JSD students name CBJ Streets winter maintenance vehicles

Students at Montessori Borealis Public School and Juneau Community Charter School recently got the chance to get up close and personal with one of CBJ Streets & Fleet Maintenance’s graders—otherwise known as Sir Plowsalot. Sir Plowsalot is one of several CBJ winter maintenance vehicles that recently received names of their own courtesy of JSD students.

In May 2023, CBJ partnered with classes at Montessori Borealis and JCCS to name seven winter maintenance vehicles, including plow trucks, brine trucks, and graders. Students in kindergarten through middle school held class contests to pick the final names, with Streets operators visiting classrooms to explain how the equipment works and what they do to keep Juneau’s streets clear.

“We’ve gotten a great response from people in the community who’ve seen the new names on the equipment,” said Streets & Fleet Maintenance Superintendent Scott Gray. “It’s a lot of fun to work with the kids and a good way to help them understand what goes on behind the scenes where they live.”

The winning names were:

Graders
Sir Plowsalot (Grades K-1, Montessori Borealis)
Golden Goat (Grades 2-3, Montessori Borealis)
Plowy McPlowplow (Middle school, Juneau Community Charter School)

Plow trucks
Thunder (Grades K-1, JCCS)
Sam (Grades 4-5, JCCS)
Big Bob (Grades 4-5, Montessori Borealis)

Brine truck
Ice Bite (Grades 2-3, JCCS)

The freshly christened vehicles have seen plenty of action this winter, with a record 76.8 inches of snow in January alone keeping crews busy around the clock.

Streets & Fleet plans to partner with students to name another two graders later this year.

For more information about winter street maintenance in Juneau, visit CBJ’s Winter Maintenance Information webpage.

February 26th, 2024|

Airport Board Finance Committee meeting scheduled for February 28

The Airport Board Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. in the Airport Manager’s Office Conference Room.  This meeting will be held to discuss the FY24/FY25/FY26 Budgets.

Zoom: https://juneau.zoom.us/j/83502646288?pwd=ncQTQ4Op3CwwArfLAo4f0BlFFM0i4b.1

Dial-in:  1-833-548-0276

Meeting ID: 835 0264 6288

Passcode: 613580

If you wish to testify via Zoom, please call Pam Chapin at 907-586-0962 before 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, to register.

February 23rd, 2024|

Join Juneau Pools for Augustus G. Brown ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 1

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the reopening of Augustus G. Brown Swimming Pool will take place on Friday, March 1 at 2 p.m. and is open to all in the community.

Following an 11-month closure for major renovations, AGB Pool is ready to welcome swimmers back into the water. Improvements include a resurfaced leisure pool, remodeled locker rooms, new plumbing and aquatic systems, a new boiler, and numerous other renovations large and small to make AGB more accessible, energy-efficient and user-friendly for a new era of Juneau swimmers.

The ceremony will feature a few words from Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon, Parks & Recreation Director George Schaaf and Aquatics Manager Terra Patterson, and Goldbelt Heritage will perform a cleansing ceremony. After the ceremony, the public can tour the facility to see the improvements.

A soft opening of the pool on limited hours is planned for the week of March 4, to be followed by a grand reopening and community free swim on March 9. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

Please be aware that AGB has limited parking and visitors should use the on-street parking adjacent to the pool if the parking lot is full.

For more information, RSVP to the Facebook event or visit juneaupools.org.

February 23rd, 2024|

February 23 JSD budget update: Reorganization/Consolidation

The Juneau School District has launched a special newsletter to keep the community informed of ongoing efforts to address the shortfall in the current FY24 budget and develop a new budget for FY25. The latest update is included below, addressing the school reconfiguration plan adopted at the February 22 special meeting of the Board of Education.

Newsletter updates are available after each budget meeting. To receive these updates as soon as they are available, download the free Juneau Borough Schools App from the App Store or Google Play and follow “District”. You can also visit the Juneau School District website and click on the 2024 Budget Information tile to read the newsletter as a PDF.

February 23 JSD Budget Update

Reorganization/consolidation process

The Board of Education adopted a plan for school reconfiguration last night, Thursday, February 22. Thank you to all who provided input in person, online, and in writing.

The board voted to adopt the following reorganization plan for the next school year:

Elementary: K-6 grades at neighborhood schools

Middle School: 7-8 grades @ Thunder Mountain

High School: 9-12 grades @ Juneau Douglas

Alternative/Optional programs:

  • Montessori Borealis, Juneau Community Charter School,  Yaaḵoosgé Daakahídi at Dzantik’i Heeni
  • Tlingit Culture, Language and Literacy  @ Harborview
  • HomeBRIDGE @ Thunder Mountain
  • District Office @ Thunder Mountain, Harborview, or Dzantik’i Heeni

Close 3 facilities:

  • Close Marie Drake and release back to CBJ
  • Close FDMS and release back to CBJ
  • Close district office and release back to CBJ

Reconfiguration is intended to maintain as much support, opportunity, and programming for students as possible. Declining enrollment, reflecting statewide demographic changes; rising costs; and relatively flat state funding have been tightening the school district budget for years. Juneau has reached the point where school reorganization is necessary, even if there weren’t a budget crisis.

Next steps

  • Present a FY24 winter budget revision

The Board of Education must take action to revise the current budget, and that budget must balance.

  • Develop a balanced budget for FY25

The board must develop and approve a budget for next year to be submitted to the CBJ Assembly by April 4, 2024.

Upcoming meetings

Board of Education Special Meeting – FY24 and FY25 Budget Discussion

Tuesday, February 27, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kale Library

Zoom: https://juneauschools-org.zoom.us/j/83428958356?pwd=Vmo3TStVRlRtWnlxakZ5OUJTN2ZHdz09

February 23rd, 2024|