In the midst of school closures, rapidly declining student enrollment, and thousands of children abandoning traditional brick-and-mortar schools in favor of homeschooling and private education options, the Anchorage Assembly is asking residents to take on an additional $80 million in bond debt for school construction, upgrades and renovations, as well as planning and designing of future capital projects.
Voters will decide the fate of the Proposition 1 during the April 7 municipal election.
According to the school district’s website, it has seen a 15% decrease in student enrollment from 2010 to 2025 (7,487 fewer students) and a 137% increase in correspondence school students.
Down to 43,000 students, Anchorage has now shuttered five schools over the past decade with more on the chopping block for next year.
Despite the downsizing efforts, the district still has nearly 90 buildings under its control, most of which are experiencing shrinking enrollment and numerous empty classrooms. These schools represent nearly 8 million square feet of building space.
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Efforts to close more schools have been rejected by the school board, thus far, but additional ones will likely be shuttered in the coming years if enrollment in brick-and-mortar schools continues its decades-long decline.
Despite these stark realities, the city is asking voters to approve $79.4 million in new bond debt for school capital projects. If the cash-strapped state can’t afford to reimburse the bond debt, property taxes on a $500,000 Anchorage home would go up by about $77 annually.
To read the full bond proposal, click here.
