“The reality is our schools are being underfunded and it was never addressed by our state government,” Anchorage School District Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt wrote in an email to parents Tuesday.
“Survey results show a strong feeling to reduce excess building capacities by merging schools and programs. The community supports school closures over classroom size increase and program elimination,” Bryantt wrote.
“During today’s work session with the board, we will focus on proposed campus closures and consolidations. This is an incredibly emotional and painful topic to hear, particularly after the immense strain put on our community due to the pandemic." Bryantt said that the influx of federal COVID-19 funding gave the district a “false sense of security.” Bryantt noted that the number of kindergarteners enrolled in Anchorage schools has declined by 20% over the last five years. Similarly, Bryantt noted a 20% decrease in the total of newborns in Anchorage. Bryantt said that the number of students enrolled in Anchorage schools will continue on a “steep and steady decline.” “When student enrollment declines, that has a direct impact on funding from the State of Alaska , and the student experience. Because a number of our buildings are under capacity, it becomes incredibly challenging to offer the electives and services that a family would expect from their neighborhood school, particularly as the level of need for specialized services continues to grow. Closing a school is not anything I take lightly–schools are the heartbeat of our communities. But I believe that by right-sizing our schools, there is a path to improve the quality of education for our students,” Bryantt wrote. Bryantt and the school board are beginning budget discussions that will culminate with the passage of a budget in February as required by state statute. Bryantt wrote that a decision will be reached on potential school closures by the end of December. “The reality is our schools are being underfunded and it was never addressed by our state government,” Bryantt wrote. “The second reality is that our District has been given insufficient and unstable funding from the SOA for years, and it is hurting our schools. Even if our enrollment had not declined, a dollar does not stretch as far in 2022 as it did in 2017."
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