Amid a broader shift away from traditional public school models in favor of homeschool, private education and charter schools, the Kenai Borough Assembly is set to consider an ordinance that would authorize the sale of the former Nikolaevsk School property to Alaska Homestead Education, Inc. (AHE) to support a community K-12 charter school.
The move aims to relieve the borough of ongoing maintenance burdens of the shuttered former school, while enabling continued educational use of the site in the remote Nikolaevsk area.
After years of struggling to convince the Kenai School District to let them operate their own unique public charter school, residents of Nikolaevsk celebrated late last year when the school board approved the school along a narrow 5-3 vote.
Located roughly 20 miles outside of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula, Nikolaevsk is a quiet community established in 1968 by Russian Old Believers. Since then, it has grown to over 300 residents, most of whom share a common desire to live a quieter life, connected to faith, family and traditional work such as farming, fishing, the trades and craft making.
The plan is to serve roughly 90 students, emphasizing community values associated with farming and homesteading skills, along with traditional academics.
Last year, the school board voted unanimously to shutter the school in order to save money for the cash-strapped district. At the time, Nikolaevsk only had 21 students enrolled in a school that has a capacity for 175.
A public hearing on the proposal to sell the property is now scheduled for June 16. The agreed sale price is $2 million, however, key provisions include significant deferrals and potential forgiveness of payments. Annual installments will be deferred as long as the property remains in active use for K-12 school purposes and AHE contributes a minimum of $202,526.64 each year toward building maintenance and operational costs.
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After ten years of successful operation, the full balance could be forgiven. If AHE fails to meet the contribution threshold, remaining funds would be held by the borough for future maintenance. Should the organization default entirely, all deposited monies become the property of the borough, and title may revert to the borough at its discretion after 120 months of non-school use.
The ordinance recognizes unique challenges with the property, including a cloud on title, its remote location, high holding costs, and limited alternative uses. Borough officials note that conveying the site to AHE for charter school purposes satisfies a community need while protecting taxpayer interests by avoiding indefinite public ownership expenses.
This arrangement highlights ongoing efforts in Alaska to support charter and alternative education models amid broader discussions about school choice, parental rights, and fiscal responsibility when it comes to cost-effective educational models. The Nikolaevsk community has sought a dedicated charter school space, and transferring the idle property could help sustain local K-12 options without additional taxpayer-funded construction or upkeep.
Residents can review full details and provide input at the upcoming June 16 assembly meeting.
