With declining enrollment, Klukwan’s public school is facing an uncertain future. The state only provides assistance to schools with 10 or more kids and this year there are eight at the elementary school 21 miles north of Haines.
Now, the Chatham School District’s board of education has called a public meeting for Thursday for administrators, faculty and families ahead of a decision on whether to shutter the school or keep it open.
Klukwan is connected by road to Haines but governed by the sprawling Chatham School District, which includes the communities of Angoon, Gustavus, and Tenakee Springs. That means most administrators live elsewhere and so do the elected school board members charged with overseeing the small campus.
On site, there is one full-time classroom teacher, three part-time teachers, and five part-time staff. Klukwan educator and grants coordinator for the STEPS program for Klukwan, Justina Hotch briefed the board at their Oct. 14 meeting via remote teleconference.
“It is clear that we will not have 10 students for the October count,” Hotch said. “In fact, we’ve had more students leave due to the circumstances at the school. And we feel that without having a representative on the board, without having an administrator on site nor having a head teacher, there’s an extra layer of responsibility for the school board and for the administration to have clear and honest conversation with the families and community of Klukwan and the staff. So they know what or can make some decisions based on what the future holds with the district and the school.”
The Klukwan community’s frustration with a school district that’s mostly based in other towns has been well documented. Teachers often leave their contracts early; the school lost its second teacher in 2019. And this year, the school district has been unable to hire a head teacher, and so Klukwan’s students are being taught by substitutes.
The Chatham School Board has called a special working session on Oct. 26 to discuss the school’s future. Board vice president Francis Viel argued for Klukwan school district employees and families to be a part of those discussions.
“I feel that how can we make a plan if we don’t hear from them?” Viel said.
The Chatham School Board mostly governs the small school from afar. Before the pandemic, it would rotate its meetings and board members or administrators would visit Klukwan at least once a year.
Angoon-based board member Albert Kookesh III says that was a useful exercise.
“It’s just tough not having site — site meetings anymore,” Kookesh said. “As I did in the past, when I was on the board before, I would look forward to that opportunity to be in the school, to be in the community, to meet with people.”
Kookesh agreed to set up a Zoom meeting with Klukwan school officials, to discuss options for students and families in the Chilkat Valley.
“I’m pretty sure the waters are pretty hot there. So I don’t need to gauge the waters,” he said. “So it’d be nice to try to talk to some folks and try to find a solution but definitely not for this year, hopefully for the future. It’s a big decision.”
That decision isn’t far off. The Chatham School Board is clearing the afternoon next Tuesday to discuss the fate of Klukwan’s school. A formal vote could follow at its Nov. 9 meeting.
In advance of the Chatham School District’s work session, the school district will host a meeting for the Klukwan community over the future of the school. It’ll be in-person and via Zoom at 5 p.m. Thursday.
