Election 2022: Candidates on the ballot for six school board seats

Candidates for six local districts on the Mat-Su School Board had the opportunity to submit answers to the Frontiersman candidate questionnaires as part of our 2022 election coverage. For the State House and Senate coverage, see frontiersman.com. For Mat-Su Borough Assembly election coverage, frontiersman.com and the Sunday print edition.

District 2

Ray Michaelson

Profesion: I work as a program officer for the Mat-Su Health Foundation, issuing grants to promote behavioral health services in the Mat-Su. Prior to that, I successfully completed a twenty-five-year career in Juvenile Justice, worked as a schoolteacher, coached youth and high school sports and worked as a homeless youth advocate.

Time in the Mat-Su: I have been a resident of Palmer for the past 28 years. I was born in Palmer and returned with my wife to raise our children.

Experience in politics and/or public service: I was elected to two terms on the Mat-Su School Board in 2013 and 2016. I also served two terms on the governor’s Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee.

Priorities and goals while in office: The children and youth of the Mat-Su deserve the best we can offer them, and that statement will guide my priorities on the board. These priorities include addressing: low reading and math scores; learning readiness for students entering Kindergarten; post COVID learning loss; safe and supportive school environments for all students; and the school district’s structural budget deficit. In order to address these critical issues, I will work collaboratively with my fellow school board members, students, their families and the administration.

District 5

Shirley Akelkok

Profession: I started off my career as a HS Language Arts teacher and now I’m in Human Resources.

Time in the Mat-Su: I’ve been in the Valley since 2011, but I have lived in Alaska my entire life.

Experience in politics and/or public service: I am currently on the MSBSD Indian Education Committee serving as president. I also served on the MSBSD’s Equity Task force in determining equitable access in education. I served on the State of Alaska’s Workforce Matters Task Force to improve opportunities for the disabled. I am also a member of the Matsu Borough’s Labor Board.

Priorities and goals while in office: My ultimate goal is to keep our kids safe and continuously improve our education system. This could be anything from stopping bullying in school, increasing student benchmark scores, or supporting better communication between parents and the schools. I have direct experience working in schools as a certified teacher, as a parent, as well as a volunteer. I can appreciate and understand what parents and teachers face on a daily basis. I recognize the issues that our students sometimes face. I look forward to your support in the upcoming election.

District 7

Ted Swanson

Profession: I am an IBEW 1547 Journeyman Wireman (Electrician).

Time in the Mat-Su: I have primarily resided in the Mat-Su since 1997.

Experience in politics and/or public service: I have no experience in politics and I have served in the United States Marine Corps from 2008 to 2013.

Priorities and goals while in office; As a member of the working class, and with the current staffing shortages across the economy, I believe now is the time to emphasize the Career and Technical Education programs we have in place, to ensure that they are as widely available to all students as possible. It is important to impress on our students that there are alternative career pathways other than to a college degree such as apprenticeships. We must not let the Borough make national news again by banning any more books. One of the main issues that propelled me to run for office was the banning of books in our schools. I believe that our students have a right to a maximum education, not a minimum. If elected I plan to make sure that our school district is on the correct side of history and will vote accordingly. I will represent every student equitably, not just the majority of students. A vote for me is a vote for your student.

Christiana Sitbon

My name is Christiana Sitbon. I am a substitute teacher for the Mat-Su Borough School District. I work at a daycare center and training childcare providers when I am not teaching. I have lived in Wasilla since 1996. I have 3 children of my own. My oldest child graduated last year and the other two are MSBSD students. If elected, my greatest priority will be reviewing teaching strategies and curriculum to return to the basics of reading, writing, math, science and social studies. I would like to see us move away from the politics that have infiltrated our classrooms and to return responsibility for areas of personal belief such as gender identity, health, CRT and moral values to parents and families. These are individual and family issues rather than fact, and they have no place in the classroom.

It is important that families are involved in the classroom and that we make every effort to give our students the best possible education. We have some of the highest funding per student in the nation, but some of the lowest standardized test scores. Identifying our district’s strengths and weaknesses so that we can improve is a huge task, but I believe that we have a group of candidates that are willing to work together to improve transparency and tackle the hard issues. I am your conservative candidate for District 7. I appreciate your vote!

Editor’s note: Kendal Kruse (District 2), Kathy McCollom (District 3), Jacob Butcher (District 5), Jimmie Elrod (District 5) and Ole Larson (District 6) did not return the candidate questionnaires and no information is available.