Bonnie Ritchie mostly has homeschooled her three children, though her two oldest kids are attending Wrangell schools this year. It was when she enrolled her two teenagers that she decided to get more interested in school district issues and started thinking about running for the school board.

“This would be a great opportunity for me to get involved,” she said of her decision to run for the board.

Ritchie is one of four candidates on the Oct. 7 municipal election ballot for two three-year terms on the board. The top two vote-getters will win.

“I am good at looking at the problem and finding a solution,” she said, adding, “You can’t always make everybody happy, which is not the part I am looking forward to.”

She has never run for public office, but believes the time is right. “I feel like my heart … is to serve Wrangell.”

The schools have “some great teachers,” but she would like to see the district offer more remote learning opportunities so that students whose families move around during the year don’t get left behind.

That could include online teaching or other accommodations, Ritchie said. Students could learn remotely. “You don’t need to be here every day.”

She cited as an example the PACE homeschool program offered by the Craig School District. “Wrangell could potentially be one of those.”

PACE uses state money to pay for its core classes, which include language arts, math, science, social studies and technology, with some state funds available to reimburse parents for certain costs of elective classes they choose for their children.

The growth in homeschooling in Alaska has reduced the number of students enrolled in public schools, which receive state funding based on their classroom count.

Ritchie said homeschooling has been a good fit for her kids. As a fishing family, she “fell in love with the flexibility and opportunities” of homeschooling.

Her daughter is a junior in Wrangell High School but has amassed enough credits that she will graduate in May. Her son is enrolled as a freshman, and her youngest daughter, a fourth grader, is homeschooling this year.

Transparency is essential for the school district to communicate and work with the community, she said. For example, the mandatory travel fees for student activities were not adequately explained in advance, Ritchie said.

“I think transparency is the key to success.”

The school district has managed to balance its budget in recent years by drawing down on its operating reserves and is seriously looking at significant spending cuts to close the gap — none of which are popular.

Ritchie declined to offer recommendations on what the school board should do about its finances. “I feel like I haven’t dipped my toes in the water,” she said of budget issues.

“One of the things I know I would like to improve” is requiring that students master their subjects before moving up in grades. “It’s really important that you learn what you’re doing.”

In addition to commercial fishing, the family operates Ritchie’s Rocks, making and selling garnet jewelry and salves, oils and other products made from the root and inner bark of Devil’s club plant.