The state Board of Education will discuss recruiting Alaska’s next Commissioner of Education when it meets in Sitka on Wednesday (9-7-22).
The board will also consider selling a portion of the Mt. Edgecumbe High School campus to the US Coast Guard for a docking facility for a new cutter.
Former Commissioner of Education Mike Johnson stepped down on June 30, and was succeeded by interim Commissioner Heidi Teshner.
Replacing Johnson involves more than handing the governor a list of names. The Board of Education recruits the new commissioner, and recommends appointment to the governor. This is unlike any other department in state government.
During its quarterly meeting in Sitka, the board will consider spending up to $100,000 on a vendor to conduct a nationwide executive search, with the goal of having three – or possibly four – finalists for in-person interviews by next January. The board would then complete interviews by the end of February and make a recommendation to the governor.
Mike Johnson was one of the longest-serving members of Gov. Dunleavy’s cabinet, having been appointed by former Gov. Bill Walker. Johnson was third in the line of succession to be governor in the event Dunleavy and Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer were unable to serve.
The state Board of Education will also look at selling three waterfront properties to the US Coast Guard for a new docking facility for a Fast Response Cutter, which will be homeported in Sitka beginning in 2025.
The three tracts of land are on Seward Avenue, to the northwest of the shoreside facilities for the buoy tender Kukui, and across the street from the new Mt. Edgecumbe Aquatics Center. The site is vacant, except for well-tended lawn, Sitka Rose bushes, and a swingset. The combined size of the properties is just over one-and-a-half acres. The project plans include demolishing the current pier serving the Kukui and replacing it with a new one.
No price is identified for the parcels. The action item for the board is to authorize department staff to begin negotiations with the Coast Guard on the transaction. The board packet includes a letter from Sitka municipal administrator John Leach urging the board to make negotiations with the Coast Guard a priority.
Note: The State Board of Education is meeting in the Mt. Edgecumbe High School Library through Wednesday, September 7. The board will take public comment on any item beginning at 8:45 a.m. Public comment may be made for this meeting during this time only, in person or by calling 1-844-586-9085 if you are outside of Anchorage or Juneau. For participation from Anchorage, call 907-563-9085 and from Juneau, call 907-587-9085. The meeting is also streaming on YouTube (audio only).
