Mat-Su school board denies community bid to reopen Meadow Lakes Elementary as a charter

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District board on Wednesday formally denied a Meadow Lakes group's application to open Alaska Adventure Charter School in the closed Meadow Lakes Elementary building on Pittman Road.

Board members Brooks Pitcher, Ole Larson, Vice President Andrew Shane and President Kathy McCollum voted 4-0 to approve the written decision. Three members were absent. The board had already rejected the charter Monday, Oct. 19, when a motion to approve it needed four yes votes and got none; five members voted no.

The Meadow Lakes Community Council Public Education Committee applied Sept. 11. It proposed a K-8 school with a place-based, outdoor curriculum, opening in 2027-28 and serving about 200 students. The district closed Meadow Lakes Elementary in fiscal year 2026 and now uses the building for Twindly Bridge Charter School and other programs.

The district's review found 46 of the application's 52 components partially compliant or noncompliant. The two sides' budgets were far apart: the applicants projected a surplus of about $460,000, while the district estimated a deficit near $1 million and put the net cost to its operating budget at about $1.5 million. Reopening the building alone would add about $309,000 a year in operations, utilities and energy, the review said.

The written decision also cites no proposed contract with the district and no lease for the building, which it called "a material deficiency"; a one-year budget for a 10-year charter; safety concerns over K-8 students using ATVs, dirt bikes, side-by-sides and snow machines; and a staffing ratio that depends on volunteers. Approval, it says, would undo the stabilization that the 2026 closures and redistricting were meant to provide.

Supporters spoke at the Oct. 19 hearing, according to the meeting recording. Camden Yehle, a parent who presented for the group, said she hoped the board would approve with some contingencies. Josh Velasquez, vice president of the Meadow Lakes Community Council, asked the board to "work with the founding team to address any remaining requirements." Borough Assembly member Ron Bernier said his district lost two schools last season. No one spoke or wrote against the charter in the records reviewed.

After Wednesday's vote, Shane said, "It's unfortunate that we were not able to get that approved for them." Pitcher said he hopes the applicants "plug the holes in their plan and come back."

The group has 60 days from the written decision to appeal to the state education commissioner, and could then appeal to the State Board of Education and Early Development. A district official said it can also file a modified application at any time, which the district would review within 60 days.