Contact your Kenai Peninsula State Legislators

Six state legislators represent Kenai Peninsula Borough Schools

PDF Flyer to print: Kenai Peninsula legislators
2019 Kenai Peninsula Borough School District state legislators
Links

 

KPBSD School alert: two-hour delay start on Monday, February 18, 2019

2019_02_18_Two Hour Delay
►ALERT: All KPBSD schools will open with a TWO HOUR DELAY START on MONDAY, February 18, 2019, due to weather conditions throughout the Peninsula.
If weather and road conditions warrant a full closure for any schools that announcement will be made about 7:00 AM.
All morning Pre-K class sessions are cancelled during a two-hour delay start.
Parents and guardians, if you decide, based on conditions near you to keep your child at home, absences will be excused.
*A two hour delay means that morning buses run two hours later than normal, school begins two hours later than normal, staff arrives at school two hours later than normal, and Pre-K morning sessions are cancelled. The school day ends at the normal time.

Community Survey: Superintendent of Schools Search

News Release
Public Involvement in Superintendent of Schools Selection
Soldotna, February 15, 2019— The KPBSD Board of Education seeks public input into its process to select a superintendent of schools. The school board has sole responsibility for the selection of candidates, final interviews, and selection of the superintendent, but would like to consider the views and interests of the public to help guide those decisions.

A Community Input Survey is open until March 4, 2019

A brief, anonymous survey invites public comments and the opportunity to rank which attributes and demonstrated skills in a KPBSD superintendent of schools are most valuable. The school board requests everyone interested in schools, including parents, students, KPBSD staff, site councils, PTAs, volunteers, business and community organizations that partner with schools, community groups, and the public to contribute.
QR_code_BJGDLGV Community Interest survey

A link to the community survey and important dates is located on the www.KPBSD.org home page in the “Community Interest” section.
Superintendent of Schools Search
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education seeks an educational leader who has strong communication skills, is committed to high student achievement, and has a proven track record in teaching and administration. The position begins July 1, 2019. The online application period is open until midnight, March 15, 2019. Selection of finalists is March 21, 2019, and candidate interviews will be April 4, 2019, or April 11, 2019 if needed. The public may attend and offer written comments.
Online Community Survey open through March 4, 2019

KPBSD logo 4c no tag SMALL

News Release: Attend a KPBSD Budget Forum

KPBSD responds to an unprecedented budget challenge.
Attend a community forum to get facts.

Soldotna, February 14, 2019—Do you understand how the KPBSD school district budget will affect what KPBSD can offer in schools to educate our youth? With drastic state budget cuts to education proposed by the Governor, attend a budget forum in your community.

2019 February Budget development forums

Learn: KPBSD faces an unprecedented deficit of over $20 million dollars or more if the Governor’s proposed FY20 state budget is passed.
 
Get Facts: The district is building its FY20 budget, and needs your help. Participate online, or in person, to ask questions about revenue, expenses, funding, and cuts that potentially impact the classroom, teachers and support staff, sports and programs, and class sizes. Become involved so as a community we can make informed decisions that will affect our schools. Parents, staff, students, business partners, community members, and elected officials—it’s time to participate:
 
Community Budget Forums

 

  • Wednesday, February 20, 6:00 PM: Soldotna High School Library
    Videoconference from Soldotna High School forum to: Cooper Landing; Homer Flex; Hope School; Moose Pass; Nanwalek; Ninilchik; Port Graham; Sterling Elementary; Susan B. English; Tebughna; and Tustumena schools

 

 

Be informed so you can advocate for the 2019-2020 school district budget which will define opportunities and offerings in August, 2019.
“Our annual budget is one of the most important things we do each year, and it’s more important than ever with the potential funding cuts we face,” said Dave Jones, assistant superintendent of instructional support. “We want to give our parents, staff, students, and community members a chance to learn about our budget, participate in the process, and ask questions.”
 
“Over the past several years the district has been able to gather valuable feedback and input through the budget development process,” said Sean Dusek, superindent. “This year will be especially important as we work to become more efficient while maintaining our priority of small class sizes. We look forward to community participation in the process, especially as the State and Borough deal with economic issues that directly impact school funding.”
 
Action ideas

  1. Attend a community budget forum; KPBSD school site council meeting, school board meeting; Borough Assembly meeting; Alaska legislative opportunities with elected officials
  2. Communicate with your school, friends, neighbors, legislators, and elected officials
  3. View short videos and documents located on the KPBSD Finance Department webpage

 
If the future success for our KPBSD K-12 students depends on a quality education so graduates will be prepared for college or a career, funding public education is crucial. KPBSD asks everyone to attend a public budget meeting, and become involved in the financial solutions for our school district and state.
2019_02_14_State Budget cut 20.5 million
###

School progress reports in new Alaska System for School Success

October 23, 2018: The new System for School Success Reports accountability system for public schools in the State of Alaska released reports for the 2017-2018 school year. The rating system for schools is a federal requirement of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and the new accountability system replaces the Alaska State Performance Index (ASPI) star rating classification.

Superintendent Sean Dusek explains: “The State of Alaska has rolled out the results of our new school accountability system. The majority of our schools are doing very well and while every school is working hard to improve, we have some schools that will develop plans to address specific areas identified through their designation. I appreciate the efforts of our staff in ensuring high student academic achievement and the attitude of continuous improvement.  We look forward to next year’s results as we expect even more student learning growth.”

The new accountability system ranks schools on a 100-point scale, based on student growth and proficiency in state assessments, chronic absenteeism, high school graduation, and student growth in learning English for students identified as English Language Learners (ELL). Based on the 100-point scale, schools receive an index score every year.
DEED School Systems for Success
The new system does not focus exclusively on a test score, and includes additional indicators for student success. Five indicators are assessed for K-6 grades, and six are assessed for 7-12 grades. Several rules have been established to protect student privacy and to be fair to all schools.
Indicators for all grade levels K-6 are based on a 100-point scale:

  1. Academic Achievement English Language Arts Proficiency and Math Proficiency: 15% each (30%)
  2. Academic Growth in English Language Arts and Math: 20% each (40%)
  3. English Learner Progress: 15%
  4. Chronic Absenteeism: 10%
  5. Grade 3 English Language Proficiency: 5%

Indicators for grade levels 7-12 are based on a 100-point scale:

  1. Academic Achievement ELA and Math: 10% each (20%)
  2. Academic Growth ELA and Math: 20% each (40%)
  3. English Learner Progress: 10%
  4. Chronic Absenteeism: 10%
  5. 4-year Graduation Rate: 15%
  6. 5-year Graduation Rate: 5%

Meeting these indicators is in alignment with the KPBSD five-year strategic plan.
The indicator index applies to the student body as a whole and to subgroups that have at least five students. The subgroups are: students with disabilities, English language learners, economically disadvantaged students, Alaska Natives and American Indians, Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Mixed Race, and Asian/Pacific Islanders.

Alaska Education Commissioner Dr. Michael Johnson explains, “There are three types of school designations: Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), and Universal Support. The primary purpose of these school designations is to provide information for families, tribes, communities, educators, and policy makers to plan and support an equitable education for each student in Alaska’s public school system.”

In the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, two schools are designated CSI, two schools are designated TSI, one school is pending, and 38 schools receive the Universal Support designation. The 2017-2018 results can be viewed online.
Parents will continue to receive reports on their student’s performance on state English Language Arts and Math assessments. Questions about specific school accountability reports can be asked directly to school principals.
Web Links

###
KPBSD

Twenty-two schools to host district budget forum

Creating district and school budgets is a foundation for quality instruction and school culture. How will you be involved?

Budget Development with every KPBSD site council
22 KPBSD school sites, Tuesday, October 30, 6:00 PM
2018_10_30 BUDGET SITE-COUNCIL meeting
Soldotna, October 22, 2018—The process is rolling forward for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget planning, and decisions must be made with the best information available. At 6:00 PM on Tuesday, October 30, 2018, KPBSD school principals will meet with site-councils and the public after a live video-streamed presentation from the district to 22 school sites.

“We are entering a critical time in our district’s financial life,” said Superintendent Sean Dusek. “For several years, KPBSD has been forced to utilize savings to mitigate deep cuts to the classroom. The time for sustainable, adequate funding from the state and borough is upon us. As we begin this year’s process, we are asking all of our stakeholders to be engaged to help prioritize programs and services offered in our district. We have had to make many difficult decisions in the last few years, as our funding has not kept up with costs, such as healthcare. We hope this process will help inform our state and borough leaders of the needs our students and communities have to continue to provide an excellent education. I look forward to beginning this discussion and supporting all stakeholders to participate in the district, borough and state budgeting process.”

WHO
*Site-Councils, together with everyone who is interested—parents, staff, students, business partners, community members, and elected officials—are invited to participate.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 6:00 PM, at 22 KPBSD schools:

Aurora Borealis Charter School – KCHS Library; Chapman School – Homer Middle School; Connections Homeschool – Soldotna High Library; Cooper Landing School – Cooper Landing Library; Fireweed  Acacemy – Homer Middle School; Homer Flex – Homer Middle School; Homer High – Homer Middle School; Homer Middle – Homer Middle School; Hope School – Hope School Mrs. T’s room; K-Beach Elementary – K-Beach School; Kachemak-Selo – Voznesenka School; Kaleidoscope School of Arts & Science – Kaleidoscope Library; Kenai Alternative – KCHS Library; Kenai Central High School – KCHS Library; Kenai Middle School – KCHS Library; McNeil Canyon Elementary – Homer Middle School; Moose Pass School – Moose Pass Library; Mt. View Elementary – KCHS Library; Nanwalek School – Nanwalek School, Mr. Beck’s room; Nikiski Middle-High School – Nikiski Middle-High Library; Nikiski North Star Elementary – Nikiski Middle-High Library; Nikolaevsk School – Room 111; Ninilchik School – Ninilchik Library; Paul Banks Elementary – Homer Middle School; Port Graham School – Mr. Way’s room; Razdolna School – Voznesenka School; Redoubt Elementary – Soldotna High Library; River City Academy – Soldotna High Library; Seward Elementary – Seward El PD Room; Seward High School – Seward El PD Room; Seward Middle School – Seward El PD Room; Skyview Middle School – Skyview Library; Soldotna Elementary – Soldotna El Library; Soldotna High – Soldotna High Library; Soldotna Prep – Soldotna High Library; Soldotna Montessori – SMCS room 411; Sterling Elementary – Sterling El Library; Susan B. English – SBE School Commons; Tebughna School – Tebughna School; Tustumena Elementary – Tustumena Library; Voznesenka School – Voznesenka School; and West Homer Elementary – Homer Middle School.
*KCHS is Kenai Central High School
Creating district and school budgets is a foundation for quality instruction and school culture. During this October 30 meeting, an opportunity to learn about reductions which have been considered in the past—some implemented, some not—as well as potential new or additional revenue will be explored. When you attend this meeting, you will learn about district and school level considerations, and potential scenarios going forward, as the budget process begins. Although this is primarily for site councils, everyone is encouraged to participate.*

“Our annual budget is one of the most important things we do each year,” said Dave Jones, assistant superintendent of instructional support. “We want to give our parents, staff, students, and community members a chance to learn about our budget, participate in the process, and offer input. The meeting on October 30 is an important step in the process to develop the FY20 budget. We hope to see a large turnout at all our schools across the district.”

Participant input will be synthesized and presented to the KPBSD school board during future board meetings and work sessions.
Link
KPBSD Finance Department
###
KPBSD

Seward Area Schools Delay Start 10.17.18

2018_10_17 Seward School Delay Start
ALERT: TWO HOUR DELAY START* for these Seward area KPBSD schools on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2018 due to weather conditions.

  • Moose Pass School
  • Seward Elementary
  • Seward High School
  • Seward Middle School

If weather and road conditions warrant a full closure, an announcement will be made by 8:00 AM.
*A two hour delay means that buses run two hours later than normal, school begins two hours later than normal, and staff arrives at school two hours later than normal.
Parents and guardians, if you decide, based on conditions near you to keep your child at home, kindly call your school to let them know. Absences will be excused.

College Fair for teens in Kenai, Alaska

News Release
FY19 College Fair Event

9th Annual Kenai Peninsula College Fair
Nearly 50 educational institutions will send representatives to meet with KPBSD high school students on
Tuesday, October 16, 2018, from 10:00—1:00
in the Kenai Central High School gymnasium.

The ninth annual Kenai Peninsula College Fair is free, and no appointments are needed. Students and parents can learn more about scholarships, loans, state and federal financial aid programs at the Financial Aid booth. KPBSD juniors and seniors will attend with their schools. Connections, IDEA and Cook Inlet Academy students can sign-in at the door. KPBSD students need to sign-up with their school counselor to attend; transportation is provided.
 

Confirmed educational institutions:

Academy of Interactive Entertainment, Alaska Christian College, Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education (ACPE), Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Peninsula Job Center, Alaska Pacific University, Alaska State Troopers, Boise State University, California Baptist University, California Lutheran University, College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University, Colorado Mesa University, Colorado State University, Corban University, Eastern Washington University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Fort Lewis College, Grand Canyon University, Idaho State University, Kenai Peninsula College, Kenaitze Indian Tribe, Lewis-Clark State College, Linfield College, Northern Arizona University, Northwest Nazarene University, Pacific Lutheran University, Peninsula College, Southwestern Oregon Community College, The College of Idaho, Tulsa Welding School-The Refrigeration School, Universal Technical Institute, University of Alaska  Southeast, University of Alaska College of Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Fairbanks-College of Liberal Arts, University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Engineering and Mines, University of Alaska Southeast Sitka, University of Idaho, University of Montana, University of Montana Western, University of Portland, University of Puget Sound, Washington State University, Weber State University, Western Washington University, Whitworth University, and Willamette University.
 

“We are excited to have so many post-secondary institutions visiting our district to meet with our students,” said Sean Dusek, Superintendent. “This partnership allows our students to explore their college and career aspirations in a convenient and safe location. This is due to the large number of students in our district that are qualified for post-secondary education.”
 

###

News Release: Kachemak Selo New K-12 School Bond

2018_08_27_HL_K Selo BondKachemak Selo New K-12 School Bond*
Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition No. 1
To be voted on by all KPB voters, October 2, 2018
Soldotna, September 10, 2018—The Kachemak Selo New K-12 School Construction project began July 9, 2011, when a petition was submitted to the school board by local residents requesting a public school facility. Kenai Peninsula Borough voters

Kindergarten through twelfth grade classes are currently housed in three leased residential facilities that have deteriorated beyond useful capacity. The estimated cost of this construction project will not exceed $15,460,000. The proposed bonds in the amount of $5,450,000 would fund the 35% local match as well as costs associated with planning, design, site acquisition, preparation and development, construction and equipping the Kachemak Selo K-12 School.
The approximate annual amount of taxes on $100,000 of assessed real or personal property value to retire the debt are $4.95 (based on the Borough’s FY2018 taxable assessed valuation). Review supporting legislation.
Links:

*GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS TO PAY THE LOCAL REQUIRED MATCH PORTION OF THE COSTS OF THE KACHEMAK SELO NEW K-12 SCHOOL. To be voted on by all voters October 2, 2018.
###
News Release: KPBSD: Proposition 1 Kachelmak Selo New School

Free and reduced meal program in KPBSD schools

News Releasecropped-KPBSD_2017-2022_StrategicPlan_Seal-circle-no-edges.png
KPBSD schools offer National School Lunch Program
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) participates in the National School Lunch Program. Applications for free and reduced meals are currently being accepted, and meals will be available to all children at these schools:

Chapman School; Fireweed Academy; Homer High School; Homer Middle School; Kalifornsky Beach Elementary; Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science; Kenai Alternative High School; Kenai Central High School; Kenai Middle School; McNeil Canyon Elementary; Moose Pass School; Mountain View Elementary; Nikiski Middle-High School; Nikiski North Star Elementary; Ninilchik School; Paul Banks Elementary; Redoubt Elementary; River City Academy; Seward Elementary; Seward High School; Seward Middle School; Skyview Middle School; Soldotna Elementary; Soldotna High School; Soldotna Prep School; Soldotna Montessori; Sterling Elementary; Susan B. English School; Tustumena Elementary; and West Homer Elementary.
Meals meet nutritional standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Your KPBSD schools participate in the National School Lunch Program, After School Snack, and School Breakfast Program.
Community Eligible Meals
Students at Homer Flex; Nanwalek; Nikolaevsk; Port Graham; and Tebughna qualify for the Community Eligibility Meal program that allows all students to eat a free meal for both breakfast and lunch. Families with students that attend these schools or attend a school that does not have a National School Lunch or Breakfast Program will not fill out the School Meals Application but will fill out the Income Declaration Form.

Parents and Guardians

If your income is less than or equal to these 2018-2019 guidelines you are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. These guidelines are effective July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.
To receive an application for free or reduced-price school meals, or ask questions, contact KPBSD Student Nutrition Services, 139 Park Avenue, Soldotna AK 99669, or call 907-714-8831. Applications cannot be processed and determined until fully completed. Information provided on applications is subject to verification at any time.

Link: KPBSD Student Nutrition Services webpage: http://bit.ly/StudentNutritionServices

If you have children who are approved for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly known as Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Native Family Assistance Program (NFAP), they are automatically able to receive free meals by filing an application that includes their assistance number from one of those programs. Students who are migrant, homeless, or runaways are automatically eligible and do not need to fill out an application. Foster children receive free meals regardless of the income of the household with which they reside. Note: Medicaid and Denali Kid Care case numbers do not qualify for eligibility.
Read the rest of the KPBSD schools offer National School Lunch Program news release
###