Former Juneau school board member Steve Whitney, who stepped down in 2019 after one three-year term due to a family illness, was selected from among five candidates Saturday to fill the seat vacated by Will Muldoon until a person is chosen to finish the remaining two years of his term in this fall’s municipal election.
Whitney was sworn in and rejoined the board at the table just long enough for a motion to adjourn following a four-hour process that included public interviews with each candidate lasting up to 15 minutes, followed by an executive session where the six board members conducting the interviews made their decision.
In an interview with the Empire after the board meeting, Whitney said he knows the Juneau School District is facing much different circumstances than when he departed six years ago. He said dealing with new federal mandates was among the challenges then (today the Trump administration is trying to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education altogether), whereas now ongoing declines in student enrollment and a precarious financial situation are among the main issues of concern.
“I was in three budget cycles before, and for one of them we had an increase in student bodies and student population, and we had two decreases,” he said. “That increase was so much more pleasant than the decreases. When you decrease you lose money and you have to make cuts, and cuts always hurt.”
During his opening statement to the board, Whitney also expressed concern about the political and societal changes taking place at the federal and state levels in recent years.
“I believe that preserving democratic process is now important, more important than ever, and I see this board (and) this leadership working toward that goal,” he said. “And that is a draw for me to return to this board. Our society has become mean over the last six years. Some have risen to the occasion of this increased hardship, but that is not universal. My mindset going forward is to focus much more on healing the community and collaboration while we deal with difficult decisions, because I believe that is what this time calls for and that is also what will best serve our children.”
Whitney is a fisheries manager for the National Marine Fisheries Service with more than two decades of experience. He said he wants to return to the school board because of his familiarity with the challenges the district is facing from his perspective as a former board member and parent of two children who were enrolled from preschool through high school.
“My deputy regional administrator used to ask me the first time around if I enjoyed being on the school board and my answer to him was ‘No, but I was also glad that I did it,’” he said. “I mean it’s painful, I don’t like being here until midnight, but it needs to be done, and I’m capable of doing that and I’m willing to do it. I have a high pain tolerance.”
Whitney is returning to the board for a temp job as the school district is nearing the end of its annual budget cycle as well as contract negotiations, with both in a state of high uncertainty.
The budget assumes an increase per-student funding that Gov. Mike Dunleavy is expected to veto by Monday, and it’s unknown if some or all of the funding will eventually survive the legislative process by the time the new fiscal year starts July 1. Contract negotiations are in an even more unsettled state, with educators packing the board’s meeting last Tuesday complaining the district’s most recent offer slashes salaries and cuts prep time — with several people declaring their intention to leave as a result.
Whitney, in his written application to the board, stated his first priority is “to get union contracts in place.”
“This is always a struggle, giving our staff what they deserve while ensuring class sizes are not enormous,” he wrote. “With the budget constraints we face, it isn’t possible to meet both of those obligations as they deserve to be met, but the task needs to get done regardless.”
The other four candidates spanned a wide range in their involvement with the school district. The first candidate interviewed was Jenny Thomas, who during last year’s election was a candidate and led recall votes for two current school board leaders— alleging fiscal mismanagement that forced last year’s consolidation of schools — with her candidacy and the recalls coming up short.
“I think I’ve been very professional about it and I’ve sent in lots of suggestive helpful emails in the past year, giving them ‘Hey, there’s this thing out there; if you want me to help you figure out how to navigate this grant, let me know I’m happy to step in,’” she told the Empire after being questioned by board members. “I haven’t continually come after them — the recall’s done, right? It’s over. I’ve seen them out in public, and been very nice and polite. And it wasn’t a personal attack (then). That’s how I felt and a lot of people felt that way.”
Thomas was directly asked about her recall efforts during her board interview since all five candidates were asked identical questions. But Emil Mackey, one of the recall targets, asked her “what qualities do you feel make you the best applicant for this seat?”
“I am a fast learner,” Thomas replied. “I speak my mind, I am willing to listen to any kind of opinion and I like to come up with different solutions. And I think that it’s important on a board that you have people that have different opinions than you, because if everybody thought the same, why do we have a board? I think you need to have diversity on here, people that do disagree with each other, so they can come up with a creative solution.”
The other candidates were Brenda Taylor, a longtime teacher who co-founded the Juneau STEAM Coalition (science, technology, engineering and mathematics — plus the localized addition of arts) in 2016; Dom Pannone, a state transportation manager with three students enrolled in district schools; and Melissa Cullum, a critic of the district’s consolidation who has been a homeschool parent for the past 12 years.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
Jenny Thomas, left, is interviewed by Juneau Board of Education members for a vacant board seat Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Thunder Mountain Middle School. Thomas, who unsuccessfully ran in last year’s election for a seat, also was involved in an unsuccessful recall vote against two of the board members who interviewed her. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Brenda Taylor (right) smiles at Steve Whitney as he is named to the Juneau Board of Education among five candidates considered Saturday, May 17, 2025, in the library at Thunder Mountain Middle School. Besides Taylor and Whitney, the candidates were Melissa Cullum (second from left), Jenny Thomas (third from left) and Dom Pannone (third from right). (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
