Copyright Anchorage Daily News
The Anchorage School District this week heard criticism from parents and staff from two elementary schools it proposes to close next school year. Many questioned whether closing schools would increase class sizes, and took issue with the repeated disruption of programs for special education students. Anchorage School Board members are weeks away from voting on the proposed closures, but say they still want feedback from the community. A survey is available on the district website, and another “community conversation” is planned for Saturday at the district office building from noon to 2 p.m. If school board members vote to approve the plan, charter schools would move into the vacated Fire Lake and Lake Otis elementary buildings. The board will discuss the school closures proposed by district administrators for the first time Tuesday, and take a final vote on Nov. 18. One board member, Pat Higgins, attended two district events this week to hear from parents and staff and said he doesn’t support the current plan, though he said he did support district efforts to add child care to vacant classrooms. “They feel strongly that it’s going to hurt the kids, and it’s not good for the community, and they oppose it. That’s what I heard,” Higgins said. “I’m not a big supporter of closing these schools. I don’t think the benefits outweigh the adverse impact it has on the community and the involvement with the family.” District officials have argued that fewer school buildings are needed to serve a dwindling population of students. Compared to 2010, nearly 7,500 fewer students now attend neighborhood schools in the district. During that same time, the district has closed five schools. Deputy Chief of Schools Kersten Johnson-Struempler said underutilized schools are more susceptible to issues when one teacher has to call out sick, and closing schools will reduce the number of mixed-grade classrooms throughout the district. She told Lake Otis families who filed into the Bettye Davis East cafeteria on Wednesday that the plan attempts to use resources more efficiently by concentrating them at a smaller number of school buildings. [Alaska educators call for more school funding in second task force meeting] “We are looking at low utilization rates. The reason we’re here, unfortunately, is partially budget-related, but partially enrollment decline,” Johnson-Struempler said. “We as a district really do have to consider what is our utilization rate, how are we using our money as a district most effectively, and so that’s a factor.” Special education concerns Lake Otis Elementary staff and parents questioned the district’s plan to relocate students in special education classes. The distribution of Lake Otis students to other schools will also have a ripple effect on those programs. To make room for general education students moving from Lake Otis to Kasuun Elementary, students in the School Based Behavioral Supports program at Kasuun would relocate to Ocean View Elementary under the current plan. Kasuun special education behavior coach Chandra Binion is concerned that the sensory deprivation room at Kasuun may not be available for students who need it if they relocate to Ocean View. “We have some students who came to us from Lake Hood after it closed. If we are moved to Ocean View, this will be their third location in three years. Our kids in our program thrive on consistency, stability, and that’s what they need and this move feels like it’s taking that away from them,” Binion said. “We deal with students who are often in crisis, and you can’t keep moving them around like that if we want them to be successful.” During Johnson-Struempler’s presentation detailing where special education students would be moved, she also noted the importance of routine for special education students. “We do want to really pay attention for all students to the number of transitions they have, but particularly for our special education students in special programs,” she said. “Having consistency and limiting the transitions is something we really look at.” Jacqui Higgins, who chairs the district’s Special Education Advisory Committee, said her child has made significant progress with their Life Skills teacher at Lake Otis. “We spent a long time building this community, and I think it is unacceptable that the Anchorage School District thinks that it is OK to be so transient with their special education students,” Higgins said. Higgins is worried that her child might regress next school year without familiar teachers. Higgins is also concerned about the impacts on her child of a longer bus ride with more students. Despite her reservations, she doesn’t oppose the district’s right-sizing effort altogether. “I’m OK with right-sizing. We are losing people, our infrastructure is not built the way it used to be,” Higgins said. At a school board meeting last week, Fire Lake parents also voiced concerns about special education programs. Special education students in the school’s resource and structured learning classroom programs would relocate to Birchwood ABC school. Students in the Life Skills program at Birchwood would move to Alpenglow Elementary. “There’s a true family built around that entire SPED program. Those children belong in a way that I can’t imagine replicated in another facility,” parent Arielle Van Vleet said. Binion, the Kasuun special education teacher, said she hadn’t heard satisfactory answers about her concerns after speaking with several board members and district staff Wednesday. “It’s all kind of on how the board votes. We’re very, very concerned,” Binion said. More feedback In addition to the meeting Wednesday, board member Kelly Lessens said she attended meetings this week with Indigenous, multicultural and special education advisory committees, as well as some middle school parents. Lessens heard several parents asking if school closures would increase class sizes at the schools receiving those students. Lessens said that’s a misconception. “It’s not correct for people to say that school consolidations are going to increase their class sizes,” Lessens said. “What is true is that insufficient funds for supporting and maintaining public education are responsible for increased class sizes.” For Fire Lake, one topic that parents also bring up is a nearby housing development currently under construction, which will add over 100 homes to the neighborhood. District officials have said the development is not likely to significantly impact the projected enrollment. Fire Lake was initially included in the list of schools planned for closure last year, but board members voted to remove it from consideration. “We went through this last year, and every reason remains the same for why Fire Lake should remain open, and I cannot for the life of me understand how we’re back here when nothing has changed. The only thing that has changed is that the development being built is further along than it was a year ago,” Fire Lake parent Van Vleet said. Board members encouraged residents to continue voicing their concerns to the district. Families and other community members can take the district survey or testify at board meetings on Nov. 4 and Nov. 18. Board member Andy Holleman said he’s typically accustomed to hearing complaints from parents when the district asks for feedback, but this week was different. “When you go to these, people stand up and talk about how wonderful this school is and how it’s the only place that really gets their kid, and they’re not going to be able to do as well anywhere else,” Holleman said, ”which is how we want everybody to feel about their schools. But at the same time, we just have too many buildings for the number of kids we’re serving and this is going to be a tough choice.”
