Incumbent Haines school board members Sarah Swinton and Lisa Schwartz are running for re-election unopposed for two seats on the board in this Tuesday’s election.
While they both agree that this school year is starting well, challenges in finance and enrollment are on the horizon.
Schwartz, who has served on the finance committee for the last two years of her first three-year term, said the board worked hard to make this year’s budget “transparent.” She said this budget has “a little bit of a buffer” against statewide funding cuts, but next year will be a major challenge.
Swinton agrees that the budget cuts are a big concern – both this year and next – because she doesn’t know what the local or state governments will do to education funding.
“It’s inevitable. You can’t keep saying ‘Oh, it won’t happen this year.’ It will,” Swinton said.
Swinton, who has held a seat on the board for 14 years, said the school board had to make major reductions and cut staff during her first year because of a small budget. “We didn’t know if we could keep the doors open past March,” Swinton said. “I don’t want to do that again. It was not fun.”
She said it would be ideal if the school board could try to figure out solutions as more funding cuts happen so they do not have to take such drastic actions.
Swinton also said she wanted to make sure the school keeps as many special programs – such as woodworking and cooking – as possible despite a tight budget. She said she has always been an advocate for sports and other extracurricular activities because they are proven to boost students’ grade-point averages and help kids get more well-rounded educations. She also spoke highly of the Independent Learning Center, in which students take online lessons that aren’t offered in Haines.
“For a small district, we do a lot of things really well,” Schwartz said. “We have to try to maintain what we do well.”
She said she has seen a steadily improving relationship with home school and correspondence students than when she first came on the board.
Both candidates want to see an increase in student enrollment, but believe lackluster numbers are tied to a suffering economy in Haines.
Schwartz said there is a trend throughout the country that schools in rural communities are losing students to more urban centers. Some schools even struggle to keep the minimum of 10 students enrolled. She also mentioned that more people in Haines now leave for the winter than in the past. “There’s certainly not a quick fix,” Schwartz said.
School funding is connected to enrollment. Current enrollment in the district is 240 students, but Swinton wished enrollment was closer to 300. More students mean a larger budget, which can have numerous benefits.
The school board voted last year to increase the number of laptop computers and iPads in the classroom.
Schwartz was for the decision, while Swinton was not. Swinton wasn’t in favor of having computers in front of kids all the way down to kindergarten.
“Moving forward, technology is important to have in the school; it’s just something I wanted to go into a little bit more gradually,” Swinton said.
Schwartz said the school district is studying what works regarding technology and what does not. She also said if the new fiber optic cable in Haines improves internet connections, the school board might look into providing additional online classes for students to gain college credit.
Both Schwartz and Swinton like to see more collaboration from the community with the school board.
Swinton said she ran for school board after she saw a need to step up when her children were going to school in the district. “Being a mom of four kids, I just thought ‘Why sit back? Get in there and help,’” Swinton said. “And I think more parents need to figure that out.”
Schwartz said she would also like to see Haines residents get involved with the school district in general via volunteering or other ways of giving back. “It’s a wonderful school. I would really like to see it continue to be great,” Schwartz said.
“I think it’ll be a good year; it’s just getting past that budget blip in the road,” Swinton said. “Hopefully, everything turns out to be roses instead of thorns.”