KFSK has an open airwaves policy. We encourage the public to express personal opinions, ideas, and creative works.  The following was submitted by Becky Martin.

Hello, this is Rachel Kandoll.  I’m a 20 year resident of Petersburg and mother of four children. I currently have a student in every school — one in Stedman Elementary, another in Mitkof Middle School, and two attending Petersburg High School.

I am concerned for our school system.  My oldest will be a senior next year.  I’m thankful for the great teachers and programs that have been a part of her education.  She has thrived in the Petersburg School system and looks forward to higher education after she graduates. 

As our funding decreases, things that she has benefited from, like Advanced Placement courses and other electives, will be cut.  Our graduates of the future will not have had the opportunity for advanced classes and therefore will not have an edge as they apply for colleges.  Last year we lost both of our high school math teachers.  Finding replacements has proved very difficult with the current salaries offered.  The students next school year face the possibility of no upper level math teacher, merely online classes.

I’m worried that my youngest, who is in first grade, will not have the same wonderful academic experiences my oldest has been privileged to.  I worry that our experienced teachers will leave Petersburg, and perhaps teaching altogether, for higher paying jobs.  

We need to pay our teachers fair and competitive wages.  While the cost of living has risen for us all in Petersburg the last 20 years, our teachers’ salaries haven’t kept up with inflation.  If we don’t increase the current teacher salaries, as well as increase wages to attract new hires, I worry we will not retain the fine quality of teachers that we need to help us through these hard years to come.  I want my children to have the highest quality teacher possible, given the likelihood of increased class sizes to come, as well as keeping up with the Reads Act and other state requirements.  This will not be an easy task for teachers.  If we do not have quality teachers through these hard times, our children will struggle and have less success in learning.

Growing up in Montana, I had always heard that teachers in Alaska had high pay and great retirements.  Those times are a thing of the past now.  The pay in Petersburg is lower than nearly all other places in our state.  Three quarters of our teachers are a part of the Tier III state retirement system, meaning when they retire they won’t have Social Security or a guaranteed income, as well as no retirement insurance.

I have been disappointed with our state government and the lack of education funding.  As many people know, Governor Dunleavy recently vetoed a bill that our legislators had passed to provide some state funding for education.  As Alaskan citizens we need to let our governor know that we value our childrens’ educations and urge him to allow an increase to the Base Student Allocation (BSA).  The BSA has not kept up with inflation.  This is hurting our children and hurting the school districts trying to give them the best quality education they can.

People should also call, write or email our state representatives, Representative Rebecca Himshoot and Senator Burt Stedman, and thank them for supporting educational funding and encourage continued support of this important issue in the future.

This lack of funding has put our school board in a tough spot.  I appreciate the time and energies they have poured into helping guide our school, not just financially but as a whole.  We need to honor the excellent staff we have and hold onto them as we face the possibility of larger classes and bigger work loads in the classroom.  High teacher turnover is one of the most destructive things for a school and we have been very blessed to not have experienced this as other schools have.  

My family is part of commercial fishing here in Alaska.  As we look to hire crew each season for our boats, the obvious choice is to retain the existing crew who knows what to do.  When times get tough, I would rather have experienced deck hands on my boat than new ones.  So why don’t we think the same about our teachers?

KFSK encourages the public expression of personal opinions, ideas, and creative works.  You may review the open airwaves policy on kfsk.org For information, please call general manager, Tom Abbott at (907)772-3808.