Education

At least a dozen teachers, staff and school board members showed up for a town hall hosted by the Unalaska City School District on March 6 to discuss an impending $1.2 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year.

It’s not unheard of for Alaska schools to build their budgets without knowing for sure how much the state will provide. In recent years, that contribution hasn’t been much, especially when compared to the growing rates of inflation. But many school districts across the state are facing deficits this year, forcing them to make hard decisions. The Unalaska City School District is no exception.

Rep. Bryce Edgmon has represented Unalaska in the State Legislature for almost twenty years. Last month, he picked up the gavel again to take his seat as speaker of Alaska’s House of Representatives for the first time since 2021.

In this episode of "Island Interviews," Russel Laforteza, a clerk and aide at the high school, discusses how UCSD's Multicultural Celebration Day is a time to celebrate and raise cultural awareness within the community. He says it also gives students a sense of purpose.

The Unalaska City School District will send fifth graders down to the elementary building starting next school year. Administrators recently announced they will put the fifth grade class in the Eagle’s View Elementary Achigaalux̂ building for the first time since it was constructed.

Dillingham Independent, Bryce Edgmon, represents Unalaska as part of the 37th District in the Alaska House of Representatives. He’s co-chair of the House Finance Committee. He spoke with KUCB’s Andy Lusk on Feb. 9 about a range of local issues.

Two candidates are going into a runoff after no one won outright on Oct. 3.

“We are hoping to do this again and again in the coming years, and hopefully the community will be more involved,” said first grade teacher Judith Withers. “Because that is what makes us strong people, right? We come together."

Crowds of Unalaskans gathered Sunday to celebrate the grand opening of the newly expanded Unalaska Public Library. “It’s an investment by the community in itself, really,” said City Librarian Karen Kresh. “And a statement of confidence in the future of this community — that we’re still going to be here for the next 25 years."

The Unalaska Public Library will reopen this weekend, more than a year after it closed for a long-awaited renovation and expansion. The library will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening celebration Sunday, April 30, from 1 to 3 p.m.