NSBSD seeks Utqiaġvik school board member, highlights summer food help

A vacant Utqiaġvik seat on the North Slope Borough School District Board of Education comes as the district is trying to keep summer food help moving and line up supplies for the next school year. NSBSD is accepting letters of interest to fill the School Board District 3, Seat C vacancy, a post that sits on a seven-member board that also includes one student representative.

The board is one of the district’s main decision-making bodies, and an empty seat can slow action on staffing, budgets, transportation, student support and day-to-day school operations across the North Slope. The board generally meets once a month, usually on the first Thursday, which makes every seat matter when school business is moving quickly.

Families looking for food support have several programs to know about. Alaska’s Summer Food Service Program is federally funded and provides free meals to children age 18 or younger in low-income areas during the summer months when school is out. State officials say those meal sites can be set up in schools, churches, parks, rec centers, camps and other eligible facilities, depending on the location’s eligibility.

NSBSD also points families to Alaska Meals to You, a separate state program designed to reduce food insecurity in rural Alaska during the summer. Eligible children receive meal boxes through an alternative delivery method, such as the U.S. Postal Service. The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development says the program served 430,000 meals to 4,100 students in 11 rural Alaska communities in summer 2023, then expanded to 31 school districts and 147 communities in summer 2025, serving more than 1 million meals. NSBSD says Meals to You is separate from the yearly North Slope Borough Summer Feed program.

At the same time, the district is planning ahead for the 2026-2027 school year, which runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. NSBSD is seeking sealed bids from qualified vendors for food and non-food products for its Child Nutrition Program and is asking for a printable pricing sheet as part of the process.

The district’s schools serve communities from Utqiaġvik to Wainwright, Point Hope, Prudhoe Bay, Kaktovik, Point Lay, Atqasuk, Nuiqsut and Anaktuvuk Pass, with village schools including Alak School, Harold Kaveolook School, Kali School, Meade River School, Nuiqsut Trapper School, Nunamiut School and Tikigaq School. With a board seat open and food planning underway, the district’s next steps will shape both representation and daily school operations across the North Slope.