The Anchorage School District welcomed students back to school Thursday. For the 268 students who attended Abbott Loop Elementary, it was a day of transition. The district closed Abbott Loop last year, citing budget concerns and low enrollment.
Most of those students were transferred to Kasuun, with some going to Trailside Elementary.
Nine-year-old Colby Whitbeck is starting third grade at Kasuun. He said he didn’t want to leave Abbott Loop.
“(It) made me feel like I wanted to stay at one place and not move to another,” he said.
Colby’s father, Rick Whitbeck, was president of the parent-teacher organization at Abbott Loop, and now holds that same position at Kasuun. Whitbeck said he understands the budget issues facing the district, but said he felt like Abbott Loop got singled out during the budget discussions. He was worried that Abbott Loop families would be negatively impacted by the transition, but he said the families have been welcomed at Kasuun.
“As far as I know, having talked to the families that I’ve talked to over the summer, and as we prepared for this year, I don’t know one family that got left behind,” Whitbeck said. “So the administration to their credit, and the board, and the planning, I think all came together.”
Last year, the district had originally proposed closing as many as six schools to save over $4 million. But after hours of public testimony to the school board and multiple community meetings, it decided only to close Abbott Loop. Without a permanent increase to the Base Student Allocation — the funding formula used to determine how much Alaska schools receive from the state — ASD Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said that more schools may have to close in order to pass a balanced budget.
“Going into the next fiscal year, ASD is looking at a budget deficit exceeding $80 million, potentially, that’s huge,” Bryantt said. “I know firsthand, having gone through this, this time last year, it’s not an easy conversation to have with the community. And yet, we’ve been forced into this position once again, because of a lack of political will in the governor’s office to adequately invest in our schools.”
Kasuun Principal Kori Engstrom said that as new teachers from Abbott Loop were brought over, she wanted to make sure that their classrooms were mixed in among the other teachers, and not separated in their own group.
“They worked over the summer to come up with plans to make sure that everybody is welcome and included,” Engstrom said. “Yesterday when I met with all of our staff in the library, it was double the size of what it’s always been and the energy was so positive and so amazing.”
Five teachers from Abbott Loop moved with their students to Kasuun. Dana Cain has been a teacher for over three decades, and spent the last two years at Abbott Loop. Cain said that the decision to close Abbott Loop brought out a lot of emotions from both students and staff.
“It really was devastating,” said Cain. “Because down my hallway, we were a family and we all looked out for each other. And just, the fear of not working together and not being together, and our students, not knowing where our students would be, that just tore our hearts out because we get attached to our students.”
But Cain said it was exciting to see familiar faces in the hallway on the first day at Kasuun.
“For me it’s really warmed my heart,” Cain said. “I’ve been really excited, and then to see their face when they see me — somebody they recognize — to see that excitement, it’s like, okay, it’s gonna be okay, we know somebody here.”
Abbott Loop was built in 1958 and is currently occupied by the Alaska Native Charter School, which had been previously housed inside Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated when Abbott Loop Elementary was constructed. Abbott Loop Elementary was built in 1958, not the 1960’s.
Tim Rockey is the producer of Alaska News Nightly and covers education for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at trockey@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8487. Read more about Tim here.
