Camping, fishing, kayaking and an entire year of living on all expenses paid These are just a few of the promises made by members of the Karluk Tribal Council made in an advertisement that was viewed by millions this month.
The community wants to hire two families of four children each to relocate to the village to try to secure state funding and establish an educational institution.
After a short time, anywhere between 4 and 5 thousand took notice of the poster. Kathryn Reft is the Karluk Tribal Council’s secretary and treasurer. She told me they couldn’t have imagined the reaction.
“We decided to make something similar in order to see if it would receive any sort of interest,” she said. “We didn’t realize it would turn out to this magnitude!”
It is the Native Village in Karluk is located at the southwest side of Kodiak Island. The village is home to just 37 people who live there year-round. There are currently two children in the village however, villages must have at minimum 10 students to be able to afford the school. That’s the reason why the Tribe is seeking the two families who have 4 kids each to relocate there.
Reft stated that the small village has been seeking to expand for some time in the past, but it is not looking to grow any time soon.
“We put out our fliers in the world,” she said. “We tried contacting agencies but we couldn’t discover any interest, the idea was brought up by someone else: Why why don’t we put up a sign put out?’, and that’s what we decided to do.”
The Tribe has received feedback from families across the nation all the way to Florida and even international families with Canada as well as the Philippines regarding its advertisement.
“Our primary goal right now is bringing 10 students here in Karluk,” she said.
Karluk’s School was closed in 2018 due to a low enrollment, and has been declining in the years since.
Kodiak Island Borough Kodiak Island Borough has kept running the school through the payment of its heating and electric. Borough officials recently visited the building to check its condition. If they can do minimal repairs, it’s possible to open again and hold classes.
To attract more students To attract more students, the Tribe will pay the cost of housing, utilities, relocation costs and even an allowance for food for the entire year. If a family has the right one they’ll also prepare their children for jobs so that they can become an integral part of the community.
Cyndy Mika, Kodiak Island Borough School District Superintendent. Kodiak Island Borough School District Superintendent. She says the district was not prepared by the advertisement, but they are willing to assist the village.
“If they do manage to get those the 10th student, then we’ll need to come up with a solution,” Mika said. “But at the moment it’s going to be a challenge to fill the vacancies at this late in the day and it’s not in the budget.”
The district was unable to fill rural posts in the past year and had to contend with budget cuts of a staggering magnitude in the last month.
Mika admitted that she understands the struggles Karluk has to face without an education.
“I am aware that villages require schools and the schools are what make them grow in terms of population” she added. “It’s difficult to expand when you don’t have an institution for your students or children.”
There’s a ticker on the clock however. The state is counting student population for the school year in October. Reft the treasurer and secretary of the Tribe stated they’re hoping to get new families in the near future.
“We’re trying to get families here by September’s end prior to the start of school, get them settled in their home, and ready to go to classes,” she said.
The Tribal Council will start looking for applications in the coming week.
