In November, Mat-Su Borough voters will be asked to approve a $58.1 million bond package to design and construct new charter school buildings for existing programs that are currently packed to capacity with long waiting lists of students eager to enroll.

The bond package was unanimously approved by the Borough Assembly at its Aug. 6 meeting with dozens of supporters testifying in favor of the measure. It will appear on the borough’s Nov. 5 ballot.

Three charter schools – Academy, American and Birchtree – are currently operating at full capacity in facilities that do not allow them to serve a growing demand among Mat-Su families who desire an alternative to traditional brick and mortar government-run schools.

Public charter school programs are part of a larger movement that is fundamentally reshaping the educational landscape across Alaska and much of the nation. While homeschooling has exploded throughout Alaska, and now represents nearly 20% of all students, charter schools have emerged as another popular choice for parents who no longer want their children to attend traditionally-modeled government schools.

To be clear, charter schools are public schools, but they are independently operated by parents and school educators, which gives stakeholders the freedom to design unique curriculum and hire their own teachers and administrators. They cannot, however, be religious in nature, and must be open to students districtwide.

The charter model has yielded impressive results in Alaska and elsewhere. Last fall, a national study revealed that Alaska’s charter schools are ranked best in the nation.

The proposed Mat-Su bond would allow Academy Charter to add high school to its current kindergarten through eighth-grade program. American Charter would be able to move out of leased space in a strip mall to a permanent, borough-built and owned facility that can accommodate the school’s growing waitlist of families. Similarly, Birchtree would move out of a leased facility that was recently sold.

Combined, these schools now serve nearly 800 students. That number is expected to drastically increase in the coming years if voters approve the bond.

According to the bond package, land has already been identified for American and Birchtree, while Academy has plenty of area to construct a high school facility.

If passed, the bond would require the schools to contribute 12.5% of their annual operating budgets to pay their school’s portion of the debt service. In total, the bond would provide Academy $16.8 million, Charter $15.1 million and Birchtree would receive $26.6 million. The annual cost to Mat-Su taxpayers will be an additional $31.40 to take on the bond dept.

While the Mat-Su Assembly unanimously agreed to place the bond package on the Nov. 5 ballot, Assemblywoman Stephanie Nowers proposed a last-minute amendment which would have added an additional $15 million to the package, claiming she wanted to include funding for myriad other public schools across the valley – a move she said might help fuel more voter support for the overall proposal. This was voted down with Nowers and Assemblyman Tim Hale voting in favor.

Prior to the vote on her failed amendment, Nowers admitted the $15 million add on was “a bit of a financial stretch,” and said she was “a little uncomfortable with that.”

Mat-Su’s focus on charter schools comes at a time when Gov. Mike Dunleavy is pushing the state to expand the charter system. Alaska currently has about 30 charter schools, but there is no limit on the number of schools that can be formed.

According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, enrollment in charter programs is exploding nationwide. From 2020 to 2023, charter schools gained more than 300,000 new students, an increase of 9%. Over the same time period, district public schools lost 1.5 million students for a net loss of 3.5%.

Combined with the rise in homeschooling, the charter movement is part of a seismic transformation of public education in the U.S. For many school choice advocates, including a number of parents who testified in favor of the Mat-Su bond package, charter schools are the only form of public schooling they will accept.

Debbie Veney, Senior Vice President of Communications and Marketing at the National Alliance for Charter Schools, said families are simply leaving the public schools system altogether when forced to place their children in traditional government schools.

“This trend should serve as a rallying cry to anyone who believes we can keep telling parents to just accept whatever is given to them,” she observed. “Families have discovered choice, and they like it. We must do more to ensure they have public school options that meet their needs.”

LEARN MORE

— Click here for details about the Mat-Su bond package.

— For more information about rules governing Alaska’s charter school system, click here.

Click here to support Alaska Watchman reporting.