About 30 people packed the school board meeting room at Evergreen Elementary on April 14.
Ryan Howe was one of them. He has taught special education for Wrangell Public Schools over the last 16 years.
Howe said he was very vocal about wanting to be on the ad hoc committee to discuss long-term budget solutions. (Wrangell’s school district created the committee in response to community members’ criticisms during a work session with the borough about the lack of transparency in regards to the budget.)
They didn’t chose Howe though. He and others are still concerned with transparency issues; this time includes how the district chose the committee members.
“I don’t know if being an early and strong proponent of the two most disruptive and unpopular budget solutions was part of the decision,” he said. “But anyway, it is what it is (that) you have the situation you have.”
The budget solutions Howe mentioned were cutting two teaching positions.
Another person who retired from teaching in the district also spoke. Anne Luetkemeyer wasn’t selected to be on the ad hoc committee either. She said the process for selecting members wasn’t transparent.
“I don’t know what the criteria was for choosing the members that you did on the committee,” she said. “I don’t know also if all of the board members were present when those choices were made.”
School Board President Dave Wilson said not all board members could discuss it together because it would be illegal since it wasn’t posted as a meeting.
School district chooses 10 community members for budget ad hoc committee
Wilson said the board received quite a few letters of interest from the public.
He said that he, the superintendent and the administrative assistant reviewed them together.
He said they chose 10 members who represent different aspects of the community, such as parents, school board members, teachers, staff, a principal and the superintendent. They also chose people they thought had potential for contributing to the committee.
“We don’t try and withhold an invitation to them.”
They include Sarah Scambler, Aaron Angerman, Stephanie Carney, David Wilson, Alyssa Howell, Winston Davies, Tony Anzalone, Greg Clark, Bill Burr and Angela Allen. (Allen was chosen during the board meeting after she expressed interest in being a member.)
Other community members wondered why there was no tribal representation. Wilson said nobody from the tribe submitted a letter of interest, even though the school district advertised it widely shortly after last month’s work session with the borough.
They said they advertised on KSTK, the Wrangell Sentinel, social media, school bulletins and every parent in a separate email outside the school bulletin.
“We would love to have had somebody from the tribe, the Natives to represent themselves,” Wilson said. “We have invited them on numerous occasions. We don’t try and withhold an invitation to them.”
Additionally, Wilson said they didn’t invite anyone from the borough assembly.
“They could have been invited, but they weren’t, because they have their own assembly,” he said. “They have their own people to talk. It just didn’t seem appropriate.”
It doesn’t seem appropriate, he meant, because the borough assembly will be going over the borough’s budget. Part of that budget includes contributions to the school district.
The first ad hoc meeting met April 28. They will meet every Tuesday through May at Evergreen Elementary at 5 p.m.
