Anchorage voters will decide on a bond proposition from the Anchorage School District on the ballot in the upcoming April election. If passed, the bond will fund roof repairs and three secure vestibule entrances at local schools, as well as replacing Inlet View Elementary School.
The complete school bond package is over $62 million. The largest single item is nearly $19 million to replace Inlet View Elementary in South Addition, which was built in 1957. The total cost is over $50 million, and the district already has $31 million set aside for the project from previous appropriations.
The district’s 2022 school bond included replacing Inlet View, but it failed by a slim margin.
Just over $4 million would be used for security improvements and secure vestibule installations at three elementary schools. District Maintenance Director Keri Shivers said if the bond passes, the money would go to updating fire alarms and intrusion detection systems.
“It’s kind of a whole big group of many things to enhance our security,” Shivers said. “The challenge is always enhancing the security without compromising the warm and welcoming atmosphere that we’d like to have at our schools.”
Forty schools across the district already have the secure vestibules, and another 16 are planned. The vestibules prevent people from being able to enter the school without approval from staff at the front office. The planned improvements also allow staff to issue a lockdown with a single button in the event of an intruder.
“Even a few extra seconds can make a huge impact on our ability to respond,” Shivers said.
Shivers said the district currently has funding to install another seven vestibules this summer, and the bond package on the April ballot would fund installation at Kasuun, Lake Hood, and Klatt Elementary schools.
The bond would also fund three roof replacements and seismic upgrades to Alpenglow Elementary, Central Middle School, and Chugiak High School. Last year’s school bond included secure vestibule installation and roof repairs. If the bond passes, the total cost in taxes on $100,000 of assessed property value would be about $12 annually.
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.
