Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes presents information to school board members during the third installment of the district’s “Budget 101” information series on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Screenshot)

‘Budget 101’: School district savings accounts

The series aims to inform the general public about how the KPBSD budget process works

KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes presents information to school board members during the third installment of the district’s “Budget 101” information series on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Graphic via health.alaska.gov

School board briefed on e-cigarette use by SoHi assistant principal

Results from the 2019 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that one in four students said they currently used an electronic vaping product

Graphic via health.alaska.gov
Hope School K-5 teacher Jeremy McKibben assists third grade students with reading skills part of CKLA’s “How Does Your Body Work?” unit on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

From Hope to Homer, KPBSD adjusts to Alaska Reads Act

Implementing the standards outlined by the legislation is not a one-size-fits-all approach

Hope School K-5 teacher Jeremy McKibben assists third grade students with reading skills part of CKLA’s “How Does Your Body Work?” unit on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
An arch marks the entrance to the Church of St. Nicholas on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 in Nikolaevsk, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
An arch marks the entrance to the Church of St. Nicholas on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 in Nikolaevsk, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Jacquelynn Tomrdle, left, and Nicole Murphy, right, present on behalf of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Students in Transition program at the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors award ceremony at Kenai Catering on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

2 KPBSD staff appointed to state homeless education group

The state group is tasked with reviewing and updating Alaska’s McKinney-Vento policies and procedures

Jacquelynn Tomrdle, left, and Nicole Murphy, right, present on behalf of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Students in Transition program at the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors award ceremony at Kenai Catering on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Brochures advertise information about the Safe School Helpline near the entrance to Hope School on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School district launches anonymous helpline

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District staff, students and community members can anonymously report concerns affecting district schools

Brochures advertise information about the Safe School Helpline near the entrance to Hope School on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education members Jason Tauriainen, Kelley Cizek, Dianne MacRae and Penny Vadla are sworn in by District Secretary Nikkol Sipes during a special school board meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board swears in new members, reorganizes

Kelley Cizek, Dianne MacRae, Jason Tauriainen and Penny Vadla took oaths of office during the meeting

From left, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education members Jason Tauriainen, Kelley Cizek, Dianne MacRae and Penny Vadla are sworn in by District Secretary Nikkol Sipes during a special school board meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Laura Burke speaks during a community conversation on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Home-school meeting draws dozens

The event was hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

Laura Burke speaks during a community conversation on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a budget work session on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Liz Hayes, left, testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a budget work session on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Aurora Borealis Charter School Art and Music Teacher Eleanor Van Sickle leads students in a performance of "Autumn Canon," a Hungarian song at a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Student serenade

Aurora Borealis Charter School students sing at the assembly during the regular school board meeting on Monday

Aurora Borealis Charter School Art and Music Teacher Eleanor Van Sickle leads students in a performance of "Autumn Canon," a Hungarian song at a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson walks amid natural gas pipes anchored to the outside of school on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

High costs stall work on school bond

A cost estimate for the reconstruction of Soldotna Elementary School came back $13.5 million over budget

Soldotna Elementary School Principal Dr. Austin Stevenson walks amid natural gas pipes anchored to the outside of school on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board Member Debbie Cary speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Cary also served on the borough’s reapportionment board. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School board president receives award for meritorious service

Debbie Cary, of Ninilchik, is the Alaska Superintendent Association’s 2024 recipient of the Don MacKinnon Excellence in Education Award

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board Member Debbie Cary speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. Cary also served on the borough’s reapportionment board. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dianne MacRae, Debbie Cary, Beverley Romanin and Kelley Cizek participate in a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education candidate forum at Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

School board candidates wrap up forum series

The forum was the eighth in a series hosted by the Clarion and KDLL ahead of the 2023 elections

Dianne MacRae, Debbie Cary, Beverley Romanin and Kelley Cizek participate in a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education candidate forum at Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes, left, gives a presentation on the school district’s FY23 budget at Soldotna High School on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. Hayes during the KPBSD Board of Education’s Sept. 11, 2023, meetings, debuted first of an informational “Budget 101 Series.” (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes, left, gives a presentation on the school district’s FY23 budget at Soldotna High School on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. Hayes during the KPBSD Board of Education’s Sept. 11, 2023, meetings, debuted first of an informational “Budget 101 Series.” (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Lyndsey Bertoldo, Penny Vadla and Jason Tauriainen participate in a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Lyndsey Bertoldo, Penny Vadla and Jason Tauriainen participate in a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly members Lane Chesley, left, and Richard Derkevorkian participate in a borough assembly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Haara/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly asks state to allow term limits for school board members

Alaska Statute does not allow term limits to be imposed on school board members

Assembly members Lane Chesley, left, and Richard Derkevorkian participate in a borough assembly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Haara/Peninsula Clarion)
Sidewalk chalk drawings cover the outside of corroding insulation at Soldotna Elementary School on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Sidewalk chalk drawings cover the outside of corroding insulation at Soldotna Elementary School on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

KPBSD to use grant funds for elementary counselor positions

The district budgeted about $626,000 for elementary school counselors for the current fiscal year

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
(Foreground) Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland (left) and KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes (right) speak about the district’s fiscal year 2024 budget during a work session with the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

School district prepares to launch ‘Budget 101’ informational meetings

The sessions will be targeted toward the public and will each tackle a different element of the borough’s budget process

(Foreground) Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland (left) and KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes (right) speak about the district’s fiscal year 2024 budget during a work session with the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland

A letter from the superintendent

Dear KPBSD staff, students, families and community members

KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland