Mat-Su Assembly asks school board to start classes the day after Labor Day

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted 5-2 Tuesday, Oct. 6, to ask the Mat-Su Borough School Board to start classes at every borough school the day after Labor Day, beginning in 2027. This year, that would have meant starting Sept. 8 instead of Aug. 13 for most grades.

Assembly member Michael Bowles, the sponsor, said the idea came from bus cancellations and a farm tour where farmers said their teenage help had gone back to school. The resolution also cites tourism businesses keeping student workers, FFA and 4-H students who miss the Alaska State Fair, August subsistence and personal-use fishing and hunting, and bus drivers who work in tourism until Labor Day.

The only public speaker on the item, caller Esther Huddleston, said letting students out in June makes more sense than May, when it's still too cold, and that high schoolers miss fair work, leaving church fundraiser booths to retired seniors.

Assembly member Bill Gamble, who voted yes, warned it would "push the end of the school year back to June," into fishing season, with snow days added at the end. The resolution leaves the end date to the school board.

It's only a request. Members on both sides said the calendar is the school board's decision. Bowles called it "more of a conversation starter," and said the board could "say go kick rocks." Maxwell Sumner and Ron Bernier voted no. Sumner said he could have called every school board member in less time than the debate took.

The vote may not stand. Dmitri Fonov, who voted yes, asked that night to reconsider it, saying "it is critical that we hear from parents, teachers, and the many other groups who will be directly affected." The Assembly will take it up again Oct. 20, when residents can comment in writing or testify in person or by phone.