Tim Doran and Michael Humphrey run for School Board Seat E

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - Tim Doran and Michael Humphrey are running for seat E on the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board.

Incumbent Doran said he’s seeking re-election because this is a critical moment for the school district. “We’re sort of at a juncture. We do have a new superintendent. I’d like to help with that transition. We have funding issues that I want to continue to work with. We’re recovering, if you want, rebuilding, redesigning after the pandemic.”

He is concerned with implementing the Alaska Reads Act in a way that fits the Interior. “It’s for building literacy. Its main focus is the primary, kindergarten through third grade, but we’re concerned as a district to make sure that it’s K-12, and not just in reading itself, but how do you use those skills in the other disciplines, science, social studies, music.”

Doran wants the district to be responsive to students’ needs, saying, “I really try to listen to all the perspectives. As a principal, it was really important for me that anybody who walked in the door of our school felt welcome and included, and importantly, comfortable enough to talk with me.”

Michael Humphrey, meanwhile, is challenging the incumbent for this school board seat.

Humphrey said he’s not happy with the direction the school district is going. “The budget is always a mess. A lot of people try their hardest, but by the time it comes around to vote on the budget, there is still way too many things left to figure out, and they don’t end up reflecting the reality of what the actual budget is. So I think a more strict approach to the budget, a disciplined approach, so that by the time it comes to vote on it, we already have answers. We already roughly know what the budget should look like, instead of trying to make a whole bunch of rash decisions at the last second.”

He thinks schools should focus on core education subjects and rigorous academics. “That means no radical gender theory, no critical race theory. These things are not taught as subjects, but they make their way into the classroom in various forms, and teachers shouldn’t have the burden of dealing with that, and shouldn’t be allowed to promote their point of view politically, if that’s what they’re doing, so a focus on academics is key.”

Humphrey wants to create more opportunities for parental involvement in schools. “If we can create these volunteer opportunities for parents that have the time to volunteer as lunchroom monitors, recess monitors, curriculum review, that kind of thing, more parental involvement is going to lead to better outcomes for the students,” he explained.

Doran and Humphrey will appear on the ballot in the municipal elections on October 3.

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