The Klukwan School will remain open for the spring term, now with a long-term substitute teacher Laura McIndoe (Photo courtesy of Francis Leak)

The Klukwan school is set to remain open for the spring term. That’s according to the Chatham School District. This follows months of uncertainty after enrollment dropped below 10 students – the minimum to secure state funding – and the absence of a head teacher in the fall. The Klukwan school has hired a head teacher, Laura McIndoe, for the entire spring term after making do with a series of substitutes. KHNS’ Corinne Smith checked in with Chatham School District’s interim superintendent John Holst for an update. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

KHNS: So first of all, the Klukwan school will remain open for the rest of this spring term?

Superintendent John Holst: Well we have made arrangements to extend the contract for the teacher. And so we’re anticipating that keeping the school open and my understanding is right now there are eight or nine students.

KHNS: Great. And that is up from last semester, which was about six students enrolled.

Holst: And at times fewer than that, yes. 

KHNS: Right, and so with the secured teacher contract for this term, has that impacted enrollment for next year yet? Or is it kind of too soon to tell?

Holst: I don’t think we have any way of knowing this point.

KHNS: So the plan is for the Chatham School board to make a site visit to Klukwan, can you tell us about that?

Holst: Well, we’d like to meet leaders there, tribal leaders. I know that our board is interested in getting to Klukwan, and we’re in the process of making travel arrangements and finding a date that works for everybody. And we’re looking forward to that, actually having face to face discussions about what needs to be done in order to keep the school open. … we need to solve the problem and figure out a way to keep the school open without it costing the rest of the school district significant amounts of money.

KHNS: Are there any plans floated yet, or any ideas?

Holst: No I don’t think there are. I think that we would like the ideas to arise from our meeting there. The answers are almost always on the ground. Not in somebody else’s head somewhere else…In every case that I can ever think of, you know, the solutions are always there. And people just need to wrestle around with it and figure out what they are. And it doesn’t make sense for people to make those kinds of decisions at a distance, without understanding all the circumstances. The people who understand the circumstances are the people who live there.

KHNS: Definitely. Do you know when your visit to the Klukwan will be? 

Holst: A date hasn’t been selected yet,  And we’re really kind of hoping the Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) cooperates with the schedule. And the schedule has been all over the place. So we’d like to be able to get there and back on the ferry if possible. And we also have to select a date that will work for them.

KHNS: Turning now to the current COVID situation. You know, the entire state of Alaska is very impacted by COVID right now, and school districts are grappling with it. But specifically for Klukwan, how is the school doing in weathering this COVID surge?

Holst: Well, I think they’ve probably done better than most, because the small number of students and staff, so I think they’ve had a few skirmishes with it. But it’s been. It’s been actually pretty good, I think, from what I gather… They’re following the rules that are set out by the village leaders. We always try to meld those with district policies so that we’re not in conflict.

KHNS: And what’s the latest on the COVID relief funding that the Chatham school district was eligible for? 

Holst: We’re still working on all the paperwork that’s required. But, you know, we have received and will receive a pretty substantial amount of money just as all other districts have as well. …  you know, much of the money had been allocated prior to my arriving on the scene. The budgets were developed for the, for the, for the money, how it was going to be expended. And so we’re going to be working within those guidelines that were set out to begin with and, and then possibly making budget revisions if necessary.

KHNS: Will some of that federal assistance be able to provide some support for the Klukwan school and their situation?

Holst: Well, I would think so, just just going to support the entire district. I know that some of the funds are going to be used for staffing. But, you know, we’ve tried to stay away from spending the money on that exclusively, because when the money runs out, then you’ve got a huge hole in your budget. So we’ve tried to be cautious about that… So we’re trying to try to spend the money wisely.

KHNS: Right, well is there anything else you’d like to add today for our Klukwan school community and listeners?

Holst:  We really look forward to making that visit and, and having a dialogue about what can be done? What will work? You know, I think our board really wants to find a solution. We recognize the importance of the school to Klukwan. I’ve done consulting work all over the state in the last 20 years, and I’ve watched what happens when a school closes, and the community starts to shrink. The school is a very important part of Klukwan as it is in a small community. And we’re going to try our hardest to find a way that we can operate that school without taking massive amounts of funds away from the other sites.

KHNS: Well, we will be following. Thank you so much for your time superintendent Holst, appreciate it.

Holst: You’re welcome.

 

(Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the name of the teacher hired for the spring semester, Laura McIndoe)