Eric Andersen in his elementary school classroom. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

Eagle's View Elementary will have a familiar face in its principal’s office starting this summer.

Longtime teacher Eric Andersen has been tapped to replace outgoing elementary school principal Jeannie Schiaffo.

Schiaffo was principal for two years. District superintendent John Conwell says she’s leaving to pursue opportunities outside the state.

Conwell says they got more than 50 applications for the principal job, mostly from external candidates. But he says Andersen is already well established in town, and that made him the best choice.

City council approved a $3.9 million local contribution to the 2015 school budget on Tuesday. But that amount might change, with education funding bills still unfinished in the legislature.

The $3.9 million figure includes about $2.8 million for the city’s maximum allowable contribution to the schools, plus just over $1 million on top of the local funding cap. It’s the amount the district asked for -- about 4 percent less than last year’s contribution.

City council will vote on the city contribution to next year’s school budget at their meeting tonight.

The city has proposed contributing up to about $3.9 million to the school budget in 2015. That would include a million dollars beyond the set funding cap.

It’s still unclear what impact state legislative changes might have on the local school budget. Unalaska based its proposed contribution on a potential $85 boost for the base student allocation. But that increase hasn’t been finalized yet. The legislature is currently scrambling to finalize an education package as their session stretches into extra days.

Courtesy of City Hall

The city has canceled a $3.9 million contract with Northern Alaska to expand the landfill.

That's after workers found evidence of explosive material in heaps of rock recycled from the wastewater treatment plant site.

About two weeks ago, city manager Chris Hladick says Northern Alaska discovered dynamite wrappers and wrappers from booster explosives buried in the piles of rock at the landfill.

Longtime Unalaska city clerk Elizabeth Masoni is stepping down next month, and on Friday, the city announced a replacement. Deputy clerk Catherine “Cat” Hazen will move up to the head position when Masoni retires in May.

According to a press release, Hazen has worked for the city since 1999 -- first in finance, then as deputy clerk starting in 2010. She got her municipal clerk certification last year.

Police started investigating at the local high school on Monday. Within days, they had arrested four people -- including two students. Deputy police chief Mike Holman says that's extremely rare in Unalaska. 

The M/V Tustumena (Courtesy: Nancy Heise)

With the state ferry Tustumena nearing the end of its life, the Department of Transportation is looking to build a bigger boat -- and they want communities on the ferry's route to weigh in on the design.

The DOT announced Wednesday that they'll hold public meetings on the Tustumena replacement next month in Unalaska, Kodiak and Homer.

The state expects to replace the Tustumena with the new, longer boat in the next few years. The proposed 325-foot vessel would carry more vehicles and passengers and would be designed for a smoother ride.

The city has hired a new director of public works after a six-month search.

Tom Cohenour will step into the position in the next few weeks. Most recently, he directed the department of public works in South St. Paul, Minn. But he’s worked in Alaska before, as DPW director in Cordova and Palmer.

City human resources director Kelly Stiles says that experience will be an asset in Unalaska.

(Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)

After two months of protests, Delta Western fuel workers in Unalaska have voted to unionize. But it could be the first step in a much longer process.

The Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific got majority support among 15 eligible workers in an election on Thursday night. a slim majority in an election on Thursday night -eight of 15 employees who voted. A lawyer from the National Labor Relations Board oversaw the election and tallied the ballots.