Haines Borough School District will carry over a $562,000 fund balance into the next year, superintendent Michael Byer told the school at a meeting June 28. The money is a safeguard that could help buffer the district if projections of a 10 percent drop in district enrollment are realized, Byer told the board. In other […]

Facilities issues dominated Tuesday’s Haines Borough Assembly meeting, where members voted to explore purchase of the Elks property, seek proposals for a temporary metal roof on the Chilkat Center and pay $39,000 for the first phase of the community facility master plan. The goal of the plan is “to develop a specific capital improvement plan for how […]

The Haines Borough School District is planning to eliminate one full-time teaching position and use reserves to bridge a projected deficit in the coming school year, but further reductions may be necessary, school board members heard at their April 5 meeting. The first version of the draft budget assumes no change in insurance costs and no increases during upcoming […]

Haines Borough Manager Mark Earnest on Tuesday proposed using increased property taxes, a variety of cuts and reserves to fill a $579,000 hole in the municipality’s $11.3 million budget for the coming year. “This is the starting point. We know there are challenges here. We hope, through this process, to make it work,” Earnest told assembly members […]

“We the People,” a local group that grew out of last fall’s Occupy Wall Street protests, may soon be advocating for increased polling by the Haines Borough and promoting the idea of discounts at local stores for use of cash instead of credit cards. The group also will sponsor a student debate 7 p.m. Monday in the […]

State Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, hammered on the need to limit spending at a Friday Chamber of Commerce meeting attended by local school officials seeking increases in the state’s foundation formula. “I don’t know how many times I have to say ‘no,’” said Thomas, who co-chairs the powerful House Finance Committee, where a bill to increase […]

Are security cameras around Haines waterfront locations a good security measure or an example of Big Brother government infringing on the privacy of residents? The question was zipping around the Internet this week, in advance of a resolution before the Haines Borough Assembly to accept a $233,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for fencing […]

The Haines Borough School District is seeking an additional $250,000 from the State of Alaska for the high school gym floor replacement project, owing to a recent $130,000 estimate for asbestos abatement. The district received $250,000 for the project last year. The asbestos is contained in the glue that attaches the playing court’s maple flooring tiles to […]