Anchorage residents protested the proposed closure of Lake Otis Elementary School and Fire Lake Elementary School. The Anchorage School Board is considering closing the schools due to declining enrollment and budget concerns. The district has held public forums and surveys to gather feedback.
People demonstrate against the proposed closure of Lake Otis Elementary School in Anchorage on November 14, 2025. The Anchorage School Board will vote Tuesday night on a proposal to close two elementary schools in the spring.
If the proposal passes, Fire Lake Elementary in Eagle River and Lake Otis Elementary in Anchorage would close as neighborhood public schools. More than 400 students would be redistributed to nearby elementary schools, and the district would allow charter schools to move into the vacated buildings.to close two schools as a means to more efficiently serve a consistently declining number of students. The Anchorage School District has already closedat Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School in October, ASD Deputy Chief of Schools Kersten Johnson-Struempler told attendees why the closures were needed. “We are looking at low utilization rates. The reason we’re here, unfortunately, is partially budget-related, but partially enrollment decline,” Johnson-Struempler said. “We as a district really do have to consider what is our utilization rate, how are we using our money as a district most effectively, and so that’s a factor.” The district released an online survey and held three events to hear feedback from parents, teachers and community members. School board members heard more than four hours of public testimony in their three meetings since the plan was released on Oct. 6, much of which has been focused on the planned closures.In emails to parents, officials said they based their decision about which schools to close on available space at nearby schools; building conditions and maintenance needs; enrollment and population trends; and transportation routes.grade levels combined, and are more significantly impacted by one teacher calling out sick. Both Fire Lake and Lake Otis are hovering near 50% of their intendedLake Otis Elementary parent Shannon Bulau told the board during their last meeting that the special education programs and 21st Century Community Learning Centersat Lake Otis are conveniently located for families in the area. She criticized continued use of the term “right-sizing” by district officials. “This term is thrown around like gibberish. You want to resize our district by sticking teachers with more students than they can handle,” Bulau said. “It breaks my heart to think of what will happen to all these kids who rely on the stability of their school days, their teachers, their friends and the familiarity they see daily.”General education students at Fire Lake would attend Birchwood ABC school, Chugiak Elementary or Eagle River Elementary next year, and students at Lake Otis would end up at Airport Heights, College Gate, Kasuun, Rogers Park or Tudor Elementary. Caryn Brunello told board members she’s been happy to send five of her six children to Fire Lake, and asked them to vote against closing the school. “Fire Lake’s attendance continues to flourish, and with new subdivisions emerging all around us, we eagerly anticipate a surge of students. Let’s ensure our current students’ education remains uninterrupted, knowing that Fire Lake’s importance will only continue to grow,” Brunello said. “Fire Lake isn’t just a building, it’s a family. Please don’t break us apart.” Students in Special Education programs at four separate schools would be relocated under the district’s plan. Lake Otis Life Skills students would move to Airport Heights or Russian Jack; Structured Learning students at Fire Lake would go to Birchwood; Life Skills students at Birchwood would relocate to Alpenglow; and School Based Behavioral Support students at Kasuun would move to Ocean View. If the school board votes to close the two schools Tuesday night, Eagle Academy Charter School would be allowed to lease the vacated Fire Lake building and Rilke Schule German School of Arts and Sciences would be permitted to move into Lake Otis. Alongside the plan to allow charter schools to move into vacated elementary school buildings next year, administrators also seek to use vacant space in five school buildings for co-located child care operations. The co-located child care operations would run out of Denali Montessori, Huffman and Sand Lake Elementary school, as well as Bartlett and Chugiak High School. Of the available spots created, one-quarter would be set aside for children of district employees and one-quarter would be set aside for children of first responders. Statewide child care advocacy nonprofit thread Alaska has estimated that Anchorage child care centers fall about 8,000 slots short of the needed capacity. The school board will hold a work session on Tuesday from 3-5 p.m. Members will vote on the right-sizing proposal during their main meeting at 6 p.m.Tim Rockey is a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News focusing on education and general assignments. He has worked in journalism in Alaska for more than a decade, including at Alaska Public Media, Alaska’s News Source and the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Contact him at trockey@adn.com.Fairbanks man killed by passenger train near Anderson
School Closures Anchorage School District Enrollment Decline Budget Protests
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