Liz Roundtree is finishing up a three-year term on the school board and is seeking reelection to a second term. She also is seeking more public engagement with the board.

“I thought there would be more community involvement.” Usually, only a single set of parents attends school board meetings, she said.

“For all the opinions in Wrangell, I thought there would be more people.”

It’s harder to make the right decisions as a school board member “when the community doesn’t tell you what they want,” Roundtree added.

She is one of four candidates seeking two school board seats in the Oct. 7 election.

It’s not all on the community, said Roundtree, who has two kids in school and a 9-month-old at home. The board could do a better job of communicating with the public when they ask questions at meetings. More work sessions — which are less formal than regular meetings — might be a good step, she said of her work list if she wins reelection.

“Getting back to the community when they come in to speak to the board” would help promote public engagement, Roundtree said. “I’m excited for that back and forth.”

The hardest part of the job, she said, is not always knowing if she is voting for the best answer. “Just because I believe it’s best,” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the answer that people want.

Roundtree, who runs the main office and liquor store at IGA and serves as post adjutant for the American Legion, believes the school district is doing a good job with its budget, though it would help if the schools could find additional revenues. “We need more electives. … I wish we could find it in our budget.”

The state is the largest contributor to the budget, though that funding often is caught up in politics — all the district can do is wait for the Legislature and governor to agree, or maybe disagree less.

“We need to find new revenue streams,” she said.

State law limits the borough’s annual contribution to the school district budget, and federal funds are increasingly uncertain as the president and Congress battle over appropriations.

Absent new revenues, the district struggles to balance spending with revenues, taking from its declining operating reserves in recent years to balance the budget.

“I think we’re doing good with the budget,” Roundtree said. “We’re making cuts and the things we need to do to save money.”

She knows the community is frustrated with the high turnover rate among principals and the school counselor. “It’s hard to get into a rhythm.”

The district is on its fourth high school principal in the past five years, its third elementary school principal in the past four years, and its fourth schools counselor since 2021. “It’s the ever-rotating door that makes it hard for parents to understand.”

Most of the hires who left after a year were from out of town, Roundtree said, adding that maybe they were not prepared for life in an island community in Alaska.

“I don’t think there is anything the school district is doing to run them off.”