The Mat-Su Borough School District superintendent issued an apology after he presented inaccurate information about the Galena City School District to the school board earlier this month.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Mat-Su Borough School District superintendent issued an apology after he presented inaccurate information about the Galena City School District to the school board earlier this month.
, Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani spent approximately 15 minutes of his superintendent’s report discussing correspondence schools, with particular focus on Galena City School District and IDEA. Three days later, Galena’s superintendent issued a detailed response revealing that much of the data came from a school district in Illinois with the same name.clarifying his original intent, Trani acknowledged using information from Galena Unit School District #120 in Illinois when discussing concerns about school choice programs in Alaska. The information had been sourced from a website that was incorrectly labeled as relating to Galena, Alaska.In a Feb. 9 letter shared on Facebook, Galena City School District Superintendent Dr. Jason Johnson addressed the errors in Trani’s presentation. Johnson noted that Trani was advocating for the state to restrict school choice by limiting the ability of students to enroll outside of district boundaries. “To be clear, he is advocating for the State to restrict school choice by limiting the ability of students to enroll outside of district boundaries, and otherwise to take away the freedom you currently have to choose a statewide program that honors your family and your children’s needs,” Johnson wrote to IDEA families. “Yes, this would force most region MS students to enroll in his program .” During his Feb. 4 superintendent’s report, Trani raised specific claims about Galena. He stated that Galena’s “Big 5” urban districts had built a swimming pool for Galena. He presented information suggesting that Galena was undertaking a $31 million high school construction project funded by redirecting millions from capital projects and operations. He displayed images suggesting that Galena Interior Learning Academy was undergoing major facility upgrades. In one detail, he identified a photograph as showing Galena’s “water polo team.” Trani also referenced a comment from an elected official in Juneau who said, “I don’t think that the Big 5 should have built a swimming pool for Galena.” The Mat-Su Borough School District superintendent issued an apology after he presented inaccurate information about the Galena City School District to the school board earlier this month.Johnson’s letter revealed that much of this information did not come from Galena, Alaska at all. Instead, it came from Galena Unit School District #120 in Illinois. “However, as you can see ... Dr. Trani was actually referring to actions and planning made by the school board for the Galena Unit School District #120, located in Galena, Illinois,” Johnson wrote, providing links to the Illinois district’s meeting minutes and construction updates. In his own Feb. 7 clarification statement, Trani said the slide included a screenshot from a publicly available website that was clearly labeled as relating to “Galena City School District, Alaska.” He stated the information was “included in good faith” but acknowledged that the source article was incorrectly attributed and actually described actions taken by a school district in Illinois, not Galena, Alaska.According to Johnson, Galena’s swimming pool was constructed around 1999-2000 and was nearly fully funded through grants, partnerships, and infrastructure from prior military presence in the community. It was a cooperative effort involving the school district, the City of Galena, and the local tribe — not a subsidy from urban Alaska districts.Johnson clarified that all of the buildings Trani displayed images of were previously completed projects with no current or planned construction for the GILA campus. Johnson identified the four buildings Trani referenced. Three were funded by Alaska Department of Education CIP grants: the Vocational Training Building , Recreation building , and S.T.E.M. Building . The fourth, the Student Center, was completed in 2015 using GCSD’s Capital Projects fund.Johnson noted that the student photograph depicted Galena’s volleyball team, wearing their knee pads and holding a volleyball. The photograph of the swimming pool includes the words “swim practice,” “swimmers,” and “swimathon,” clearly depicting this as a swim team and not water polo.Johnson emphasized that the inaccuracies were not minor errors. “Again, under less serious circumstances, offering a presentation with such egregious and destructive errors would be amusing, but these false statements may become persistent divisive dialogue that will impede your freedoms if not checked and addressed with facts,” he wrote. “The commentary and inaccurate information portrayed throughout this presentation were dangerously careless and jeopardize your rights as parents, undermine our values, and paint the District in a negative light.”, which serves over 8,000 students across Alaska, has become the state’s largest homeschool program since its inception in 1997., in response to the errors, IDEA has expanded educational opportunities across Alaska’s vast geography, accepting thousands of additional students beyond official count dates and receiving zero additional funding for them — yet still maintaining the responsibility of educating them. Cronk claimed in his op-ed titled “School choice, homeschooling deserve facts, not fiction” that “the superintendent relied on AI-generated material that confused two entirely different school districts.” However, Trani’s clarification statement did not mention use of artificial intelligence, stating instead that the information came from “a publicly available website that was clearly labeled as relating to Galena City School District, Alaska.”of Trani’s presentation does show him discussing using AI regarding local control for school boards around the state of Alaska. Cronk highlighted several specific errors, including the misidentification of the team as a water polo team and the presentation of outdated construction information as evidence of current district spending priorities.In a statement to Alaska’s News Source, Johnson warned of broader consequences if policies restricting school choice were implemented. “Simply stated, there seems to be a significant misunderstanding with regard to the strong convictions that homeschooling families across Alaska have,” Johnson said. “Should Dr. Trani receive his expressed request that he used false information to convey and either attempt to force students back into their local District , you would see Alaska’s Economy and Public Education system crumble as many of these families will opt for private homeschooling and/or join a national homeschooling movement.”“Local vendors would parish, millions of dollars would be erased from local businesses and money would flow to the Lower 48,” he wrote. “Help me understand how this benefits Alaska in any manner?”“I regret the confusion this error caused and understand why it raised concern. Accuracy matters, especially when discussing communities and school systems that people care deeply about. Once the issue was identified, it was important to correct the record publicly and clearly,” he wrote. He stated that he has corrected the error on the MSBSD website and committed to addressing the error publicly at the next board meeting. Additionally, Trani said he has reached out to other elected officials and Galena City School District leadership to inform them of the mistake and the corrections being made.In his letter to IDEA families, Johnson emphasized the district’s commitment to educational choice and transparency. “Please know that IDEA and GCSD believe in transparency and partnership with our families. We are saddened to even write this letter because we truly believe there is a place for all educational models, and we advocate as such; we should have a unified voice in advancing appropriate funding and support for all public schools in Alaska,” he wrote. “In doing so, parents must not be denied the ability to choose the model they need for their current season of life and which serves their child’s best interests.” He concluded with a statement about the responsibility of public servants: “As public servants, we have a moral and ethical responsibility to stand for the truth, no matter the discomfort or personal cost in order to protect those we serve.”‘The kids don’t deserve that’: Scouting America troop trailer worth thousands of dollars stolen3 junior hockey players killed in crash heading to practiceLarge winter storm envelops AlaskaFairbanks City Council votes to increase members' stipend from $500 to $750
Mat-Su School District Matsu Valley School District Msbsd Alaska News Valley News Palmer Wasilla Ktuu
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
N.J. town working to recoup millions stolen from school district by scammerSpotswood officials have asked the state and their insurance carriers for help.
Read more »
Lancaster school district fighting nearly $10M shortage after overspending in 2024-2025After what's being described as
Read more »
San Diego Unified School District receives $850K for mobile laundromat to help homeless studentsGabe Salazar is KGTV's newest multimedia journalist, weekend anchor and forecaster.
Read more »
Family plans lawsuit against Valparaiso school district over football injuryA Valparaiso family is preparing to sue a local school district, alleging it failed to properly treat their son after he was injured during football practice.
Read more »
Mat-Su superintendent cites incorrect data in homeschool funding presentation after AI useMatanuska-Susitna Borough School District Superintendent Randy Trani cited spending data from Galena, Illinois, instead of Galena, Alaska.
Read more »
Police post video showing drivers passing stopped school buses in Neshaminy School DistrictPolice in Middletown Township, Bucks County, are highlighting drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses.
Read more »