Anchorage school officials say closures do not fix the district's deficit

Closing schools does not meaningfully shrink the Anchorage School District's budget deficit, board members and administrators said Wednesday at the first meeting of the School Board's rightsizing ad hoc committee.

The district has room for about 50,000 students but serves roughly 42,000, leaving about 8,000 empty seats, equivalent to roughly 20 vacant school buildings, according to district figures.

Board member Rachel Blakeslee said survey results and public comment show many residents believe closures will solve the deficit. She said the roughly $900,000 per-closure savings figure she has seen is not a net number, since it does not account for added transportation and other costs. "There's just this heavy focus that school closures mean closing the deficit, and that is not what it means," she said.

The $90 million gap those savings are measured against is not a coming shortfall. The district projected an $80 million structural deficit for fiscal 2027 in October 2025; by January 2026 it had grown to $90 million. The board's Feb. 24 budget eliminated it, cutting about 500 positions, raising class sizes and closing three schools.

Chief Operating Officer Jim Anderson said savings fade over time. "There is a money piece on the first year or two, that's true. By year 5, it's really probably not about the money at all," he said. He cited district survey data showing 71% of the community supported closing and combining schools, though he said people also value educational quality alongside savings.

Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt agreed some residents treat closures as a financial cure, but said post-bond survey responses pointed elsewhere. "It's less about the school closures generating a huge influx of revenue," he said, adding that underused buildings and near-empty buses make residents question the value of property taxes the district asks them to approve.

Parents, teachers and program advocates have countered that closing or repurposing schools can harm specialized programs, deepen inequities and risk further enrollment declines. The board's own resolution lists what February's cuts took: band and French at Bartlett, Russian immersion at West, almost all Advanced Placement at Dimond, busing to the Rogers Park highly gifted program.

Blakeslee asked the board to settle its own message, saying members sometimes speak as though rightsizing is a budget tool "and yet right-sizing is actually not a significant tool to address the budget."

Committee chair Paul McDonough said the panel's scope is "much more focused on instructional opportunities" than budget savings. The board voted 5-2 on Aug. 19 to pledge no closures in 2026-27 absent an emergency. McDonough said he will spend the next month recruiting advisory seats for parents, unions and community councils.