Read candidate responses to The Skagway News Questionnaire.

Kilipaki Harris

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

Hello, my name is Kilipaki Harris, Kili for short. I retired from the Air Force (Alaska National Guard) with 22 years of service in February of this year and have been in federal service for over 12 years now. I have been in beautiful Skagway since March of 2019 and my family was able to move up here in October of 2019.

The reason I decided to run for office is because I have a strong vested interest in the decisions that could affect my girls as they learn and grow into adulthood. Both of my girls attend the school and are loving it. It is my hope and desire to help make a difference and watch the success of our children as they grow up and get an education. Skagway School is listed as the number one school in Alaska and I want to help with maintaining that fact. I take great pride in knowing that I can be of service and help in tough situations that may come up and assist in making tough decisions that will directly affect our children, the teachers and our community.

What can you contribute as a school board member?

I feel that with my experience in the military and the federal government sector I can bring new ideas and new ways of dealing with the issues that the school may face. I am able to help set goals and a vision for how the school is anticipated to operate with the other board members. Being able to help with decisions and allow all involved to understand why the decision was made. I also bring with me different communication styles, this way everyone’s voice can be heard and taken into consideration.

Being in the military, and growing up in a military household, I have a strong sense of duty, honor and integrity instilled upon me and I think that will be very beneficial on the school board as a member. This has allowed me to speak freely, when the time is right, and to be able to voice my opinion and opinions of others that have input.

Working for the Department of the Army, I was the training coordinator for our police and guard force. This has allowed me to get into the educational side of learning to understand and see how the best way to achieve education goals are set and applied. With this experience and knowledge, I will be able to apply it to the goals that the board would like to set, the vision of what the school would like to achieve and to assist in the communication and ideas of all the members involved.

Should the school board or the superintendent make final decisions regarding student travel during the pandemic. Explain your position.

I feel that the school board should be able to make this decision for our children with input and guidance from parents, children and our community.

The school board is able to communicate with parents, with the students, and gather information of how they feel about travel during pandemics and the risks that they see. It is on the board members to do what is right by the people and what is in the best judgment for our students, teachers and our community. All board members should have a vested interest in the school and how it operates, how it handles these types of items. (I know I do by having my children in school.) It is the responsibility of the school board to bring this information, the concerns and any and all reasoning into account prior to making decisions that will affect our children.

It is also the school board who has the responsibility to review the superintendent and also appoints them. The board is the authority in order for decisions that will have the largest impact on our children, the teachers and our community.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for the school over the next five years?

The first big challenge for the school board this year is going to be dealing with COVID-19 and the repercussions that it has caused. To be able to find in the budget the new added equipment needs, locating other funding sources such as grants and to continue to operate in an unknown type of situation. Once this is handled and working efficiently, then it will be maintaining this with the years to come. Within the next five years, I think we are going to see a lot more distant learning capabilities needing to be implemented. So, in order to stay above the curve, it will take a lot of planning and communication of the needs versus the wants and what will be ultimately best for our children.

This is going to take a lot of communication and hard decision making for the next several years on how our school is going to operate, how we are able to maintain that operation and to provide for the future of our children. It will not be easy, but like I said before, Skagway is the number one rated school for a reason and I fully believe that is because we have a strong, active community to help. 

 

Denise Sager

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

I came to Skagway in the pursuit of change and adventure. After graduating from Penn State University in 1994 with a bachelor’s of science degree in nutrition, I worked almost two years at a microbiology lab testing food for microorganisms in Philadelphia. My first summer in Skagway was 1996. My first job was at the Westmark Hotel as a breakfast cook and I worked a second job at Northern Lights Pizzeria. Since that time I have worked at The Bonanza Bar & Grill, the Skagway Street Car Company, the Corner Cafe, Hamilton Construction for ten years, was the director and bookkeeper for Little Dippers Learning Center for four years, and this summer marked my sixth year at M&M Tour Brokerage. I have lived here year round since 1998. My husband and I have owned our home since 2004. I am the mother of two children who attend the school.

I chose to run this year because I have served on the board for the past three years and have enjoyed working with my fellow board members, Dr. Coughran, teachers, students and the community, in making decisions and changes to better our school. I truly enjoy hearing other’s opinions because there are so many perspectives when it comes to the school. Being a part of something so important is very fulfilling. It is gratifying to see the decisions that have been made be put into action. I am looking forward to learning more if I am elected into office.

What can you contribute as a school board member?

My most important contribution is my experience serving as a board member for the past three years. It takes time to understand the process not only at the table during board meetings but on a committee level and a community level. I have served on three of the four committees and been the chair of policy and public relations committees. Another contribution is my knowledge of the history at the school as a mom. I have seen four different superintendents since my children have been attending. My children are 14 and 16 so I have had the pleasure of getting to know almost every teacher at the school throughout the years. I also know many of the children at the school by either teaching them at Little Dippers, chaperoning out of town trips or because I have been a part of watching them grow up with my own children. I am also the student advisor of the Class of 2022 and I ran the intramural basketball program for three years. All of these experiences have caused me to better understand the inner workings of the school.

Should the school board or the superintendent make final decisions regarding student travel during the pandemic. Explain your position.

The board voted on and passed the Smart Start To School Plan which gives Dr. Coughran the protocols for making decisions during the pandemic. He has the authority to make final decisions based on this plan, including student travel. However, the relationship between the school board and Coughran is healthy and he did consult the board recently in regards to safer travel. Coughran, along with the athletic directors (ADs) in Skagway and in other Southeast communities are talking often and consulting with the Alaska School Activities Association to do their best for our children in regards to extra curricular activities. It is an ongoing conversation. For now, Coughran, the ADs and the board support the new proposal to move the basketball season to March in hopes that it will be safer to travel at that time. We will need to hear back from the Alaska School Board before we can make the season change official. Debate Drama and Forensics is a bit more flexible in that competition can be achieved virtually. In addition, the school board also passed a new policy that requires a student to be tested and remain home for seven days or quarantine for 14 days upon return when traveling.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for the school over the next five years? The biggest challenges for the next five years will be dealing with the effects of Covid-19. We get funding from the federal government, the state and the Municipality of Skagway. All of these entities will have less to give. The state gives our school funds based on student count, so if student count decreases, so does our funding. This will put the burden on the municipality. When my daughter was in kindergarten, student count was in the seventies. At that time, funding was at a minimum and the school had to let teachers go. As a result, more families left town. If we don’t get the funding we need, we may be unable to maintain current staff levels. The number one reason for student success is teacher retention. We are currently the number one school in Alaska. It is important to maintain if not improve this level of quality education so we keep families in Skagway and perhaps draw more families to move to Skagway.

Jason Verhaeghe

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

I came to Skagway for the first time as a seasonal excursion guide in the summer of 2007. At the time, I thought I was only here for a three month adventure, but I kept returning summer after summer because of this place’s beauty and its amazing community. In 2013, my partner, Adriane, and I made Skagway our year-round home. We are raising two children here; Finnley (age 7) and Avelyn (age 5). We have been endlessly impressed by the school, the staff and educators that make it so fun, welcoming and educational. I hope to have the opportunity to help foster this inclusive atmosphere as a new member of the school board.

What can you contribute as a school board member?

I have worked as an educator for most of my adult life. I have been a preschool teacher, developed summer programs for a recreation center and provided educational programming to our local youth for many years as the education specialist for the National Park Service. I have a deep appreciation and respect for the needs of both our faculty and our students. Additionally, this experience in early education, as well as having two daughters in the elementary school, ensures that a wider array of our community is represented on the board.

Should the school board or the superintendent make final decisions regarding student travel during the pandemic. Explain your position.

First and foremost, all decisions should be collaborative. The superintendent makes well-informed recommendations based on their expertise as an educator and their unique Skagway experience. It should be rare that the board does not adopt these recommendations. If the board has serious and grievous reservations, then an open, collaborative discussion should bring both the board and the superintendent to an amendable compromise. In the extremely rare case in which the positions are so opposed that a compromise cannot be reached, then as the representatives of the Skagway community, it is the board’s responsibility to make the final decision.

What do you see as the biggest challenges for the school over the next five years?

I believe we are likely currently facing our greatest challenge. Mitigating the risks of COVID-19 should be (and currently is) the board’s top priority. Unfortunately, there is no end to this pandemic in sight; we may be dealing with this throughout the school year and we should absolutely be preparing for the possibility that it is still affecting us next year. With one positive case, Skagway could enter a shelter-in-place order over night, forcing the school to close for an unknown amount of time. Being prepared for this potential outcome by supporting teachers who will be implementing distance learning, providing students with the necessary equipment to learn from home and coordinating with the municipality to provide internet access in the home of every student should just be the start of these efforts.