Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

There are some places where the two sides agree. But there are more places where they don’t agree.

The tribe expects to enroll up to 65 students in kindergarten through third grade. The school will be hosted at the tribe’s Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht campus in Kenai.

Thirty-eight-year-old Charles Rininger teaches at Homer Middle School.

Sterling Elementary, Tustumena Elementary and the K-12 Nikolaevsk School could still be on the chopping block.

The three plans are subject to approval by the full school board. Finance committee members will meet again later this month.

The conversation focused on the proposed closure of the community’s school, state budgeting and the plans to widen the highway through the middle of town.

The visits brought staffers face-to-face with peninsula students, educators and community members, who sometimes pushed back on the governor’s proposals.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members on Tuesday formally asked the State of Alaska to increase and inflation-proof the base amount of money school districts get per student.

The exchange kicks off the negotiation process over new employment contracts for the district’s certified and support staff.

The district, which is facing a roughly $17 million budget deficit, is seeking input on where to make cuts.