Chatham School District board meeting last week. Sarah
Chatta photo.
On Wednesday Chatham School District superintendent Ann Hilburn told Klukwan School teacher Jenn Marschke that the district was not going to renew her contract for cause and that she has the option to resign.
The choice came after Marschke contradicted Hilburn’s version of events regarding the retention of a teacher position in Klukwan during a school board meeting on Monday. Residents and school staff were upset, in part, because they learned that they would not retain a teacher position and that teacher Janice Byerlee is being transferred to another district. Hilburn apologized, but said that she told both of Klukwan‘s teachers about the direction the district was going.
“That’s not true,” Marschke repeated three times when responding to some of Hilburn’s statements, including a statement regarding how much money the district promised Klukwan for new playground equipment.
Wednesday evening during a school board meeting, more than 18 Klukwan School parents, residents and staff members spoke in support of Marschke. They also aired concerned about the lack of a bus and the administration’s lack of engagement with the issue.
Board member Tony Strong said firing Marschke, who is popular with parents and staff, threatened to diminish an already dwindling student body. The school’s enrollment dropped by about half this year, and now 15 students attend, down from 28 at the start of the year, which looms closer to the number that will cause the district to close the school: 10.
When it came time to approve next year’s contracts, the board approved 3-1 Marschke’s contract for her teaching position next year.
Klukwan residents expressed disbelief after Hilburn told Marschke that her contract wouldn’t be renewed earlier in the day.
“Is that letter that was sent to her today, is that now invalid?” asked board member Nicholas Szatkowski, “Can you clarify that?”
Others wanted to be sure the board wouldn’t transfer her to another school. Board members said they couldn’t promise that.
Board member Jim Wagner voted against hiring Marschke because, he said, she called Hilburn “a liar.”
“If you’re listening, hear what I’m telling you,” Wagner said. “If you’re going to call my superintendent a liar in my presence, you’re going to have a problem with me.”
Marschke never called Hilburn a liar during the meeting. Marschke, a first-year untenured teacher at Klukwan, is one of only two teachers there, and she is the only teacher with certifications in special education and teaching high school. Klukwan has at least two special needs students and three high school students.
The decision to fire Marschke was at odds with statements made by superintendent Hilburn on Monday acknowledging how well-suited Marschke’s special education and high school teaching qualifications are to Klukwan.
Klukwan Advisory school board (ASB) member Tony Strong called the decision to terminate Marschke’s employment “revenge” on behalf of superintendent Hilburn because Marschke had disagreed with Hilburn publicly on Monday.
The debacle started on Monday evening at a meeting in Klukwan school with Chatham School District leaders, including superintendent Hilburn.
While people spoke at length about insufficient communication between Klukwan and Chatham, about the loss of one of their teacher positions in February, and the transfer of another one of their teachers to Gustavus, at the heart of the enrollment issue is the lack of a functioning school bus.
Maggie Hotch said her family relies on transportation services. Hotch’s eight-year-old son, a second-grader at Klukwan, has Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPSI). MPSI refers to a set of inherited conditions in which the body is unable to properly break down mucopolysaccharides, or long chains of sugar molecules, which in turn affects bone, skeletal structure, connective tissues and organs.
Under the Free Appropriate Public Education Act, Chatham School District is required to meet Hotch’s son’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) requirements, which includes providing adequate transportation. Hotch said once the school lacked a functioning bus with a lift for her son, the district ceased meeting those requirements.
Strong said the lack of a bus caused student enrollment to drop. “The school bus is integral to the operation of our school in many ways,” Strong said. “Students coming into our school, most of them have to be bussed to school,” he said.
Klukwan School began this academic year without a bus driver. So, Cody Hotch, a paraprofessional at the school, became a certified bus driver. By the time he had gotten his certification, enrollment had already dropped to 17 students. It got worse during winter break after a fire destroyed the school bus along with Hotch’s home.
Klukwan communicated their need for a new school bus to the Chatham School District, but it has not sent them a suitable replacement, Hilburn said.
As a temporary solution, Hilburn recently bought a used school bus from the First Student transportation company in Juneau. They assured her that the bus was safe to drive and that the bus was roadworthy, she said.
“The bus got bought, but nobody talked to (Klukwan) about the bus,” Szatkowski said. “Nobody inspected the bus. I wouldn’t buy a car for myself without doing that. Why would you do that with a bus that drives kids?”
When Hotch picked it up from the ferry in Haines, he found numerous mechanical problems and safety concerns. There was balding on the right front tire and Hotch smelled oil inside the cabin.
“I do apologize for that bus,” Hilburn said Monday. “I took that bus in good faith to get a bus here to meet the need as quickly as possible, because we don’t yet have an insurance settlement, and we don’t have the money to buy a new bus.”
Although the bus was valued at nearly $60,000, the district’s insurance company offered the board $33,000. The board rejected that amount, but was later advised by its attorney to take the offer.
With six weeks left in the school year, there is still no timeline for receiving a functional bus from Chatham.
Klukwan and Angoon, both part of Chatham School District, are federally designated high-need schools, and Chatham is one of the lowest funded districts in the state.