The Cordova Times offered all candidates up to 300 words to tell readers why they are running in this election.
Voting hours for the Cordova regular election will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 5 at the Cordova Center Education Room.
Tammy Altermott
Incumbent Cordova School Board member Tammy Altermott says serving on the school board for six years “has been a honor and a privilege.
“Over this time period I have seen continued cuts to funding, both by the state and at a local level.
It saddens me when our kids are used as political pawns. We as a school board and myself personally never stop advocating for our kids. They are our future and somewhere along the line our elected officials have lost sight of that. Quality education needs to be our priority, we need to be advocating at all levels. We have an amazing school district; our administrators, our staff, our community partners, our parents that volunteer at a moments notice and our amazing kids are all a part of that. As we move forward into the future we need to remember that if we don’t provide the necessary tools for our kids to succeed that this will affect their future.
While advocating for our schools, we need to remember how tied to the ferry system our schools are. We limit them on so many levels when they can’t travel to events or other schools won’t travel to Cordova. Advocacy for our ferry system is also a priority.
The School Board needs to continue to build a better relationship with the City Council when it comes to our budget. We need to work together and be united and not divided.
It seems that at a time when the nation would have us be divided on everything, we really need to stand united as a community, because I believe we all want the same thing in the end.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve Cordova.
Barbara Jewell
Barbara Jewell seeks re-election to the Cordova School Board, where she says she has served for the past six years.
“It is a privilege to be a part of a community that supports its students so strongly.
The district is facing several challenges. We spent the last two years looking deeply at the educational needs of our students and our community. This strategic planning process has highlighted the fact that the skills our students need to be successful contributing citizens is changing. Our students need an emphasis on collaboration and communication skills, project- based learning, analytical thinking skills and a deeper experience with STEM and computer science. These needs require changes to curriculum, courses offered, delivery methods and professional development for staff as well as cultivating a school culture that promotes risk taking, shared responsibilities for learning and an emphasis on collaboration rather than competition. I will continue to promote policy change to support this growth, to allocate the resources needed, and identify measures of accountability that will tell us how we are doing.
The current budget presents the same challenges for the district that they do for all Alaskans. Proposed decreases to education funding would result in a $1,000,000+ loss to our district, the equivalent of 10 teachers. There is no possible way to maintain the quality of our education system with these cuts. Not to mention the impact it would have on the community with the associated loss of jobs, and quality of life. Cuts to the ferry system have already cost the district additional money and decreased student opportunities for extracurricular activities. Cuts to the ferry system impact our ability to recruit and retain quality staff and make it more difficult for families to live here. I will continue to advocate for sufficient education and transportation funding. Additionally I will be working in these next weeks to engage community members in advocating for an appropriate and sustainable education budget for our students.
