The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, like others around the state, is facing a budget shortfall and making some tough decisions about what to cut.
So far, the proposed cuts include closing three schools ahead of next school year. But, as the Mat-Su Sentinel reports, that's not going to be enough to make up the roughly $23 million gap, and there will likely be more cuts on the table, potentially to staff and programs.
The Mat-Su Sentinel's Amy Bushatz says, similar to other districts, Mat-Su schools have suffered from stagnant state funding and declining enrollment, but unlike other parts of the state, the Mat-Su Borough's population isn't shrinking.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Amy Bushatz: Mat-Su isn't necessarily losing population, right? We always hear that they're gaining population, but one, let's remember that a rising population does not necessarily translate to a rising population of people ages 5 to 18.
But really, the difference here, is that the Mat-Su is losing students to other school districts, as those students enroll in homeschool correspondence programs run by those other school districts. And so students who live in Mat-Su don't have to enroll in the Mat-Su School District. They can enroll in those other districts' home school programs, and they do.
Casey Grove: Gotcha. So, as you reported at matsusentinel.com, there are some schools that are slated for closure. Tell us about those schools. Why are those the ones that are being proposed to be closed? And then are there other cuts as well on the table?
AB: So this week, the school district announced that Larson and Meadow Lakes elementary schools, which are both near Wasilla, and Glacier View School, which serves kids Kindergarten through 12th grade in Glacier View, are being targeted, because district officials say they have falling enrollment and that they are schools that can have their students sent other places, specifically in the case of Larson and Meadow Lakes.
That's a little bit less true for Glacier View. Certainly, Glacier View's enrollment is falling, but sending your kid some other place when you are in Glacier View is a big deal, and so those kids will have to be bused 40 miles to Sutton Elementary School, or if they're secondary students, into Palmer, for Palmer Junior Middle School or Palmer High School.
CG: Yeah, and I want to ask you about the bus situation, more in the near-term. But what have you heard from from parents about these proposals to close these schools?
AB: Well, parents are really upset. You know, closing a school is a really emotional thing. I think anybody who's had kids enrolled in a school feels an emotional tie to that facility, where your children spend all that time. Larson and Meadow Lakes both have special needs programs that people feel very strongly about.
Parents from these schools are expecting to participate in the (upcoming) school board meeting. There is a Save Our School rally planned at Larson Elementary for Monday evening, planned by the Parent Teachers Association. And so folks are really upset about — and teachers and the staff at these schools — are really upset about the schools being targeted for closure.
CG: And then, just so I'm clear on this, is it just school closures, or are there other programs, or even positions, including teachers, that might be cut here?
AB: Yeah, so 23 million bucks is not going to be made up with three school closures. The way the math works on these school closures is actually very interesting. A school costs about $5 million to run, but closing it only saves $1.5 million, and that's because, of course, the students don't go away, right? The students are now being sent to another school. The staff in that new school has to be plussed up. The services that students are using still exist. So between those three schools, you're looking at $4.5 million savings.
Where's the other money coming from? Well, the school district is going to introduce their proposal for the rest of those cuts next week. We've had a little bit of a hint of what that looks like. They have said in an email to parents and teachers that went out this past Wednesday that they're looking at eliminating all transportation for student activities — so that's sports, that's extracurriculars — dramatically reducing student support positions, including all middle and high school librarians, elementary school sport coaches, and moving to a shared nursing model, where one school nurse will be shared across multiple facilities and serve multiple school buildings.
You're talking about quite a large number of positions, and they have not detailed exactly how many of those there are. When I asked, they did not answer my question. They basically said, "Hey, we're going to present on this on Wednesday. We'll see you then."
CG: Sounds like the calculus on all of that is still ongoing, and of course, like you said, they're making plans for the next school year. But then, more immediately, as we alluded to, there are some transportation issues that may be coming up a lot sooner, in that there is potentially going to be a bus strike here pretty soon?
AB: So the contract standstill, it depends on who you ask. The union says that this is about paid cancelation days wages and professional development, safety and whether workers must pay out of pocket for additional medical screenings, while the bus contractor, Durham, says that this is about wages, that the bus contractors are asking too much, and over health care premiums, which the bus contractor, Durham, says that they are doing and that the bus workers want more. So, you know, it's like any contract negotiation, it's very tense, and it's a labor issue.
