July 13 was Superintendent Daniel Brigman’s first regular meeting with the Kodiak Island Borough School District Board of Education. Brigman officially started his three-year term as the head of the school district on July 1 after Cyndy Mika departed Kodiak.
It was also Damon Hargrave’s first regular meeting as the new assistant superintendent after he transitioned from Peterson Elementary school earlier this year.
The meeting was sparsely attended, both by the public and by board members. Brigman joined the meeting virtually from Tennessee. He said he and several other school district staff were attending a professional development conference that was paid for by a grant the district received.
“It’s good to see you all, even though I’m online tonight," Brigman said. "But it has been a great journey so far. I’ve learned a lot, and I have tried my best to reach out and engage in the community and the school system, and put into practice what I’ve been saying, being all ears going in and listening before I speak.”
In his superintendent’s report, Brigman praised the Kodiak Shakesbears and other students on their recent accomplishments, and the board for their work so far. Board vice president Jim Pryor echoed that sentiment for Brigman’s first few weeks.
“I know that Dr. Brigman is coming into a situation, clear across country, new culture, new community, and has hit the ground running," he said. "I'm hearing from community members that he has impressed a lot of people. So Dan, congratulations on that.”
A key part of the board’s work this summer has been ensuring the district’s policies are in compliance with state requirements. During this week’s meeting, the board discussed updates to more than forty policies. Board President Kerry Irons says some of them are outdated.
“There are a lot of policies for us to consider this evening," she said. "Board policies sometimes require revision due to changes in state statute, and sometimes because they’re simply out of date and they don’t reflect our community.”
The board adopted five of these policies at Monday’s meeting. The rest will be up for the board to vote up or down at the next regular meeting on August 17, except for the three policies the board held for further review: one about workplace dress, one about harassment, and one about work stoppages.
Irons said that things will continue to be relatively quiet for the school board until August. But she said the calm has been welcome, particularly after cutting $2.7 million worth of staff and programs from the FY’2027 budget at the beginning of the year.
"The thought of looking forward to a new school year with hope and optimism is is very appealing," she said. "And I think that we we have much more hope and optimism than we did a month ago."
