In October 2005, Downing, the student and enrollment services coordinator for Kenai Peninsula College-University of Alaska Anchorage, was appointed to the board to replace Deb Germano, after Germano was elected to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.
At the time Downing applied to fill the vacancy created by Germano’s move to the assembly, Downing said her priorities were to work with the Legislature to ensure equitable funding, keep the pupil-teacher ratio (PTR) as low as possible, and support initiatives that enhance students’ learning and lives.
Of her accomplishments in the past year, Downing said the most important was keeping the PTR low.
“This was possible by gaining support from other district school boards and collectively encouraging the Legislature to immediately implement part of the ISER cost differential,” she said of a cost-comparison study by and recommendations from the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Equitable funding continues to be one of the top challenges facing the district, Downing said, as well as the challenge to improve graduation rates of Kenai Peninsula students. To address those challenges, Downing said the school board must “continue to advocate for funding and supporting the ideas that come from our teachers, administrators, parents and students so that our schools remain the best in Alaska.”
Families and students also face challenges, she said, among them “navigating the many options provided by the KPBSD.” The choices Downing listed include neighborhood schools, charter schools, Connections (the district’s homeschool program), alternative schools, distance education,
“I hope it is because students, parents, teachers and administrators feel I have represented them well,” Downing said.
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