Unalaska School Board

Unalaska voters are heading back to the polls after a perfect tie in one of this year’s school board races.

One school board seat is headed to a runoff after candidates tied with 114 votes each in Tuesday's election.

With 51 absentee and questioned ballots still uncounted, just one of Unalaska's municipal election races is too close to officially call.

KUCB held its annual school board candidates forum on Oct. 1. Dean, Peters and Warden addressed various topics, including teacher retention, school safety and student support systems. Gibson was traveling and unable to attend this year’s forum, which was hosted by Unalaska student government representatives Kallysha Ranario and Redmond Rodemio.

The ballot has been set for Unalaska’s 2025 municipal election.

Unalaskans will vote on five City Council and school board seats in October’s election.

Unalaskans interested in running for local office can file candidacy with the city starting Thursday.

Brian Rankin won the race for School Board Seat B during a runoff election held in Unalaska Oct. 30 — he received 55% of the 140 total votes.

Unalaska students still must wear masks at school, even while the city is operating at its low COVID-19 risk level and only encouraging masking indoors.The Unalaska school board decided Tuesday that the district will drop to its low transmission level and students can stop wearing masks in school buildings when the city’s COVID-19 case count drops to zero and the Emergency Operations Center advises the change. Previously, the district would only move to its low transmission level after the city had gone two weeks with no community-acquired cases of the virus.

Last Wednesday, school board president Fernando Barrera resigned from Unalaska's school board, leaving a vacancy on the five-person board that some fear…