Anchorage board weighs pledge to close no schools this year

Anchorage School Board member Paul McDonough introduced a resolution Tuesday that would commit the board to avoid closing any schools this year, barring emergencies such as severe weather or an epidemic. The board took no vote on the measure, filed as a non-action item. McDonough said he expects members to act on it at their next meeting, in two weeks.

McDonough said the board would commit to not closing schools "as long as there's no emergency need, like weather, epidemic." The resolution follows three straight years of school closures in the district. It also follows the creation of an ad hoc right-sizing committee on July 16, which McDonough chairs, to redesign how the board makes closure decisions. He said the relational and community costs of closures outweigh the budget savings, and he wants the committee to handle community outreach separately from any closure process.

The proposed pause would not end the district's debate over consolidation. Board member Carl Jacobs said the committee grew out of an April vote directing "a future committee process focused on addressing a refined version of rightsizing." The board has also directed administration to keep studying consolidation options. District administration has described consolidation as a tool to address urgent budget pressures and realign the Anchorage School District's building footprint while preserving staffing and classroom services.

Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt called fiscal stabilization his second priority, citing a "$40 million structural shortfall" that the resolution does not address. Anchorage's debate is one piece of a broader fight over education funding in Alaska, where districts have pursued consolidation and staffing cuts while pressing the Alaska State Legislature to raise the Base Student Allocation.