Melissa Aronson "stumbled into" Haines in 2004
and found that "it was exactly the type of community" she and her husband
wanted. As a semi-retired, full professor with the California state university system,
Aronson teaches part-time from her home on Beach Road.
Telecommuting not only allows her to work in her pajamas and avoid
office politics, she also doesn’t have to drive to work and that’s reduced her
carbon footprint, she said. "I get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time than I
used to."
Aronson doesn’t have children in Haines schools, but she thinks
superintendent Michael Byer’s plan to try to attract other telecommuters to Haines
who do have school-age children has merit.
Telecommuting parents can be at home when their children come in from
school and at the same time continue in their profession, she said.
"We are no longer a society that is geographically
constrained," she said. "Telecommuting is the wave of the future and the
students (she teaches at the university) are comfortable with it."
Superintendent Byer said he would like to maintain a stable district
enrollment of between 300 and 400.
"Keeping a healthy, viable school goes hand in hand with keeping
Haines a healthy community," Byer said in a recent interview. A healthy community
means having a "mix of all ages" and "good businesses that go all year to
provide opportunities for families and youth," he said.
A larger and more stable enrollment would allow the district to offer
more classes that benefit students, he said. The district is currently projecting a drop
in enrollment, to 276.
So what do Haines schools have to offer?
"We have more extra-curricular activities than other small
communities and we have many talented people who are willing to volunteer or accept
nominal wages," Byer said. In a small school, students can pretty much participate in
any sport they want to because they don’t have to compete against so many other
students for the privilege of playing.
That gives them a chance to develop their talents and build a resume
that makes them attractive to good colleges and universities, he said. Just going to a
school in Alaska also helps because universities are looking for geographical diversity,
he said.
Business owner Michelle LaBrosse came to Haines several years ago for a
vacation and ended up buying property. She now divides her time between here and
Connecticut and vouches for what Byer sees as the advantages of the local school.
A few years ago, her older daughter, Anne Lindsley, decided to enroll
in school here because she was "bored." She thought it would be a good way to
make friends, but her plan was to attend only for a short while until classes resumed at
her East Coast school, LaBrosse said in a telephone interview from Connecticut.
"But she liked it here and wanted to stay, so I became a
bi-coastal single mom," LaBrosse said. "I thought it was a good life change for
her."
Lindsley graduated from Haines High School and now attends Lewis and
Clark College in Portland. Two years after Anne began going to school here, Kate, her
younger sister, switched from a private school in Connecticut to Haines.
As a senior, she will serve as the student representative on the school
board next year. She hopes to attend Harvard.
"Haines offered me a lot of different opportunities," Kate
said in the telephone interview. "It’s a stronger community and the school has
smaller classes and better training for college," she said. "It lacks major
stores and I miss the shopping, but I can deal with that."
LaBrosse, who was recently interviewed by CNN about telecommuting out
of her backpack, thinks Byer’s desire to attract other people like her and her
daughters to Haines is "fantastic."
"I love the community," she said. Lack of connection is a
problem everywhere, "but in Haines everyone knows each other and pulls together. The
whole community came together to send the Venture Scouts to Africa. It’s what’s
missing in the rest of society."
Byer would like to use a website designed either by students or a
professional, along with videos to attract telecommuters to Haines. LaBrosse cited the
recent article in Outside magazine that rated Haines as one of the best places to
live, along with other articles and even her CNN appearance as other ways to get the word
out about what Haines has to offer.
"A lot of knowledgeable workers would do fine here," she
said. "We need a faster Internet connection than what is now available and it can be
a little rough living in Haines in the winter, but we just have to learn to be patient
when traveling."
Byer said he’s looking to partner with people who are interested
in his plan. "It will be beneficial to everybody," he said.
