District proposes closing three elementary schools and eliminating more than 100 full-time positions ahead of next school year
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is nearing adoption of its budget for the next school year, and facing a $23 million deficit, the district is proposing program cuts and school closures to address the shortfall.
Meadow Lakes, Larson, and Glacier View elementary schools are among the proposed closures. The district is also recommending cuts to more than 100 full-time positions, including administrators, teachers, special educators, and counselors. Nurses across the district would be reduced by half under the proposal, with the district shifting to a regional nursing model. A large crowd of students, parents, and teachers attended Wednesday’s Mat-Su Borough School District board meeting, advocating for programs that could be cut and schools that could be closed before next school year. Most in attendance were advocating for one of the three schools the district might close. The district said it would evenly disperse students from any closed school. Deputy Superintendent Katie Gardner said neighboring schools have the capacity to absorb those students. “There is a large capacity in neighboring schools, so there is an ability to transfer those students in their neighboring boundaries where there is capacity,” Gardner said.“It would not make sense to close the largest school, so we looked at those schools that were in operation with a projected enrollment next year of less than 300 .” she said.Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani framed the district’s financial situation as a revenue issue.Parents at the meeting raised concerns about a lack of information on how students would be redistributed and what would happen to specialized programs currently housed at schools slated for closure. Larson Elementary parent Abbey Grilliot said the closures could affect students who rely on school for stability. “They’ve worked really hard with all these students to form these connections. The kids want to come to school. That’s their stability. And when stability changes, you know, their life changes. Some of them don’t have stability at home. This is where they come and get that. They get that love. They get that care. They want to be there,” Grilliot said. Grilliot also said parents have not received enough detail about how specialized programs would be handled. “There’s not really any information telling us how they’re going to split kids up. We have specialized programs that are just at Larson and maybe one or two other schools. So where will those kids go? What will that look like? There’s just not a lot of forthcoming information, and that’s frustrating,” she said. Grilliot said she is worried the closures could set a precedent for how the district handles future budget shortfalls. “We start seeing more low numbers, and then that’s going to be their way of dealing with a deficit, is they’re going to close more schools. And I’m just worried that we’re going to end up with no schools,” Grilliot said.Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake‘Like a jet blasted you in the face’: 85 mph Arctic storm winds trap 150 people at Alaska basketball tournamentDrug dealer who shot officer and himself during fight sentenced to 14 years, prosecutors say
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