Haines Borough Manager Mark Earnest plans to depart his position within the next two years to further the education of his 9-year-old son, who has completed chemistry and pre-calculus courses.
“As many of you already know, my family and I will need to relocate to another community in the not too distant future to accommodate the educational needs of our son,” Earnest wrote in this week’s report for the Haines Borough Assembly.
“We have been truly blessed to live in Haines, where the community and school district have been supportive, willing and able to fulfill his educational and other needs, but we are rapidly running out of options in mathematics and science.”
He wrote there is no definite timeframe for a move, but estimated it may happen in about 18 months.
Earnest is recommending the creation of an assistant manager position to help with upcoming borough projects such as potential work on the Chilkat Center, community center, junk vehicle disposal, Lutak Dock, Picture Point and “a myriad” of others, “as well as providing continuity and stability for borough manager succession,” he wrote.
In an interview with the Chilkat Valley News this week, Earnest said his elementary-age son, Matthew, currently is taking calculus, earth science and physics classes. Earnest said his family is considering a few options for Matthew, including one school in Nevada that would offer a mix of advanced and university-level courses.
He said his son’s academic gifts were evident early.
“We didn’t know it was going to continue,” Earnest said. “We thought, maybe, it was just one of those fluky, early developmental things that would just, sort of, go back to a normal curve.”