as far as um, like building a committee for, um, a rubric for school closures in the future and that kind of thing, and asking assembly people to be participating on that. So that was probably one of the biggest items that we discussed at that meeting as far— and also just update on all the construction and things that are going around as far as building and road issues for the new buildings. So Thanks. Any future items, future business? We'll move on.

We have a September 8th, 2026, 6 PM joint assembly board meeting in the assembly chambers. On September 16th, 2026, 6 PM, we have our regular school board meeting at Teeland Middle School. So we'll be changing locations. We do that once in the fall and once in the spring, which we always actually look forward to. It's kind of fun.

Um, and we'll move on to comments from, um, school board and administration, and we'll let Dr. Traini go first. Um, I always try to thank groups of people, and so this is a group of people not dedicated to one site. Um, there's folks here in the district office who work with our, uh, our student information system who've done a lot of work. There's lots and lots of folks at Matsu Central who've done lots of work, and Matsu Hybrid Learning Academy. And then all of our registrars and counselors in every one of our major high schools.

I want to talk briefly about how successful our hybrid program is, is setting out to be this year. Last year, remember, was the first time that we had it. We were really shocked at how many kids were interested. There were more than 1,100 course sections. This year we've changed a whole bunch.

We have dedicated hybrid teachers at the Hybrid Learning Academy. There's 7 of them. Additionally, the board will remember that I talked that every single one of our large high schools is going to offer hybrid courses. Many of those are CTE courses. We had an example of it tonight, so our whole CTE department was involved with that.

Um, and all of that stuff takes a lot of behind the scenes working with the student information system. Last I looked, we were approaching, uh, 2,800 courses this year. So we went from 0 to 1,100 to 2,800. It's, you know, it represents huge opportunities for kids. We keep a touch point with adults in the organization.

I think that's super important for those people to have, uh, you know, for kids to have a connection to the school. Our data from last year demonstrated that the kids who were doing that were doing better than the kids who weren't doing that. Like, it was— it kept them engaged, which I think is what we see with all kinds of things. When you keep high schoolers engaged, they stay engaged. Um, it's just the sheer growth of it.

Like, we'll probably be 3,000 courses is what I predict by the time we get through the count period. So to all of the people who've had a hand in that change— change is really hard— I appreciate all of your work.

Okay, Member Koli.

So I want to thank everyone for being here tonight, and, um, you know, I wanted to mention about the culinary program. I'm really excited about that, that our students get hands-on skills that they can take into their future. It's great to see any of those programs in our district. Again, I want to thank the speakers tonight fighting for our school nurses. I think that, you know, we need— I'm just speaking for myself— a committee that we can look into this deeper and come up with the best solutions.

I also wanted to say that there was some kudos from my work, and I don't work in our district, but tonight when I was leaving for a meeting One of my physicians said, you know what, you guys are doing great things out in the Matsu District, so you guys should be proud of yourselves. So I think, you know, that's a nice pat on the back. And lastly, as a newer member on this board, um, you know, we were elected by our community. We're here for the kids, we're here for the parents to do the best thing, and I just encourage our board to remain cohesive and remember the reasons that we're here and why we were elected. And I hope everyone has a great night and a safe ride home.

Member Larson. I, I too enjoyed the culinary arts. I think it's a great program. It's a lifetime learning in a career. I also want to thank the administration for bringing forth all the information that, that we need for voting process.

I also would like to— an update, if possible, in either a Board Connect or next meeting on the progress of the nurses. I know there's a committee out there with the Health Foundation working, and I would like to see what they're, they're working on. I'd like to see the outcome, or at least what they're, what they're working towards. They're the ones that gave us, what, $17 million, $700,000 last year to maintain our nursing staff. So it would be very interesting to see how they're doing and what they're coming up with.

Thank you.

Member Pitcher. I'd like to thank everybody for their participation tonight and all the work that goes into putting these meetings together with the information that's provided by administration, by all those behind the scenes. And apart from that, I hope everyone has a great night.

Member Berkey.

I hope everybody has a safe drive home tonight, and good night.

Member Cruz.

I want to thank the public for coming out and commenting and raising awareness for their concerns. I appreciate the discussion, though it was It was— we don't always agree. Member Coley is very wise. We are— we've worked together well, and I hope to continue to do so. I'm really looking forward to seeing the test results from last year's AK-STAR.

I literally cannot wait to see those. And I want to see the increases again that I'm expecting from the READS Act. I think that will be really exciting. And a great testament to the day-in and day-out hard work of the teachers in our district. And I really appreciate putting together the— all the information that we look over, and including, you know, the enrollment by grade, including our kindergartners, so that we can see the trends all in advance of how many students we will— we will be educating and what those numbers look like, and if they're going to be trending down and staying down.

I know that's difficult, but that's the best way for us to make the best decisions moving forward. Um, and I hope everyone has a great evening and a safe ride home.

Thank you. And I will just echo that it takes so much work by a lot of people to get, um, like the kudos that Member Coley, um, mentioned, and I do hear that a lot around the state, not just here in our district, around the state. Like, um, the Matsu is really doing great things, and I'm excited because you know how I love the data too. I can't wait to see those test scores, and also the beginning of the year, um, M-Class scores will be coming soon too. And I know that that's a big deal for all the primary teachers, and I really want to thank the administration and probably Miss Mr. Weiss for all of that deferred maintenance list.

Um, it was really comprehensive, and I appreciated reading all through that and knowing what, what is happening with all of our facilities around the district. That was really great. And again, the hybrid is just an amazing thing that is exploding around our district, and it does take a lot of adults changing their way of thinking And I know that is difficult, and, and I can't even imagine the scheduling nightmare that, that all must take. So thank you to all those people working through that. And with that, everybody, thank you for coming out in person, the people who are here tonight.

I appreciate that, and have a great night. We are ready now for an executive session, so I'll need a motion and a second to discuss negotiations in executive session.

I make a motion to go into executive session. Second. Thank you. Executive session, AS44.62.310 and BP9321, matters the immediate knowledge of which would clearly have an adverse effect upon the finances of the government unit, subjects that tend to prejudice the reputation and character of any person provided the person may request a public discussion, matters which by law, municipal charter, or ordinance are required to be confidential, matters of confidential legal counsel, or pending litigation. Present in executive session will be all members of the board, members Cruz, Pitcher, and Berge via teleconference, um, and absent will be member Shane, Superintendent Dr. Randy Traini, Deputy Superintendent Katie Gardner, and Attorney John Seedor via teleconference.

Thank you.