Anchorage board won't reopen a school it may not have fully closed

The Anchorage School Board narrowly refused to reopen a school it closed just five months ago — and in the process revealed that the closure may not even be legally final yet.

Board member Paul McDonough tried to redirect $2.78 million in new state money toward restoring Campbell STEM Elementary, arguing the sum almost exactly matched what the district claimed it saved by closing the school in the first place. "The state undermined our own justification," he said. His motion failed 4-3.

The more striking revelation came from staff: Campbell isn't officially closed. The district has moved equipment out — some 50 pallets of it — but hasn't yet filed the verification report the state requires, and the school won't be formally closed until that's submitted and accepted in the fall. Whether that limbo gives the board a legal opening to reverse course is now a question for district lawyers, sharpened by a new state law that shortened the wait to reopen a consolidated school from seven years to four.

For now, the majority held the line on the original decision, citing declining enrollment and empty seats, and warning that most of the new state money is one-time funding against a structural deficit projected above $45 million by 2028. The board redirected the $2.78 million to teachers, nurses, and student activities instead, and passed the overall budget 6-1.