Education

The Unalaska City School District will have a new superintendent starting this summer. Kim Hanisch sat down with KUCB's Sofia Stuart-Rasi last week to talk about her experience in education — and why she chose Unalaska.

The Unalaska City School District has asked the city to increase its contribution to local public schools in fiscal year 2024, including dedicating $140,000 in new funding for student activities. Superintendent Jim Wilson made the nearly $5.5 million request to the City Council this month. Meanwhile, councilors are also weighing funding for the Community Support program, which awards grants to local nonprofits. Eight organizations have requested a total of $1.5 million.

On Wednesday, the school board approved a ninth and final new teacher contract, marking the end of a challenging effort to recruit amid a nationwide teacher shortage. To help with other hiring efforts, the board also approved a new salary schedule for administrative coordinator roles.

The Unalaska Learning Center is hosting a grand opening for its new building this weekend. Part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Bristol Bay campus, the center was previously located next to the high school’s woodshop. Now, it’s in the former alternative education building. "We have this large open space — much more welcoming," said Jill Spetz, instructional services manager for the center.

The Unalaska City School District has signed a new internet contract.

Unalaska City School District Superintendent Jim Wilson sat down with KUCB’s Sofia Stuart-Rasi last week to discuss bills involving pronoun use for LGBTQ students, resources for students interested in technical schools after graduation, and a potential increase in the base student allocation.

The Unalaska City School District has filled nearly all vacant teaching positions for next school year.

State legislators are discussing increasing student funding, leaving a lot up in the air for school districts around Alaska as they prepare their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.In Unalaska, district officials are playing it safe — anticipating small increases to state funding and planning for some cuts to staff.At a recent board meeting, Superintendent Jim Wilson presented a first reading of the district’s FY24 budget and applauded the committee for making significant reductions this year.

The Unalaska City School District has performed near the top of the state in testing again this year, according to Superintendent Jim Wilson. When compared to the rest of Alaska’s public schools, Wilson said the district ranked fifth based on new statewide data from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s yearly Report Card to the Public. It’s an assessment of things like graduation rates, testing scores and teacher quality in the state’s public schools.

Unalaska’s school district will have a new superintendent in the upcoming school year.School board members voted unanimously Feb. 18 to appoint Kimberly Hanisch to lead the district.