On the Bristol Bay Borough Ballot, voters will decide two contested assembly seats and two contested school board seats.
Stephannie Blatchford is running for a two-year seat on the Bristol Bay Borough School Board, and as she tells KDLG, special education and nutrition are programs she is interested in addressing if elected.
**On election day, polls will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the King Salmon Village Council Building, Bristol Bay Borough Building Assembly Room in Naknek, and South Naknek Recreation Hall. Voters can vote absentee in person 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Borough Building in Naknek until Oct. 6th.**
Blatchford: My name is Stephannie Blatchford. I'm running for the two-year seat on the Bristol Bay Borough School District, and I currently work for the Boys and Girls Club here in Naknek.
Sutherland: And do you have any previous government experience or community involvement or involvement at the school?
Blatchford: Yeah. I used to be a substitute teacher, special aid, like one-on-one for the classroom, and I used to be the head cook during COVID. Other than that, just the Boys and Girls Club with the kids. But other than that, I don't really have any other experiences on governmental stuff.
Sutherland: What prompted you to put your name on the ballot for the Bristol Bay Borough school board?
Blatchford: I have five kids, three in school. I have a seventh grader, a fifth grader, and a second grader, and I just feel like it's time that I just get out and make a difference. I do have two girls that have IEPs, so with all the budget cuts and everything, I just felt like it's time to get no more involved, get my voice out, and be someone that the community can come to and voice their concerns. Because as a parent, I didn't attend my first school board meeting until May of last year, or actually this year, and there doesn't seem to be much community involvement with the school board. So it'd be nice to just be that person that you know, lets people know it's okay to start being involved and just be a positive, you know, reinforcement for the community.
Sutherland: What things in the district are you passionate about that you would like to focus on, if elected?
Blatchford: Definitely making sure that, you know, with all the budget cuts and everything, the school continues to go forward, you know, our students are taken care of. Especially, you know, our special Ed program. Just making sure it keeps on the path of the future. Because our school is so tiny, I think our graduating class is four this year. And being an alumnus, you know, it has a special place in, you know, my heart that I just want to make a difference. And, you know, especially having connections with most of the students from Boys and Girls Club days, because I've been doing that since 2015, I just want these kids to do something like be excited for school, and maybe even, you know, leave Bristol Bay and come back with skills that will benefit our community.
Sutherland: You mentioned the budget, and I did want to touch on that. I know kind of across the state, schools struggled this last year to balance the budget, and I'm wondering if you have a sense of how you would handle the budget situation with so much uncertainty on the federal level and state level.
Blatchford: I've never really dealt with a budget before, besides, like, in previous jobs, so this would be a new thing for me. But just making sure, you know, that we can start getting more flow, especially into the nutritional program, because that's where we're struggling really bad right now. And just making sure that each kid has, like, school has enough funds for each kid to, you know, provide that curriculum, provide that positive education that each child needs. Especially, you know, being a parent of, like I said, two IP students with special ed. Like, every department needs help. And we just need to find a way to, whether it's more grants or, you know, something, we just need to keep chugging forward, and finding that for our students, because we have, I think, what under 100 or at least 100 and we just need to keep putting in that work and maintaining what we have, and even more,
Sutherland: What issues in the district do you see that you would like to address if elected?
Blatchford: The nutrition, like I said. And then just making sure our teachers have the support and resources that they need to do their job, so our kids can go to school and not have to worry, and, you know, be a safe, positive place for them to further their academics and just make sure that, you know, our principal superintendent has what they need as well as they move each day along.
Sutherland: Do you have ideas for how you would make that happen?
Blatchford: Not too much. I know I would definitely want to get some school board training and be involved with as much, you know, conferences and stuff like that that I can to know how I can benefit from it and help the school board benefit from it. But no, I haven't really thought much of that yet.
Sutherland: Is there anything else that you would like voters to know about you going into this election?
Blatchford: Yeah, I'm just here to support our teachers. My children, not only my children, but the whole community, especially living here, you know, graduating from here. I just want to be that person that they can rely on, you know, questions, anything like that. I just want to be here for my community and give back.
