While enrollment in traditional brick and mortar public schools continues to decline, the Anchorage School Board voted to keep two elementary schools open for business even though they are at just 55% capacity.
The Nov. 18 vote rebuffed the district administration’s request to “right size” the district by shuttering the nearly half-empty Fire Lake and Lake Otis elementary schools and turning the buildings over to more popular charter schools that are now bursting at the seams – Eagle Academy and Rilke Schule German Immersion.
Like districts around the state, Anchorage is dealing with the reality that fewer parents want their kids in traditional public schools, opting instead for home, private or charter alternatives. In many cases, parents have expressed concern about controversial curriculum, poor student outcomes, radical LGBTQ-driven agendas and school safety issues. This reality is coupled with the fact that there are fewer overall children, as birth rates in Alaska continue to plummet.
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Anchorage School Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt has warned that the district can’t afford to keep operating schools that are nearly half empty, noting that student services will suffer in the long run.
In the past decade, the school board has voted to close five schools, while the district has requested the shuttering of 15 schools over the last three years.
Overall, the district claims it is facing a roughly $75 million shortfall in the coming year and there appears no real plan to make up the difference other than asking the State Legislature to dump more money into an educational system that is undergoing a radical transformation.
6 Comments
So expect next year more whining from Anchorage School District about being short funding “for the kids” since they chose not to close these schools that were experiencing LOW enrollment numbers. Go somewhere else besides the property taxpayers and search your slush funds and couch cushions for money.
Closing schools would mean the education system would need to relinquish some of it’s power, that isn’t ever going to happen. Less and less citizen want to continue supporting the bloated “public education system” (oxymoron), yet elected officials want to continue pumping money into a losing system.
Haha, classic ASD! Telling taxpayers one thing about needing to close schools due to low enrollment and then doing absolutely nothing about it. Guess those radical LGBTQ-driven agendas and controversial curriculum are just too precious to cut, even when the classrooms are practically empty and the district is running a $75 million deficit. Lets just keep whining about funding shortages next year while ignoring the obvious solution. Good luck with that radical transformation, folks!
Lake Otis Elementary which was to be closed is now reported in today’s new that it is one of the largest reasons for a $79 million dollar bond next spring. The School that was to be closed and is at 50% occupancy needs a new roof. Close the school and tear it down if it excess to needs.
Yes. They never “close” a school anyway …. they re-purpose it.
All the “closed” schools have students & teachers in them.
Let’s raze a few of them & sell the property.
Let’s actually downsize.
The number of ASD buildings (owned, leased/rented) is decreasing. The district, in essence, is getting rid of the properties where charter schools used to be and putting the charter students into district buildings where general programs were “closed”. I have three examples where shuffling programs resulted in the district shrinking by 3 properties. The examples include: the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School, the Rilke Schule German Immersion School and Anchorage STREAM Academy.
The Cultural Charter School used to be in a building on Bragaw next to the new fire station. It moved out of that building and is now in the Lake Hood Elementary building when the Lake Hood Elementary “closed”. The Bragaw building has been razed.
The Rilke Schule German Immersion School recently moved to the former Abbott Loop Elementary School. I think its previous location was a lease/rent and as far as I know the district no longer leases the previous location.
The Anchorage STREAM Academy leased a portion of the Wayland University campus off Muldoon. STREAM did not renew its lease with Wayland University and is now in the Nunaka Elementary building. ASD no longer leases space from Wayland University.