Anchorage School Board to vote Tuesday on Clare Fulp as interim superintendent

The Anchorage School Board will vote at 6 pm Tuesday, Nov. 17, on appointing Clare Fulp interim superintendent of the Anchorage School District, according to the meeting agenda. The board will also consider an agreement with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, known as HYA, to lead the search for a permanent superintendent.

The appointment decides who will lead the district after Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt leaves to begin a new position Feb. 1, 2027, according to the board's Oct. 20 meeting recap. Fulp's contract would start Dec. 1. The interim superintendent is expected to serve until June 30, 2027, or until the board hires a permanent replacement, Board President Carl Jacobs said in an October update on the transition.

The board opened an internal-only search in October after Bryantt accepted a job in Virginia. It accepted applications only from district employees, from Oct. 16 through Oct. 30.

Fulp, the district's senior director of elementary education, began teaching at Muldoon Elementary School in 2007. She has led neighborhood and choice schools, as well as Title I schools, which get extra federal aid because many of their students come from low-income families, according to a leadership update from Jacobs and Vice President Kelly Lessens. The update describes her as a third-generation Alaskan whose daughter attends a district school. Her doctoral research at Creighton University examined Alaska Native and African American parent perspectives on the educational achievement gap. She recently completed her superintendent credentials, including a yearlong internship with Bryantt focused on district-level leadership.

If the agreement is approved, HYA will help the board engage the community, identify the qualities and experience Anchorage wants in its next superintendent, recruit candidates and support the selection. Students, families, employees and community members will have chances to help shape what the board looks for, the update said. The board's goal is a permanent superintendent by the start of the 2027-28 school year. It said it will share the search timeline and engagement opportunities as the process moves forward.

"The School Board has two responsibilities at this moment: provide strong leadership for ASD today and take the time to make one of the most important decisions entrusted to the Board for ASD's future," Jacobs and Lessens wrote in the update, posted Saturday.

Residents can still weigh in. Requests to speak, in person, by phone or in writing, are due by 11:59 pm Monday through the board's online form, linked from its page on testifying. The agenda puts the hour of public comment after the two votes.