The Anchorage School District announced plans to close schools over the next three years at a school board work session Tuesday. Due to steadily declining student population, decreasing birth rates in Anchorage and continued outmigration from Alaska, staff framed the potential closures as “right-sizing” the number of schools.
The district has nearly 6,000 fewer students than it did in 2010, and enrollment is projected to continue decreasing.
Toni Riley, director of diversity, equity, inclusion and community engagement, said the district plans to do a better job involving community input than they did prior to closing Abbott Loop Elementary in 2022.
“We really want to make sure that the community understands the impact of our declining enrollment, particularly on our levels of service,” Riley said.
Since 2010, the district has closed three elementary schools. In 2022, the district released a plan to close six elementary schools due to budget constraints, but only closed one after objections from families.
District staff say the closures are not due to budget constraints, but an effort to streamline services to better reflect the current number of students.
Chief Operating Officer Jim Anderson declined to predict which schools will close or how many. Anderson said the district will take six months to engage the community before making decisions.
“We really are trying to get feedback from the community to find out what’s palatable, what’s acceptable, what they’re willing to embrace,” Anderson said. “I think it’s just a little premature to pick a number.”
Anderson said that some buildings may be closed as schools, but leased and repurposed to provide childcare or other needed services. A survey will launch later this month to poll families. Anderson said the school board will begin discussions about closures and consolidations in the fall, and plan to vote on which schools to close by December.
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.
