There are two school board seats on the municipal ballot this year. Incumbent Trever Shaishnikoff is seeking reelection to Seat E.
KUCB sat down with Shaishnikoff to hear his take on current district issues and find out more about why he wants to retain his seat on the school board.
Take a listen to KUCB’s interview with Shaishnikoff above and find the transcription below.
TRANSCRIPTION
KUCB: Why are you seeking reelection to the school board, and what are your top priorities for the next term?
Shaishnikoff: Well, I still have two children going to school here, and I enjoy being involved in the school district and doing what I can to make sure all of our students are getting the best education possible. As far as priorities, I'd really like to see more dual-credit options for our high school students. I think that's great for students so that they can earn an associate degree potentially while they're still in high school. I'd like to see if we can get class sizes even lower in next year's budget committee by adding a teaching position wherever staff deems it necessary. And this isn't really on the board level, but I think there would be real value if we brought back Close Up for our students and allowed them to go to Washington, D.C., and learn about the different branches of government and meet Alaska's representatives and senators. And I know when I was in school many, many years ago, I really enjoyed that.
KUCB: What do you enjoy most about serving on the school board, and what do you enjoy least?
Shaishnikoff: What I enjoy most is hearing from and interacting with students about things that are going on, things that need improvement or things that are going well. I know there's a group of third-grade girls that keep me informed on what's happening down at Eagle's View, so that's nice. I really enjoy graduation every year, watching another class of graduates head off into their future endeavors with the skills they learned here at UCSD. One thing I really don't like: I don't like contract negotiations. You know, I wish we could pay everybody a million dollars a year, but there's a balancing act that's got to be done with staffing levels and class sizes and competitive compensation, and it's just not a lot of fun most of the time.
KUCB: Student mental health has become a growing concern nationwide, including in Unalaska. What’s your understanding of mental health needs among Unalaska students? And what can you do as a school board member to better support our emotional well-being?
Shaishnikoff: So it's important that resources are available for our students whenever they're needed. We don't really see that as board members, so it's important that we listen to the staff and the community. And when they say things like, "We need a full-time counselor," which we have this year, or "We need APIA to come in and present to our staff about suicide prevention." You know, "Students need to be able to schedule appointments with APIA during the school day." Things like that are really important for us to hear, and I just really think it's important that we try to create a learning environment that cares about our students' emotional well-being.
KUCB: Unalaska's student population is very diverse. How do you, as a school board member, plan to represent our needs and support us as students from various cultural, economic and social backgrounds?
Shaishnikoff: This is why it's so important that we get students and parents involved in all of our various committees that we have every year. I always want to see the most diverse group of stakeholders and get everyone that we can to the table to help us make these decisions that affect everyone and benefit everyone in the best way possible. So basically, the more we hear from students and parents, the better we can be at making those decisions.
KUCB: Do you have anything else you’d like to share?
Shaishnikoff: I just want to encourage people to get out and vote.
