The Anchorage School Board is set to vote on the closure of four elementary schools, after reconsidering previous decisions based on community feedback and new information.
Published: Dec. 17, 2024 at 3:49 PM AKSTANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Anchorage School Board is expected to make its decision Tuesday night on whether to close any of four elementary schools that are currently under consideration. The district says closing and consolidating schools will allow the district to operate more efficiently, help with staffing needs and give children better access to specialty services.
Bear Valley, Wonder Park, and Tudor Elementary were initially included in late November. School Board President Andy Holleman said Bear Valley and Tudor were taken off after the board learned additional information it was unaware of. In Bear Valley’s case, that included the fact that the building was being used by an active community association to offer programs that weren’t available in the relatively isolated community. Holleman said an assumption that parents in Tudor’s Montessori program would drive their students to Denali Montessori was incorrect, and that many parents said they would move students to a nearby neighborhood school that didn’t have room. Wonder Park was taken off after the district found that it could receive all Pre-K classrooms from Nunaka Valley. MORE: While some celebrate their schools being removed from ASD’s proposed closure list, others face expedited closures“Since the announcement, we’ve all learned quite a bit,” Holleman said. “A lot of people probably think of one elementary school as being like another, but the reality is, the neighborhoods are different, the staffs are different and the way they connect with people is different.” Holleman said he expected a lot of testimony at the school board meeting Tuesday that could sway some board members who haven’t made up their minds. He said some members are likely to propose amendments to the district’s plan. “I think some of the members actually do want to make changes in what the administration has proposed,” Holleman said, without going into detail
SCHOOL CLOSURES ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT EDUCATION POLICY SCHOOL BOARD
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