Kenai Peninsula district leaders urge school board to reject Soldotna Elementary charter

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District's Board of Education votes Monday on whether to let parents and staff turn Soldotna Elementary into a charter school, and district leaders are urging the board to say no.

The proposal comes as the district plans to move Soldotna Elementary and Redoubt Elementary students into a newly renovated building. The current Soldotna Elementary building is set aside for Soldotna Montessori Charter School and the Connections correspondence program, and part of it is scheduled for demolition. Parents and staff turned to a charter amid uncertainty about the school's future, Alaska News reported Oct. 23.

Their application proposes a K-6 school for about 290 students built around science, technology, reading, engineering, arts and math, with specialists in science, music and physical education. District buses and meals would continue. In a non-binding survey, 47 families with 77 children said they were very or somewhat likely to enroll, and 14 teachers said they were likely to teach there.

The district says it supports educational choice but can't determine whether the school could run successfully and meet legal requirements, according to its recommendation. District estimates differ from the application's budget by about $1.1 million, mostly in staffing, benefits, utilities, curriculum and district services.

The application also names no secured building. It prefers staying in the current one and lists other options, including space in the Soldotna Prep or Redoubt buildings. District leaders said the busing plan doesn't set routes, who can ride or what it would cost.

District leaders also objected to how students would get in. The applicants want registration with the district to count as each family's choice to attend, so students in the current attendance area would enroll as usual, with a lottery for out-of-area students if there are more applicants than seats. They say the approach "preserves voluntary attendance, reduces administrative barriers, and maintains neighborhood access."

The district said that approach doesn't clearly set out an admission process that complies with state charter law and district policy. Charter enrollment must rest on family choice, it said, not an automatic transfer of students from a neighborhood school.

If the district board approves the charter, the Alaska State Board of Education would also have to sign off. The board meets at 6 pm Monday in Soldotna, and residents may testify.