2025 11 04 School Board Meeting

Good evening, everyone. We're going to call the Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 AST School Board meeting to order. We are present here in the boardroom. Student Representative Madison, would you please lead us in the Pledge and then land acknowledgement?

I pledge allegiance to the United States of America, to the Republic, to the sense of nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

We acknowledge that we gather here today on the traditional lands of the Dena'ina people of the Upper Cook Inlet. For thousands of years, the Dena'ina people have been and continue to be the stewards of this land. ASD is committed to diversity and inclusion, and it is with honor and respect that we recognize all indigenous people who live and learn in our community.

Thank you, Madison. Uh, want to note that for the record, all board members are present. Higgins, Lessons, Donnelly, Jacobs, Wilson, Holloman, and Bellamy. We want to welcome you to our meeting and thank you for attending and supporting the work of the Anchorage School District and this board. The board thanks students, parents, teachers, staff, school business partners, and the entire community for your investment in our district with your time, your talent, and your tax dollars.

Um, would entertain a motion to approve the agenda as drafted. Mr. Chair, I move to approve the agenda as presented. Is there anyone— made by Bellamy, seconded by Holloman. Is there any amendments to the agenda, Mr.

Chair? Remember, Bellamy, I actually have two amendments. Can I—. I'll start, give one at a time, or do— can I give both? One at a time, please.

I move to postpone ASD Memorandum Number 071, which is the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, also known as ACFR. For fiscal year 24-25. Move it from this evening's consent agenda to the consent agenda for the next meeting on November 18th. Is there a second? Second.

Made by Bellamy, seconded by Lessens. Um, any discussion? I think this is from administration for any members who need to be addressed there. Okay, seeing no opposition, we will consider the agenda amended there. Member Bellamy, do you have an amendment regarding, um, ASC Memorandum Number 75?

If so, we would want to make that later. But do you have another amendment to the agenda now? But I have a— I have one more. Okay. Uh, I move to postpone ASC Memorandum Number 059, which is our 6-year plan known as our CP— Capital Improvement Plan, also known as the CIP.

Project tables from this evening's none. Action agenda to December 2nd's non-action agenda. Is there a second? Second. Okay, made by Bellamy, seconded by Lessens.

Any discussion?

Is there any opposition? All right, our agenda has been amended twice regarding, uh, ASD Memorandum Number 71 and 59. Uh, the last amendment I would ask is, uh, to ask consensus for the board to allow our initial public testimony to exceed 1 an hour and hear from all testifiers at the start of our meeting. Is there any objection? Okay, hearing, seeing none, so ordered.

Is there any opposition to approving the agenda as amended? Okay, we have an amended agenda. Thank you, everyone.

Move on to Reports. B1, Student Representative Report. Madison, the floor is yours.

All right, thank you. So first off, I would just like to say a big congratulations to the ASD Student Advisory Board who successfully hosted the Fall 2025 Alaska Association of Student Governments Conference here at Alaska Pacific University, especially with Diamond High School and Eagle River High School helping the team host. We saw 42 different high schools across the state attend, especially with more than 150 students just from ASD itself. The conference was a true success as there were many past resolutions and even workshops with Senator Lukie Tobin and the UAA Department of Political Science and even Alaska Pacific University's nursing program. There are many tours across different campuses in Alaska, our museums, and more.

I'm just extremely proud to say that hundreds of students across our state were able to foster advocacy and leadership skills under the Anchorage School District's planning for this conference. Secondly, I would also like to say that Student Advisory Board has not had a November meeting yet, but we will be meeting on the 18th, and I will report on that at our next board meeting. Third, I would also like to acknowledge that it is Alaska Native Heritage Month for all Alaska Native students in our district, because I know as a student the most important thing about attending a school is feeling like you belong there, and that includes celebrating your culture. So I hope to see ASD continuing to celebrate this month in all coming years, and I also want to give a big recognition for this month for all our accomplishments and perspectives that Alaska Native students in our district add to us every single day. And then fourth, I would also like to note that I noticed for one of our national scholarships there were 10 students actually from the Anchorage School District that qualified as semifinalists for the National Coca-Cola Scholarship Program, and I would just like to congratulate them and let the public know of their accomplishments.

And other than that, that concludes our report. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any questions for our student representative? Okay, hearing—.

Seeing none, thank you for your report. Move on to item B2, board conference and committee reports. Does any board member or chair of a committee wish to make a report at this time?

Member Lessis. Thank you. More of a public service announcement. We have talked about, um, the Balancing Act software, um, most recently this afternoon in our work session, but there will be a workshop here in the ASD Ed Center On Saturday, December 6th, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, members of the public are going to be invited to explore this interactive software to help give the board input into how we might close our $77 million gap. And there will be members of staff and board members on hand to, to talk about things, so it should be an interactive opportunity.

Thank you. Thank you, Member Lessons. Member Bellamy. Yes, I'd just like to, uh, of course congratulate our board president who is the newest member nominated and voted on for the Association of Alaska School Boards. He will join other members from around the state to deal with, um, to help school board— school boards better serve students.

So congratulations, Mr. President Jacobs. Thank you very much, Member Bellamy. Seeing no other board conference or committee reports, we will move on to Item C, Goals and Guardrail Monitoring, Student Proficiency Grade 3 State Summative Assessment Technical Report. Dr. Bryant, the floor is yours. Thank you, Mr. President and board.

I will go ahead and pull up the presentation. So I'm going to provide a brief technical report on our ELA goal for 3rd grade reading based on the Alaska STAR scores. Next slide, please. So for the general public's awareness, our board goal is displayed on the slide. We're aspiring to increase our students in grade 3 who are proficient on the AK STAR to 46.4% by May of 2028.

Next slide, please. So in 2 weeks, I'd like for us as a board to discuss the, the trends that we're seeing because this is an area where we could use support and resources to really move the needle on reading proficiency. On this slide, you'll be able to see historical trends to date as well as the number tested. So you'll note that though we have a greater number of students being served in '24-'25 than in previous years, we're seeing a downward trend in our proficiency. So I'd like to talk more about our strategies we can put in place to move the needle on this area.

Next goal— next slide. What we'll also leave with the board is this data disaggregated by different subpopulations. So the previous slide really showed the top line number of how many students total are proficient. And the next piece of our discussion will look at our individual student subpopulation groups. Some of those groups follow that trend, and there are other groups that are actually moving in the opposite direction and are increasing in proficiency.

So that'll be part of the nuance in the discussion that we'll have in a couple of weeks. Next slide, please. And then we'll also talk with the board more in depth about the, the tactical action plans that we have. Actually, the next slide. You'll see our priority action steps.

So for those who are relatively new to goal monitoring sessions, we've recently made this change, whereas instead of a variety of, you know, 10 to 15 different steps that are taking place in some schools but not others, we've really put the priority action steps at the top, and those will be the areas that the team will ensure happens across the system. And then we have additional action steps that are happening in some way, shape, or form in buildings across the district. This will be key to figuring out what needs to change in terms of inputs so we can move the needle on this area. Next slide. And that concludes the technical report.

We'll leave this data with the board, and then our full academic team will be here to have a discussion in 2 weeks.

Thank you, Dr. Bryan. Are there any questions on the technical report from the superintendent? Member Bellamy. Oh, I'm sorry, I meant to bring Seeing no questions on the technical report, we will move on to Item D, public comments.

Welcome to the board's first and only opportunity this evening for public comment. The board has set aside a 1-hour time slot at the beginning of the meeting, which we are going to waive and hear all testifiers at the start. During public comment, board members will not answer questions or engage in discussions with members of the public. The board welcomes public to observe and contribute to our meetings. However, to be productive, our meetings must be structured and civil.

We utilize Robert's Rules of Order, which have been utilized since the late 1800s. Examples of criteria in Robert's Rules of Order: do not attack a member or speaker's motives, no profanity or foul language, refrain from disturbing the meeting, please no cheering, applause, outbursts, or waving of signs or posters. If you have handouts you wish to share with the board, please give them to Ms. Sullivan, who's seated to my left. Additional details and information can be found on the handout at the door regarding audience participation.

As always, we'll begin with our student testifiers. Our first two speakers tonight are Gwendolyn Bulao and River Bailey Brunello. You both could come forward, please.

Welcome, Gwendolyn. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

So I have a paper that has writing on it, and I'm gonna say all the words.

So my name is Gwendolyn Bulao. My— how to spell my first name is G-W-E-N-D-O-L-Y-N-N. And how to spell My last name is B-U-L-A-U, and now I'm gonna say some words about my school. So everybody that's in Lake Otis is trying to save Lake Otis, and they're trying to save it, and if we don't have let go is we won't, we will, we won't have a school to go to. I will sing my school song after I finish all my words. And so how I like this school is like, how I like this school is all the teachers that work there.

We won't have the teachers if we go to another school. So, and all of our teachers that teach all the students, they also need teachers to teach the students, or we won't have teachers. So we won't learn if we don't have teachers. And When we are like— when we don't have a school to go to, we won't have teachers. We won't have the same teachers if we go to another school.

And if we go to another school, Thank you very much for your testimony. Uh, River, you have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Hi, my— hi, my name is River and I am a 3rd grader at Fire Lake Elementary School. First, I want to say Fire Lake is an amazing school.

I just got my grades from parent-teacher conferences and I got a lot of S pluses and O's.

I've learned all I know from Fire Lake.

Fire Lake, Fire Lake just keeps getting better in every way. Nobody wants to close our school that I know, and I know a lot of people.

Next, I want to say There's a lot of people in student council and parents in PTA, like my mom. She's PTA president and I'm in student council, and we all try to make our school and our environment a better place, and we try as hard as we can. Also, I would never want to see any of our teachers leave because they are amazing teachers and They write plays and they do choir and running club. All of our teachers are nice and kind. I would never want them to leave.

Right now in student council, we're working on a canned food drive. All of November, our school is collecting canned food to donate to our local food bank. I think we're making a positive impact on our school and our community. Please don't close our school. Thank you for your testimony.

Um, Miss Blau and Miss Brunello, as you both signed up, if you would like to testify at this time so we can get you home, please feel free to join us.

So our next two speakers will be Shannon Blau and Karen Brunello. Miss Blau, you have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Good evening, my name is Shannon Bulao and I have a student enrolled in Lake Otis Elementary. She has been a member of the Lake Otis family for 4 years and thrives daily in her studies. She, along with the majority of the students enrolled, have been in this school with this staff and with these kids since their schooling began. I also have a pre-kindergarten child who is at another school because Lake Otis lost its pre-K privileges program. There are so many kids in the, in the two pre-K classes, but all, all but guaranteeing added enrollment to our school next year.

Along with standard teaching, Lake Otis offers life skills and 21st Century programs, both of which are highly beneficial to those who attend. This central location gives opportunity for all families to enroll their children in these programs, some that may not be offered in their zone. During spring break and summer breaks, this is the perfect location for larger groups like 21st Century where students can attend and learn together. Tier 1 school. This means so much to so many people.

There are so many families who rely on their children being supplied with breakfast and lunch 5 days a week. There could be families that don't eat at all, food bank rations, and limited to supplied school meals for their children. What happens if these— to these kids if they lose their school? Right-sizing. This term is thrown around like gibberish.

You want to resize our district by sticking teachers with more students than they can handle, let alone should have in their classes. Everyone has a right to their education, and if teachers are so busy helping a few, will others start to fall behind? It breaks my heart to think of what will happen to all these kids who rely on the stability of their school days, their teachers, their friends, and the familiarity they see daily. And the children who can't understand why they have to go somewhere else for education, who don't have the same connection to their teachers as their previous teachers. What do we tell them?

And the parents who rely on the programs in our schools for their kids, what will they do? How will their kids take the news of their beloved school closing? Please vote no and keep our school open. Go Huskies! Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is Karen Brunello. Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hello, my name is Karen Brunello, and I'd like to share why Fire Lakes' continued operation is vital.

As a parent, I've had the opportunity to enroll 5 of my 6 children at Fire Lake. We became a part of the Fire Lake family in 2012, and I am happy to share that many of Many of the teachers and staff who welcomed us initially are still part of the school today, inspiring a new generation of students. These educators are not only teachers but also serve as role models, mentors, and leaders, empowering each child to reach their full potential. Teachers who have remained devoted to Firelake year after year, such as Mr. Bill, Mr. Sullivan, and Miss Crow, to name just a few, embody a deep-seated commitment to the success of each child in the community at large, ultimately leaving a lasting impact. Firelake supports students to excel academically, and it extends its Excellence beyond the classroom.

In addition to meeting curriculum requirements, staff and PTA have collaborated to provide students with a variety of opportunities to participate in engaging activities. For example, we've provided students the opportunity to participate in Kids Don't Float, which teaches water and boating safety. With the school support, students visited Chugach High School where they gained hands-on experience in the water, learning critical skills including what to do if a kayak flips or a friend is drowning. PTA partners with schools to organize a variety of activities throughout the year, including bingo night, pumpkin carving, dancing, movie nights, and more. Teachers generously volunteer their time and resources to support students in participating in these activities and various clubs such as student council, running club, Battle of the Books, choir, NYO, and many more.

Just last year, my third grader River was cast in a school play and had the opportunity to portray the same character that her now 20-year-old sister had played during her time at Firelake, a play that was cleverly written by our very own Mr. Kano, who also authored our school song. Firelake's attendance continues to flourish, and with new subdivisions emerging all around us, we eagerly anticipate a surge of students Let's ensure our current students' education remains uninterrupted, knowing that Firelake's importance will only continue to grow. Firelake isn't just a building, it's a family. Please don't break us apart.

Thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker is Mandy Burns.

Welcome, Maddie. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hi, hi, my name is Maddie Prana Burns and I'm in 4th grade. I'm a Firebird, and today I'm going to tell you why I think Fire Lake Elementary School should stay open.

Fire Lake is a place where students can learn and grow. The teachers at Fire Lake are funny, smart, amazing, and incredible at what they do. If Fire Lake shuts down, I know it would affect affects a lot of people badly, and one of those people would be me. My mom, my uncles, and my aunts— basically my whole family went to Fire Lake, and now my little sisters, me, and my little brother go to Fire Lake. I really know how Fire Lake is a neighbor— I really like how Fire Lake is a neighborhood school so that I don't have to ride the bus for an hour every day.

I also love our SLC kids and classes. Fire Lake is the only school in Eagle River with SLC classes. I also like how we have recess and that we have a fun family night at least once a month, like movie night. And second, I love that we get to wear our own clothes to express different— the differences between we all have. Fire Lake is a proud, strong, fun, incredible, loving, inclusive, amazing school that will stay standing forever.

Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Lola Freeborn and Cruz Freeborn.

Welcome, Lola. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. My name is Lola and I go to Fire Lake. My favorite teacher is Miss Block.

I want you to save our school because if you split us up into different schools, you're splitting a great community apart. We are using the whole building. For an example, my class is 2 classrooms because there is too much kindness to fit in one room. This is the school. This is all— this goes for all classrooms.

Fire Lake is the only school I've ever known, and I don't want to know a new one. My future is in your hands. Please save our school. Thank you for your testimony. Welcome, Cruz.

You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. My name is Cruz, and I go to Fire Lake. My favorite teacher is Miss Crow. I love our school because Miss Mason is the best art teacher and all the special teachers are so nice and we have so much fun.

My mom teaches the kids with autism and they are so fun to be around. Fire Lake is the only elementary school I, I've been to, and I want to stay there. Please save our school. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two, uh, Ms. Freeborn, if you would like to testify, you are welcome to.

Please join us and you have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. My name is Kara Freeborn and I'm an SLC teacher at Fire Lake. I'm also a mother of 2 children who attend the school. As an SLC teacher, I'm extremely worried about the displacement of my program.

SLC is a wonderful but very fragile system. Echoing that, we've been so lucky to have the population of gen ed kids at Fire Lake. They don't flinch when there's a meltdown. They know some of their peers are dysregulated and struggling, and they kindly go about their day. My students participate in a great deal of inclusion, and it's key to their success.

When I prep a gen ed classroom for my students, I always tell them, "I can't teach my students to be 4th and 5th graders. That's what you're for." And they always rise to the occasion. As we know, the goal of special education is to not be in special education. This takes an absolutely tiring amount of work for staff and students to achieve.

I have zero confidence that if we are moved to Birchwood, my students will succeed academically in inclusion. I teach both alternate and general education curriculums. My 4th and 5th graders have put in an unbelievable amount of effort to learn these curriculums. Curriculums. Birchwood is an ABC school and therefore follows an entirely different curriculum.

This model will not work for us. This is a problem with no solution. Another thing I worry about is the proximity to the highway. Elopement exists in our SLC universe. Birchwood is directly next to the highway.

Firelake is nestled in the woods and we haven't lost any lives. I do not feel our students will be safe at Birchwood. Lastly, don't throw us out of our beloved school to put in a charter school. How would we ever think you're not prioritizing charter schools? The well-off kids are going to make it wherever you put them.

It's our population that needs our school, not the charter school. Please save Fire Lake. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Mabel Patterson and Chloe Pickering.

Welcome. Could you state your name for our record, and then you have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

My name is Maple.

Hi, my name is Mabel. I'm Tlingit and Haida. I am in 2nd grade. Did you know that me and my mom had to go to 3 different schools? I was not so happy because I missed all my friends, but I was still sad, and it was hard moving schools, and I had to move because my mom is a teacher, and I had to move because my mom got displaced.

I was at Homestead for kindergarten with Miss Lux, for my first grade teacher— no, for my kindergarten teacher. My first grade teacher was Miss Madison at Ravenwood. The teachers I had were really good, so I missed them, but I have a good teacher for this this year. I have Yupik class with Miss Gonnuk, and she gave me a Yupik name, and it's Klaaneelthuk, and it means the baby fish that have big eyes. The bad thing about my new school is we have to— we have a 40 minute drive, and none of my Eagle River friends are there.

I think my mom is a really good teacher, and she shouldn't have got displaced. Thank you for listening to my speech. Thank you for your testimony. Uh, Miss Patterson, if you would like to testify at this time, you're welcome to join us. Okay, thank you.

Um, so our next speaker is Chloe Pickering. We also have Evelyn Pickering.

Welcome, Chloe. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hello, my name is Chloe Pickard. I am in 6th grade.

I went to elementary school—. I went to Firelake Elementary last year, and it was my favorite year of my school career. I learned so much, not only about math and science, but also about how to be a good person. The staff didn't treat me like they were above me. They treated me like an equal.

They made us— they made all of us feel like we were safe. Most of my friends from my 5th grade class cried on the last day of school because they didn't want to leave. Fire Lake is a great school. School Board, please don't close it. Thank you for your time.

And thank you for your testimony. Um, Evelyn, you have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hello, School Board. My name is Evelyn.

I am a 3rd grader at Fire Lake Elementary School. I moved here with my family last year in July of 2024. Because my dad got stationed at JABER. This is my second school year with Fire Lake. I am from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Moving to Alaska was very scary. Starting at a new school made me very nervous, but Fire Lake is an amazing school that made me feel safe and loved. My teachers are really nice and I am doing so much better thanks to them. I even started Ignite this year. Please don't close our school.

Thank you. And thank you for your testimony. Is there a Cambria Rios who would like to testify?

Okay, thank you. Our next two speakers are Hazelyn Higgins and Hayden Higgins.

And if Candace Pollack and Kenneth Higgins would like to join them. Please come forward. Okay, welcome, Hazelyn. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Ms. Sarah and Ms. Bacall help me with my anger issues. Without them, I wouldn't have the tools I need to calm down when I'm overstimulated. Fair Lake Art Department has given me the ability to express my creativity. Nurse Ashley has gave me the option to come to her office when I'm overstimulated to calm down. She makes me feel safe.

Mr. Inge helps me identify my overstimulation triggers and helps me calm down too. He's also my favorite principal. He also makes me feel safe to express myself when I'm overstimulated. I'm grateful to have him as my principal. Please don't close down my school.

Thank you for your testimony. Thank you. Hayden, welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

I want to say it.

Last year, Miss Sarah helped me with my anger issues.

Without Miss Sarah, I will be still angry for no reason.

Mr. Inges, my favorite principal, because he's so kind. And if they shut down Byron Lake Elementary School, I would be so sad.

The teachers are so funny and fun.

Without the principal, I wouldn't be able to go to the office.

This actually helps me with— this actually helped me with my body parts. Thanks. Thank you for your testimony. Um, Candace— our next two speakers are Candace Pollock and Kenneth Higgins. Candace, if you would like to testify, you have 2 minutes.

Please begin when you're ready. Right there.

Fire Lake Elementary has been the home to my two autistic children since kindergarten. They're now in 3rd and 5th grade. When my children started, they were nonverbal. It was due to the help from the amazing staff that both my children are able to speak and speak well.

That would not have been possible.

Sorry.

My daughter Hazelin moved from SLC to general education. That would not have been possible without Firelake. I'm not sure you're aware, but children with autism have extreme difficulty with change of routine.

My son Hayden is in SLC and gets aggressive when routines change. This is very common in the autism community. These behaviors are embraced at Firelake by well-trained staff throughout the whole building and not just the SLC classrooms. Currently, my son's bus ride is 20 minutes long. In that amount of time, he already struggles schools.

Moving to SLC to Birchwood is only going to increase the busing time. Not only that, when I pick up my son for appointments, my driving time will increase. Fire Lake is located at the heart of Eagle River. This move seems like a decision made by someone who doesn't understand the geography of our community. Principal Inch has experience in special education, which is not a quality had by all.

My personal experience from principals is that they see autistic behaviors as a child acting out and not understanding and helping the root cause. Principal Ench looks at the root cause. He understands that overstimulation and change of routine can never negatively impact a child on the spectrum. He is great at redirecting and calming down my children. In such a short amount of time that we've had him, he's doing amazing work.

This work would be lost if you close Firelake and move this program. He is valuable to the autistic community that attend— are the autistic children that attend Fire Lake. I urge you to keep Fire Lake as it is, and thank you for your time. And thank you for your testimony. Our next speaker is Kenneth Higgins.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Thank you. Hi, my name is Kenneth Higgins, and my kids are right up here with me, and they've been in school at Fire Lake for a while, and they both have autism, and the staff at Fire Lake has helped them out so much.

As you can tell, they're actually very well behaved for the most part.

But if it wasn't for the staff at Fire Lake, my kids would not be where they're at today. And, and I appreciate everything that the staff has done at the school, and I want to say thank you for everything that the staff has done. I don't want to see the school get shut down because I don't think it would be able to continue with the SLC program, and I think it's a very important part of the community. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Conrad Spillane and Daniel Huberty.

Conrad Splane and Daniel Huberty.

All right, welcome, welcome Conrad. You have 2 minutes, please begin when you're ready. My name is Conrad. I am in first grade at Roka Shula. Roka stands for respect for Integrity, for leadership, for kindness, for excellence.

We are all ASD.

That'll be it. Thank you, Conrad. Uh, is there a— Daniel, welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Hello, my name— hello, my name is Danny and I'm a 5th grader at Birchwood ABC. My parents have always— my parents and teachers have always taught me me to stand up for what's right. Last month I submitted a written testimony, but the same simple problem still exists. There is a school board policy that says students in elementary school should get 30 minutes of recess. I only get 20 minutes of recess, and then I'm supposed to get 10 minutes of movement break, but that doesn't always happen.

My brothers and I only get 20 minutes of recess too, and they don't always get an extra movement break either. Sometimes my teacher only gives us 5 minutes of extra movement break. School board policy says that we should get 30 minutes of unstructured recess outside if it is above -10 degrees. That doesn't happen at my school.

I have to follow the rules at school or there are consequences. There is a student handbook that outlines expectations for students. The board policies are the handbook for schools to follow. What sort of example does it set if the school isn't following the district expectations and there are no consequences? Fire Lake Elementary School is one of the schools the district suggested to close.

Many of those students will come to Birchwood. Is it fair they come to a school where the district rules are not followed? Doesn't that set a bad example? These students will already face challenges. Switching schools, losing the uninstructed recess time will make this transition even harder for them.

Please take the time to help fix the students that— please help take— please help take the time to fix these problems. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Catherine Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Huberty. Catherine Smith, and then Mr. and Mrs. Huberty.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Thank you. Uh, I'm a parent of a first grader at Roca.

I'm here to support the Roca Tribe board in their testimony tonight for a permanent home for our school community by exploring opportunities to find a suitable long-term facility for Wilkes Schools program. The APC, RSV, and RSI boards of Wilkes are comprised of outstanding members of the Wilkes community, each of them parents and board members alike, providing unwavering support through volunteerism. The vision of Wilkes is to have students that are biliterate, globally aware, and locally engaged. The mission: provide a culturally enriched German immersion learning environment with focus on academic excellence and student success. Excuse me.

I will echo my son's words. RILCA stands for respect, integrity, leadership, kindness, and excellence.

I would also like to recognize the same attributes within your administration. The ASD administration has brought forth several recommendations to you, the school board, over the last several years of right-sizing. This most recent recommendation may be the most important to the future of the Roca program, as the current facility is only a temporary location, with the last directive was not to improve and close the building at the end of the 27-28 school year. As a reminder, Memo 128 does not satisfy the priority given to the Roka under Memo 106, which states if Roka German Immersion School temporarily occupies this Abbott Loop facility, it would allow the students sufficient— the school sufficient time to coordinate with the district to find a permanent location through the communication of the ASD right-sizing process as outlined in Memorandum 108, which was provided by the school board on March 4th, 2025. I encourage the ASB to work with the ASD administration to understand the importance of these recommendations.

Please remember, real cool students are ASD students. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Maddie Temple and then Jamie Temple.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hi, my name is Madeline Rose Temple and I'm a Firebird. When I came to Firelake Elementary, I was a little scared.

And nervous until I met a lot of students that were kind and nice to me, also very respectful. It would be sad if Fire Lake closed because all of the teachers are very nice and they help me learn and grow. Also, next year would be my last year of elementary school, so I will stand up for Fire Lake as long as I can. Fire Lake is a place where other students can continue learning, and Fire Lake is close to my house, so my mom doesn't drive long. My mom also went to Fire Lake a long time ago, so please don't close Fire Lake.

Also, my mom just started working there, and that is all I have to say tonight. Thank you. And thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Michael Jones and Misty Nelson.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Okay. Ever since we learned that Lake Otis may be closed, there's been a lot of misinformation and disinformation presented to the board and to the community as fact.

I'm hearing very biased opinions and comments made, uh, or even expressed with pride in what should be a fair and balanced discussion. And quite frankly, there seems to be a lack of desire to set that record straight. It's been made clear publicly that there is a desire to preserve Southside schools. The percent capacity of Lake Otis was not presented correctly in early documents presented to the board so that the 4 life skills classes and the space they require were accounted for. What were described as the negative impacts and effects of a small school do not seem to be applied to the brand new Inlet View building which will have a capacity of only 300.

And there are other examples of misrepresentations of facts in regard to the realities and trans— of transportation of students. On the table is a proposal that will clearly discriminate on the basis of socioeconomic status against people who live in neighborhoods with more dense and affordable housing. What does not seem to be discussed is that misinformation is being used to not just close a school but to break apart an Anchorage community in an unprecedented way. A community that Dr. Bryant himself publicly referred to as strong, able to make cultural connections, and to provide stability and belonging to his students. Those results don't just happen overnight.

If Lake Otis were to close, the current plan is to send our students to K'asoon, which currently doesn't have the space to tutor, which will have to figure out how to handle 7 preschool classrooms classrooms whose families might want to keep their children there in the future, to Rogers Park with very different demographics from Lake Otis, to College Gate, which just grew significantly, to Russian Jack, and to Airport Heights. That's 6 different schools. Lake Otis is a diverse Title I school with many wraparound services, and regardless of what is said in presentations, the reality is—. Like, go to buffer if they become a community on. Thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is Misty Nelson. Welcome, you have 2 minutes, please begin when you're ready. Thank you. Good evening, Misty Nelson. Um, I am a proud Lake Otis staff member, and, um, you know, I kind of have something written out, but a little bit of it echoes what Mr. Jones said.

We do call each other by Mr. and Miss, it's a thing at school. Um, but this graphic that was shared, the school size impacts to levels of service, I just don't see that at our school. This, oh, we have an increase of combo classes, we don't have enough collaboration amongst grade levels, we have staff vacancies that are not fulfilled unless it's like a typical, you know, illness or whatnot. Also, the we lack in being able to provide related service supports. I mean, we have one of our life skills one of those parents.

I think many of you know in the room, and she can attest to her daughter receiving all of their OT/PT services. And in my time at Lakotas, which has been about a decade, I think something over that, we've never had a full-time OT/PT. So I feel like that was a little bit misleading as well of saying that we don't have— we're not able to commit to or fulfill services for our students based on the size. And so I'm just— I'm gonna let other people speak because it's a long night, a lot of people ahead. Uh, you've got the most recent petition, 774 signatures.

Um, and I just, you know, I wish for all schools to have what they need, and I just appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Ariana Cuddy and Brandy Castellute.

Ariana Cuddy and Brandy Castellute.

Okay, welcome, Ariana. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Hello, my name is Ariana Cuddy. I've been with the district for 11 years, and I'm an art teacher at Lakotas and Cassoon Elementary. I come to you today having the unique perspective of being at the two schools in Anchorage most greatly affected by this resizing recommendation. While I understand the district's need to address budgetary issues, upending our community is not a solution the public supports. This closure would severely disrupt the academic growth and well-being of our students, as well as put yet another burden on dedicated educators like myself.

Have you visited Lake Otis, a Title I school? We just painted a beautiful Husky mural outside the nurse's office. Have you spent a day with our 31 life skills students? Or have you witnessed the incredible SBBS program at Cassoon? Our classrooms have been carefully designed and curated for these special programs.

It's taken me years at Lake Otis and a lot of money to create the art room our students deserve. One of ASD's top priorities is teacher retention. In front of you, I've provided a list of some of the things I've purchased or had donated for the betterment of childhood education. I've done this despite receiving a literal decrease in my paycheck for the second year in a row. You say you want to conserve resources, but how much will it take to move and consolidate kids who are currently thriving?

We just moved a migrant preschool at Lake— at Lake Otis this year into our building because soon just expanded their SBBS wing, and now you want to move them to Ocean View. We don't want to move, and neither do our students. Our kids deserve stability, strong relationships, and high quality— high quality educators. Please put children first, and please don't make me pack up my art room. Thank you, and thank you for your testimony.

Our next speaker is Brandy Castellute. Welcome, you have 2 minutes, please begin when you're ready. Awesome, thank you. Good evening, members of the board. My name is Brandy Castellute, and I'm here on behalf of the families of Lake Otis Elementary, a school that's being considered for closure even though data doesn't add up.

Let's talk about enrollment. Lake Otis currently serves about 337 students K through 5th. Since our Pre-K program was removed, we are not the lowest enrolled school in the district, yet we're being treated as if we are. District-wide enrollment has dropped by thousands of students, so this isn't a Lake Otis problem, it's a system-wide challenge that deserves a system-wide solution, not selective closures on schools. Next, our building Lake Otis was built in 1955.

And the last improvement was 1990. Yes, it's an older school, but the district's own capital plan already includes funds for the necessary upgrades. Closing the school doesn't eliminate those costs, it only shifts them elsewhere while taking away a vital neighborhood resource. And finally, consolidation. Moving children, especially those under 10, create a disruption that directly affects their learning, confidence, and senses of— a sense of safety.

Um, the youngest kids that thrive on routine, community, and familiarity, things that consolidation takes away. Um, please keep Lakotas open because this decision should be about what's best for the children, not the building or our budget. Thank you. And thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Ismael Martinez Guzman and Deborah Wright.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Deborah Wright.

Next person. Okay, I would like to begin by thanking Dr. Bryant for recognizing what a great Title I school Lake Otis is. When Western Alaska was devastated by the recent typhoon, 3 ASD elementary schools were identified to provide support and classes to displaced students: our Yup'ik Immersion, Alaska Native Charter, and Lake Otis. I quote Dr. Bryant: these schools were chosen for their strong communities, cultural connections, and ability to provide stability and belonging. End quote.

Lake Otis has a student population which is 82% minority, 78% economically disadvantaged, 19% are students with disability, and 33% are English language learners. At the community conversations, it was stated that by consolidating schools, our most vulnerable students and families would receive more support and benefits. This is not true when the majority of our students would be going to Kossuna Tutor. Neither are Title I, and therefore there will not be extra support. It was also presented that 5 schools are being considered for renting space to child care centers.

None are in Midtown. Lake Otis should be considered. If 50% of the space in these businesses will be prioritized for ASD staff, it's a great location. There are 8 ASD schools nearby and the Ed Center. My closing question is, why is a neighborhood Title I school which borders its feeder middle school being given to a German immersion charter school where 1% are economically disadvantaged, 12% minority, and not feeding into Wendler.

Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Nadine Price and Drew Huskenvelt.

Nadine Price and Drew Huskenvelt.

Welcome, Ms. Wright. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

My name is Nadine Price. I'm a retired teacher from the Anchorage School District, more importantly a mother and grandmother who has been part of the Lakota community for 35 years.

Both my boys and my grands went to Lake Otis, including my youngest, who's currently in first grade. I live in the Lake Otis neighborhood. I have seen familiar faces at trick-or-treat time, Christmas food drives, Girl Scout cookie sales, and even former students come shovel my driveway. I'm still looking for one this year, but I'll get it. All of these children are from Lake Otis and Windler.

We all recognize each other. I've attended numerous programs, back-to-school barbecues, culture nights, Girl Scout meetings, parent-teacher conferences, spelling bees, choir and band programs, Halloween carnivals, math or reading nights, book fairs, Celebration Life, PTA meetings, talent shows, and end-of-year celebrations. Lake Otis was a common connection for all of us and many people in the neighborhood. It is truly a neighborhood school. And it remains that way today.

My family has always felt a part of it, and we are welcome at Lake Otis. One of the classes that I taught when I was at Windler was a class called Kadfi. Each year, usually at least twice a year, we would come over to perform at Lake Otis and developed a sense of pride and a connection between the students from each school. Continuation of the program was important then. As a mother and a grandmother, I've always been impressed with the quality of professionalism and helpfulness of all of the staff.

My family benefited from all the academic programs at Lake Otis. My boys were in the gifted programs, and now my grandson has an IEP, so I've seen the gamut. Recently, the friendships my family started there still continue to this day. As a sub, as I would like to say, a master teacher who currently spends a majority of my days at Lake Otis, I've been treated kindly, respectfully, and welcome every time I go there. In conclusion, I would ask you to keep our school open.

The past, present, future staff, students, and parents love.

Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. Please state your name for the record, and you have 2 minutes. Drew Huesenfeldt. I'd like to talk to you guys today, switch gears, about our teacher contract and the ongoing negotiations.

Good evening. Your teacher contract is quite simple. Our teacher contract is state Bsa states that the price of our time and labor— we have stated clearly our price of our time, the price of our time and labor. If you, the school board, would like to continue to enjoy the benefits of our labor, such as higher test scores, better reading results, and higher graduation rates— benefits your administration just bragged to visiting legislators about last week— those are based on our work. You will need to pay us.

You can no longer ignore the fact that the Bsa is BSA funding is being grossly misdirected in this school district. It is your job to direct those funds to better support ASD's core mission, which is fulfilled by us, the educators. If it comes to it, I will vote to strike because I love this city and I would like to stay here. I am the very person this community is pushing away while lamenting the loss. I moved here 5 years ago I met the person that would be my wife here in Anchorage 3 years ago.

We're married, have purchased a home, and we both still hope to raise children in this city and send them to the public schools. You quite literally need us, but I'm not from here and neither is my wife. We have no family ties or tenable bonds that hold us to Anchorage except our love for the city and its people. That love will not sustain building a home and feeding children as my paycheck not only continues to not keep pace with with inflation, but also gets smaller in real dollars. I have no hope of a pension or sustainable retirement while my classes grow and I make less money.

Eventually enough will be enough, and I, like hundreds of educators each year, will leave for a school district that values the worth that I bring to the table. Will this be next year? Will it be next 2 years? Or will I get to grow up and see my children play for the Diamond Lynx? That choice lies with you and the people to your right.

Thank you, and thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Jenna Lassley and Samantha Brown. Jenna Lassley and Samantha Brown.

Samantha Brown. Welcome, Jenna. You have 3 minutes— 2 minutes, please begin when you're ready.

I implore you to reconsider the potential closure of Lake Otis Elementary School. Lake Otis is a pillar of the Anchorage community and has been for decades. Generations of families have asked to have their children attend here. The school has been in the news in many positive ways over the years for fundraisers and for many school and student achievements. I had heard of how amazing the school was for years and tried multiple times as a teacher to transfer to Lake Otis before I finally succeeded.

I'm a teacher who prefers to work in Title I schools because of the high needs of the students. These students cannot always speak up for themselves. They are highly transient, sometimes homeless or living out of their vehicles. They cannot always speak English because they are refugees or non-English speaking. They are impoverished and need access to food.

I am dedicated to helping these families. In my 16 years as an elementary school teacher, every school I have taught at has sadly been targeted for school closure. I spent 10 years at Wonder Park Elementary. It was targeted for closure twice. I spent 2 years at Lakewood Elementary and it was shuttered just last year.

Lagos Elementary is the third Title I school where I currently teach and is now on the chopping block. Please stop targeting Title I schools. This is not equity. These are communities that cannot find the time to speak at school board meetings when they are working 2 to 3 jobs just to survive. Moving their children to schools further away from where they live does not help them with transportation when they don't have working vehicles.

We are a school body that needs 100% free breakfast and lunches, yet every school where you have planned to relocate students isn't Title I. What happens when our students' most basic needs aren't met? We also have 4 life skills classes. These are the most vulnerable students in ASD. At our school, they have their own space and are a vital part of our community.

They too deserve better than being split up and relocated to multiple schools. Our SPED students need stability. There are schools that aren't Title I with lower attendance. Why aren't these schools being looked at? Please stop and reconsider what you are proposing.

Lakotas Elementary is vital to the local community, especially for marginalized populations. Our students matter and deserve the best services possible. Thank you for your testimony. Could you please—. Welcome—.

Please state your name for the record, and then you have 2 minutes. Samantha Brown. Um, hi, my name is Samantha Brown. I'm a proud parent and advocate for Lakotas Elementary, a school that has stood a pillar of our neighborhood for decades. I'm here tonight with one simple message.

Do not close like Otis. Last year you closed schools across Anchorage. You told us it was necessary, that it would stabilize the district, but here we are again. We still do not have the data on the long-term impact those closures had on our kids, on families, on teachers, and on our community, or, or on community trust. We don't know how those displaced students are performing now, and yet we're being asked to accept more closures measures before we've even measured the fallout from the last one.

Lake Otis is not just another dot on a map. It's a school with deep roots, specialized programs, and extraordinary educators who have built a community where every child is seen. It houses critical programs that cannot be easily moved without harm. For many families, Lake Otis isn't just convenient, it's essential. And let's be honest, Next, parents are choosing to leave ASD.

Um, they're choosing charter schools, correspondence, homeschooling, and private options. Why? Because they've lost faith that this district will listen, that it values community or parental voice. That is not a Lake Otis problem, that's an Anchorage School District problem. Instead of closing schools, why not listen to what these numbers are saying?

Families want smaller, more personal learning environments. They want options that work for their kids. Lake Otis is already that— a small, close-knit school that works. Closing Lake Otis will not fix enrollment. It will not fix the budget.

It will only deepen the distrust and push even more families out of ASD.

Give the chance to rebuild trust instead of tearing it down further. Lake Otis is an example of what a neighborhood school should be. Be safe, connected, and full of heart. If you want to rebuild this district's reputation, start by protecting what's still strong. Start by protecting my photos.

Elementary. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Rebecca Colvin and Allison Goller.

Welcome, Miss Colvin. You have 2 minutes, please begin when you're ready.

Dear ASD board members, my name is Rebecca Colvin. I am the proud mom of 2 Rilke Schule German immersion school graduates who are now currently at German immersion at Cervus High School. I want to thank the board for allowing Rilke Schule to move into Abbott Loop this year. It has resulted in significant cost savings that can now be used towards students instead of rent.

The move into a building that was actually constructed for use as a school has had many other positive program impacts, such as being able to offer a lunch program and a full library, just to name a few.

Moving on to discuss Rilke's future location. This board voted during the previous school year to place a priority on Rilke Schule during future right-sizing closures. I would like to voice my support for Rilke to have the option to move into Lake Otis Elementary if it is chosen to be closed. This facility would allow Rilke at long last to have a final home and house our public school students in a public building. It would place the German immersion program on equal footing with ASD's other immersion programs, who are already housed in neighborhood schools.

When right-sizing votes are held at your next meeting, please remember Wilka as your priority. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have 2 minutes.

Please begin when you're ready. Good evening, ASD board members and Dr. Bryant. Thank you for your willingness to hear the voices of your community. As you thoughtfully navigate the difficult decisions surrounding the topic of right-sizing. My name is Allison Galler.

I'm the president of Rokushula German Immersion School's parent-teacher organization. My request today is straightforward: continued consideration of Rokushula's 495 ASD students and 45 ASD staff members in the procurement of a permanent facility for our school, school community to call home. Rokushula is deeply appreciative of the opportunity you granted us and the temporary use of the Abbott Loop facility. The money we previously spent on rent can now be invested directly into what matters most: our students. The expanded square footage has allowed us— has allowed our enrollment to expand to 495 students while clearing the way for several key milestones in our school's 20-year history, to include our school's first dedicated library, which passionately supports our mission of bilingual literacy; our first dedicated lunchroom, which provides equitable access to hot meals for over 200 students daily; an outdoor education program that focuses on the development of lifelong connection with nature and healthy habits.

As you are aware, however, the Abbott Loop facility is and was always meant to be a temporary solution, a stepping stone along the path to procurement of a permanent home for Wilkeshula's 495 students and 45 staff members. The waiver granted to the Abbott Loop facility by the fire marshal noting lack of fire suppression system expires at the end of the '28-'29 school year. The tens of millions of dollars required to bring Abbott Loop up to code would be a jagged pill for the Anchorage voters to swallow, especially considering this is a facility which was previously slated to be shuttered not once but twice prior to Rilke Schuler's tenure. We're hopeful that you will remain true to your word in prioritizing Rilke Schuler and the reallocation of ASD facilities through the right-sizing initiative. And making good on this promise, you're not only satisfying the objectives of right-sizing but also paving the way for Rilke the Shula German Immersion School to continue thriving for years to come.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Delaney Schneider and Ashley DeNaster.

Welcome, Ms. Schneider. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hi, I'm Mrs. S from Tarmigan Elementary. The last time I spoke up at one of these meetings, we were all required to wear masks Beef.

Brief background on me. This is my 10th year in education, 2 years in the lower 48, and my 8th year with ASD. A few years ago, I was fed up and quit ASD as a classroom teacher and became a sub while I got my master's in something unrelated to education. This is my second year hired back on as a classroom teacher with ASD, and I am already regretting my decision to return. I don't have enough time to tell you the problems our education system is facing daily.

But I will highlight what I feel is important for you to hear. One, teachers are the backbone of this school system. We wear many hats when we're in the classroom, and we wear them well. Without us, your system will fail. Compensate us more and give us a reason to stay.

Two, lack of consequences and accountability within society and the school system has created intense behaviors in every grade level. It's exhausting and leaving very little time to actually teach. 3, Teachers are the care and support daily to our students, yet this school district does not make me feel supported or cared for. It's hard to give from an empty cup. Lastly, mental health is important in this industry.

When I'm healthy, I see my therapist once or twice a month. During a regular school year, it's once a week, but this school year I have already had to bump my therapy sessions to twice a week just so I don't quit mid-year, which wouldn't be fair to my students. A great healthcare plan promotes healthy teachers, and you need healthy teachers. I know I'm just one teacher to you and you couldn't care less if I quit the school district, but just know it will be a loss to the students, and that is something you should care about. I am looking forward to seeing the resignation incentive you offer this school year because at this point it's probably better than the new contract you have offered us.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. Please state your name for the record. You have 2 minutes.

Thank you. You have 2 minutes. You can state your name for the record and begin. Thank you. Okay, my name is Ashley Denister.

I am the school nurse for the students at Fire Lake. I come here not to protect my job because as a nurse I am very employable. I come here out of great concern for the students I care for. A study conducted by BMC Public Health showed elementary years significantly impact adulthood. The elementary years lay the foundation for lifelong health, education, and social-emotional well-being.

The more negative experiences a child suffers during the elementary years, the increased risk for depression, poor health, and lower occupational prestige in adulthood.

The majority of the students I interact with at Fire Lake have challenging home environments— homes with one parent, parents with multiple jobs jobs, broken homes where the child lives in more than one home, custody issues, and homes where the primary caretaker is not their biological parent. In the 3 months I have been at Fire Lake, I have had approximately 60 nurses visits for hunger, fatigue, not sleeping, and emotional health issues. Most of my daily interactions with students are needing to take a nap, emotional ice packs, attacks, requests for hugs, and food. I do not doubt the competency of the nurses who will care for these students should they be relocated. My concern comes from the toll a relocation will have on these students because Fire Lake is their only stable environment.

Moving these children to a new school could cause trauma and negative experiences beyond what they are already facing at home. An additional meta-study found done in 2020 found that children who experience adverse childhood experiences are 2.5 to 3.6 more likely to develop depression and chronic physical health conditions as adults. For the sake of my students, I beg you not to close Fire Lake so these children can become healthy adults who make a positive impact in our community. Your vote to close Fire Lake will only benefit the affluent and harm those who truly need stability. And thank you for your testimony.

Our next two speakers are Natalia Clark and Brandon Strock.

Welcome, Miss Clark. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Thank you so much. Speaking about the possible closure, I'd like to address two issues: collaboration and big schools schools versus smaller schools.

Collaboration was emphasized in both community conversation meetings. It is my experience that schools with a bigger population are not better and not safer. I worked in 8 different schools, and I can testify that collaboration is not better in bigger schools. In fact, big schools lack collaboration. Often staff members feel insignificant and invisible.

It's kind of same feeling when I was in New York and I looked up at the tall buildings there. Do you know how I felt? I felt like I was a speck, nothing. There are lots of people and they do not see each other and they do not care. Do I want the same experience for my students?

And oh no. So Title I minority, minority, lower income students will be transitioning into a non-Title I school. A non-Title I school. Ready to accommodate Title I students. In the meetings, we asked if our students would have the same services, benefits, resources, and the answer was, uh, maybe, possibly, might be, could be.

This tells me that the environment for Title I minority students is not in place in those schools. How is this going to benefit our students? They will feel like a speck and become invisible and lost. Bullying can become a problem as well. We have the most vulnerable, extremely diverse population with many bilingual students.

We have the highest number of economically disadvantaged, see, see, Title VI and students with disabilities. They need stability, resources, services, our support. We have everything in place for them in our school. The students are noticed and known. In my opinion, we are looking at the wrong school.

Let's not rush in making decisions. Let's analyze the situation and make the best solutions for our students and their families. This is our home. It matters. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. Please state your name for the record. You have 2 minutes. You can begin when you're ready.

Hello, esteemed board members. It's nice to be here again. I'm glad that right-sizing could bring us together. I am Brandon Stroke, principal of Roca Shula. I want to begin by thanking the board immensely for allowing Rilke Schule to relocate to the Abbott Loop facility for the '25-'26 school year.

This has been a tremendous growth opportunity for our program as enrollment has continued to rise. We've been able to provide a hot lunch program to our students for the first time in 20 years, and roughly 200 students take care— take advantage of that daily. There's extra 4 acres of playground for these students to play kickball, football, participate on the playground, and it's all greatly appreciated. The biggest benefit, naturally though, is that our public education monies aren't going to rent a facility. Instead, that money can be turned around and spent on staffing that directly supports our student outcomes.

However, Abbott Loop is not a long-term solution, as we all know. Two different school communities have already been moved out of that facility. In 2017, the CIP indicated that it needed $20 million worth of maintenance. 8 Years later, we can safely assume that that number is much greater.

Um, to be clear, I'm not here to advocate for the repurposing of any school. However, I'm here to advocate for Rilke Schule and its long-term sustainability. Rilke Schule is the largest in-person charter school in our entire state, nearly 500 ASD students attend this school from all over the community, Girdwood to Eagle River, and we have over 40 AEA employees. Please keep us in mind as we move forward that Rilke Schuler really needs a long-term sustainable facility in order to meet goals set by this board and meet the expectations of our community to educate our students so they become productive citizens in our community. Thank you, and thank you for your testimony.

Our next two speakers are Elizabeth Rupke and Andrew Mullins.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Hello, my name is Elizabeth Rupke, and I'm a teacher at the SPVS I'm here to talk about the closure of Lake Otis Elementary and the move of SBBS from Cassoon to Ocean View. If you were to close Lake Otis Elementary, you would not just be displacing 4 life skills classrooms, but also the SBBS students at Cassoon. And Cassoon, some of our students have moved 3 times already due to right-sizing, and this would be their 4th move. And one of the things that most of our students have dealt with is trauma, and if we were to move them again, it would cause more trauma. As well.

One of the things that most students in our school use is our— sorry— is our de-escalation facilities, and those are not currently at Ocean View. They would have to be rebuilt, and they were just rebuilt at Kassoon. The teachers that work at Kassoon know SBBS students well and have worked with them, as well as our general education teachers. When it comes time to do pictures, my students asked for the PE teacher because they wanted him. If they were to move, they would not get to see that PE teacher ever again because he would stay with Kassoon.

And thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please state your name for the record and begin when you're ready.

Yeah, Andrew Mullins. You have to be crazy to become a teacher today. I will say that again. You have to be crazy to become a teacher today, especially in Anchorage. My name is Andrew Mullins and I am a third-year teacher.

As someone that made a career change later in life, I offer a unique perspective on the many challenges that educators experience, as well as the barriers potential new educators face entering the profession. As a high school language arts teacher, I work twice as hard for less pay than I ever did in my previous career. I am also gambling that things will work out. Out, and there will be some improvement to the Tier 3 retirement system at some point in the future. Just as all educators face, I have experienced everything ranging from growing class sizes, disruptive behaviors, and students crying over personal struggles.

I have experienced inflation and rising costs and Anchorage on seemingly everything while our compensation remains stagnant, and I have experienced the barriers that exist for someone that wishes to enter the teaching profession even while having a master's master's degree in their content area. Teaching involves sacrifice. Sacrifice during the mornings or afternoons to prep the day's lessons because one planning period isn't enough. Sacrifice during the weekends to work on the ever-growing pile of assignments to grade. Sacrifice to buy your own supplies and books so students can have a better experience in your classroom.

Sacrifice to stay off social media because of growing animosity towards educators in public education. And sacrifice to knowingly take less money while working harder than other professions because of some silly dream to help the next generation. Perhaps you should sacrifice for your teachers just as your teachers do for their students every single day. You have to be crazy to become a new teacher in Anchorage. For the students of Polaris K-12, thankfully I am crazy and I chose to follow my dream and my heart.

How many others would be willing to do the same? You have the power to fix this. Fix it. Pay your educators what they are worth. Improve our retirement and make it more worth it to be a teacher in Anchorage.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Ashley Kandirjiani and Donna Yates.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. My name is Ashley Kenergiani. As a taxpayer and a parent, I really want our money to be used as best as possible.

I also want what is best for our students. Eagle River is a unique layout of a community tucked in a valley and on the sides of mountains and areas. We aren't a grid. Our boundary lines haven't been adjusted in forever. There are neighborhoods that are bused to schools not closest to them.

Take the community of Powder Ridge, for example. They live across the highway from Fred Meyers. The bus ride to Fire Lake would be 1.4 miles. Instead, these students are bused 4 miles up the Glen Highway to Birchwood. Doing the math, it's 5.2 additional miles round trip per day, equaling 936 miles in a school year.

936 Additional miles those students spend on a bus. The irony is that when it's time for Powder Ridge residents to go to their polling location, they don't go to Birchwood Elementary. They go to Fire Lake Elementary. I believe that families should have choices in schools, but putting a charter school that follows an ABC curriculum with yet another ABC school of Birchwood a few miles away makes zero sense. These programs should be combined within the building of Birchwood.

Regarding charter schools, it's impossible not to feel like the administration is prioritizing the rich kids over the economically disadvantaged kids, which is over half of Eagle River's population. The kids who already are at a disadvantage are going to struggle more with this catastrophic move. They need us. They need all of us, and they need each other. Please don't kick us out and put the rich kids in.

I urge you board members to read all of the emails you receive from our Eagle River community. We are living in survival mode. This is the second year fighting this. Our families are exhausted, but please know I'm my child's advocate and I won't stop fighting. I ask that you listen and comprehend what is being said.

Please visit our school before making your vote. Our students matter. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Welcome.

Please state your name for the record. You have 2 minutes. Hi, I'm Donna Yates. I'm the cafeteria manager at Fire Lake. Fire Lake is the only school in the Eagle River area participating in the Community Eligibility Provision program.

This provides free meals for all students regardless of a family's income. Fire Lake qualifies for this USDA program because we have the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged families in the area. I serve healthy food free to families, to 80% of Fire Lake students, every day. Meal counts have doubled since the start of CEP, so this Eagle River community is in need. Please take CEP eligibility into consideration.

If our students are relocated to schools without this program, I'm not confident they will be set up for the most success. I see students who may not have enough food packed in their lunch, or they don't like like what was packed, so they would just sit quietly and be hungry. Hungry kids will not be prepared to learn. Breakfast and lunch are essential for learning. The CEP program has been a blessing for our families.

If Fire Lake students are displaced, a lot of these families will incur debt and economic hardship. A lot of our families are too proud to apply for the free and reduced program, and I'm seeing the amount of debt that families can get when paying for meals. One 3rd grader owed over $5,000 eating breakfast and lunch daily. That's just one student. Student nutrition has worked hard to get this program into more schools, and hopefully one day meals will be free to all schools.

Closing Fire Lake will threaten the stability these families just got of having free food for their kids. Right now, 203 Fire Lake children are guaranteed meals at schools. Closing Fire Lake does not support ASD's core value of every student deserves the opportunity to achieve his or her potential. Potential. Please keep fueling healthy minds to their potential when you vote to keep Fire Lake open.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Erica Arnold and Jason Hotch.

Welcome. Please state your name for the record. You have 2 minutes. Uh, good evening, my name is Jason Hotch. Um, so good evening, board members and ASD administration.

Uh, first, um, I'm the father of 2 daughters who are in 6th and 4th grade at Rokoshula and have been there since kindergarten. I'm also the chair of the Rokoshula Academic Policy Committee, and I'm here tonight to first express my gratitude for the work that you all do as public servants, um, and as administrators in Alaska's largest school district. Uh, this is taxing work. Secondly, I want to thank this board for offering Rilka Shula the use of the Abbott Loop facility on the short-term basis, as it has provided many opportunities for our students, staff, and the program, uh, such as an additional 20,000 more square feet than we were in previously. A true library where we have been able to hire a full-time librarian, something that Roka has not had before.

As a father of two very avid readers who go to the Lusak Library every other week and check out 20 books, uh, what they're allowed to, having the ability to have a true library in school has only expanded their desire to read.

Also a cafeteria, as noted previously by others associated with Roka You know, it serves 200 students daily, my two daughters included, who have jumped for joy at the option of, of a hot lunch and the ability to not pack a lunch the night before. With those positives of the Avat Loop facility afforded the Rokoshula community, there are the drawbacks to it, including the expiring occupancy waiver, which places a deadline on the future in that facility. The deferred maintenance costs the facility faces is also a reminder why the facility facility was originally closed but offered in this kind of an emergency use situation for us and our predecessors in that space. Lastly, I want to express again our interest in being right-sized in a long-term ASD facility and to thank you again for working through these difficult— this isn't work or easy conversations. We thank you for your testimony, Mr. Hutch.

Um, your 2 minutes has expired. Thank you for your service. Uh, our next 2 speakers are Jeffrey Lee Bevier and Jessica Schwartz.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hey, thanks. Wow, big crowd.

Last time I spoke to a crowd like this, I got booed. Um, my name is Jeffrey, uh, Bevier. Jeff Bevier. I've Been a teacher for 27 years, the last 23 with the Anchorage School District. Um, you know it's bad when you get an old guy like me to stay up past my bedtime to come talk to you, so thank you for listening.

Uh, but I was one of those people that was recruited about 23 years ago when I left a stagnant Oregon as the finances were crashing due to something, something called Measure 5. And I was recruited by a guy named Chuck Fannon, who was part principal, part carnival barker at the time. When I went to Clackamas Town Center for a job interview. It was great. I came up here, those first few years, 2003 to 2006, were amazing.

We were building schools. South got built. We had a new Diamond. I mean, I guess it's pretty easy to build schools when oil's $100 a barrel, but you know, here's where we are. Then we changed and everything started to kind of slowly decrease.

We used to have a freshman academy back in 2005. We had two schools. It was great service in Diamond. Go Lynx. We had these freshman academies.

And unfortunately we had to kind of shut them down after the funding disappeared from our smaller schools grant. I don't know if that's prophetic, but it is what it is. But going forward, I don't understand how a new teacher would ever want to come to Alaska these days. When I came up here in 2003, we were paying $10,000 a year more than school districts in Washington and Oregon. Fast forward now to 2025, it is a complete inverse.

I mean, $10,000 a year less. Our insurance is worse. Teachers right now, $500 less per check. That's insane. How do you expect people to live like that?

And then you, on top of it all, our bargaining team, whether explicitly from the school board or implicitly, drags their feet, costing in human misery $500 a paycheck by all these new teachers. That's not right. You can do better. You stand upon the precipice of an anti-education movement across the country and in our state. You can make the right call.

You can make the decision. You can stand up for education, not only in Alaska, but you can send a message by valuing your teachers. Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. Please state your name for the record.

You have 2 minutes. Thank you.

Is it ready? Oh, sorry. Okay. Good evening. My name is Jessica Schwartz.

I'm a parent of 2 children at Fire Lake Elementary. I'm a lifelong Alaskan. I've lived in Eagle River for the past 11 years. I understand that the overall Anchorage municipality population has decreased and that technically Eagle River and Chugiak are included within that. However, a 12-mile drive north of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway takes you to Eagle River, which is very visibly and rapidly growing, and it's not a fluke, it's a trend.

Eagle River is a very desirable community to live in, attracting Alaskans, and also has a large presence of military families. There's land to build on and being built on currently, and citizens need homes to buy. Carroll Creek is being developed within 1,200 feet of Fire Lake's doorstep, introducing 115 dwellings. There's a separate 58-unit housing area within the current— current Fire Lake school zone being built. Furthermore, the projected Powder West subdivision will introduce 1,100 new homes to the area.

Knowing the realistic amount of students that would be moving in and attending Fire Lake naturally, naturally. I feel closing Fire Lake is a short-sighted recommendation instead of planning for the not-too-distant future reality that these students will come to fruition and need a neighborhood school to attend. When the proposal to close Fire Lake was made last month, we had 194 students. As of today, we have 203— 4.6% increase in only 3 weeks' time. Fire Lake is growing rapidly and naturally right alongside our town, not by chance.

We did not receive any many of the students from the Western Alaska disaster. Don't make the wrong decision based on a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence and short-term problem solving. The North Eagle River and Chugiak community is booming. If you close Fire Lake, I'm 100% sure I'll be back in the seat within 2 years telling you we told you so. And by we, I mean our Fire Lake family here, those who couldn't join us tonight, and our 669 and growing petition signers that we've collected in only 4 days.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. The next two speakers are Carrie Ann Wood and Akara Anglin.

My name is Carrie Ann Wood, and I am the 4th-5th grade combo class teacher at Fire Lake Elementary. As of October 6th, we had 194 students. 104 Of them met the socioeconomically disadvantaged threshold. That's 54% of Fire Lake students. These students face a lot of adversity already.

They come from broken homes, broken families. They're hungry. For some, we are the only stability they have. Statistically, there is a strong link that exists between socioeconomic status and higher crime rates. When the individual lacks resources they need, such as an education or a community, crime increases in response to that.

Response to that perceived blocked opportunity. There are several other factors that play into this: stress, frustration, and social disorganization. Like I said, broken homes, broken families, hunger. Everyone is so focused on crime and behaviors at schools nationwide, but don't focus on the underlying factors. Travis Hirschi, a renowned sociologist, postulates in his social bond theory that there are 4 social bonds that lessen an individual's individual's chance to engage in deviant behavior.

It's attachment, commitment, involvement, and beliefs. Attachment: a strong emotional connection to significant people like parents. But as I've said, broken homes, broken families, teachers, and peers. You're taking from our students, my students, and potentially giving our school to a charter school. Charter schools who already have a selected number of students they let in and are affecting our enrollment charter schools who, in lieu of volunteer hours, can pay $20 per hour missed.

My students can't. Their families can't. Yes, kids are resilient. Yes, they will always learn. Yes, they will always have teachers.

But these are my kids, and this is my family. I have a stack of class journal entries here where they were asked, what does Fire Lake mean to you? I want to leave you with this from one of my students as conclude my testimony. Fire Lake is where I come to be safe, learn, have fun, be supported, be encouraged, and be fed. It's where I find friends.

That is what Fire Lake means to me. Thank you for your testimony. Uh, please state your name for the record. Welcome. You have 2 minutes.

Uh, good evening, Dr. Bryant and members of the board. I'm Akara Anglin. I want to first thank you Thank you for your continued efforts throughout the right-sizing process and for creating your space, um, conversations that you held through last week to hear from your community. I appreciate the opportunity to engage with ASD staff and many of you during the recent meetings. It's clear that you are attempting to listen to the voices you serve.

Thank you. I understand that the Rilkeshoola APC chair recently submitted a formal letter, a formal letter expressing interest in the Lake Otis building. Many families, including myself, learned of it only afterward, leaving us feeling disconnected from a decision, or at least me feeling disconnected from a decision that could directly affect my children's future. I'm here tonight to speak for my two children who attend Rilke Schule. Your administration presented that the Lake Otis facility is a $19 million investment just to make it functional.

We are currently in a facility that you just heard tonight that is going to take over $20 million or a similar amount of money. I support finding a long-term sustainable home for Rilke Schule. However, if the board considers offering Lake Otis to the APC, I ask that student safety and well-being remain the top priority. In its current condition, it's not an environment I would want my children or any Rilke student to move into. Your administration chose to present this building not only due to the 50% capacity but due to the amount of deterioration the building is in, any offer that you give to Rilke Schuler must include a clear commitment from you.

Bond voters are not—. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Lee Butterfield and Logan Pitney.

Welcome, Mr. Butterfield. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

My name is Lee Butterfield. I would like to offer a narrative to his why teachers are ready to walk a line or walk away. Based on the published 2026 budget book, between 2022 and today, the Anchorage School District has invested $3.8 8% less per student into teacher salaries. During that same time period, the Human Resources budget grew by 43.78%. Line 490 of the HR budget labeled as other expenses grew by 16,401.03%.

The Teaching and Learning Department grew by 72.67%. Teaching and Learning personnel investment grew by 125.92%. The Development and Grants Department budget grew by 102 The Communications and External Affairs Department budget grew by 49.39%, while the personnel budget grew over the same period grew by 79.36%. These numbers represent choices being made by administration and passed by the board. Numbers tell stories.

The narrative here shows that when one-time funds become available to support a system, they are often utilized to grow the ancillary functions of the system rather than the core. Then when one-time funds disappear, these ancillary systems systems function— function survive by pulling general fund monies away from paying the workforce, affecting the core mission of the district. How else are we, that workforce, supposed to view this pattern? How is the state? How are the families we serve?

How then are we supposed to trust this district when it says it is cut into bone, when it's teachers and only teachers whose value has been lessened, when all other departments have had increased investment over the same time period? It is a difficult question and one for which I I have not heard an answer. With this in mind, I asked the board to consider one very important question: how has the increase in these departmental budgets had a direct and measurably positive impact on student outcomes? I await a very public answer. Thank you for your testimony.

Welcome. Please state your name for the record. You have 2 minutes. My name is Logan Pitney. I'm one of your approximately 3,000 teachers.

The core objective of this district is teaching the children of our community. Our teachers carry that weight and we are tired. We love what we do, but it is hard work. We've seen too many colleagues leave and a lot of them do not get replaced. The extra workload is added on to those of us who are still here.

Recently, board members offered comments that you value your teachers, that you would love to give us a raise, but the district just doesn't have the money. When I look at budget books and I see administrative departments whose budgets have climbed substantially in the last 10 years, when I walk through the parking lot and see several brand new trucks $1.2 million. Both of these observations lead me to the conclusion that we have, or at the very least had, money that could have been spent directly supporting our core objectives, but different choices were made. As you look at next year's budget, I urge you to ask yourselves, is the money we're spending directly supporting the core objective of teaching our students? Is the— if the answer to that question is no, then choose to budget that money differently.

Urge your district administrators to bring forward a competitive contract proposal that values our work and retains your experienced teachers. I conclude with the words of an ASD student: we won't learn if we don't have teachers. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Brandon Lee and Mike Still.

Brandon Lee and Mike Still.

Welcome, Mr. Lee. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Uh, hello, my name is Brandon Lee, also known as Master Lee in the Eagle River, uh, because I'm running the martial arts school in Eagle River since 2019. Uh, father of 3. The first child is artistic. Our first child is 10 years old and our twin is 8 years old. And now twin is going to school with anxiety that their school will be closed and they will be going to different school next year.

I'd like to share my personal experience. My first child was struggle. I remember because he has to move to school to school, either school close the special program or don't offer special program for special need student like my child. We started at Carson Elementary and had to move everywhere and finally moved to Iloha until we moved to Eagle Point. He was very under stress and he couldn't express.

Our Native children often don't understand even if they explain it. Closing Fire Lake Elementary School, children were under significant stress during the period when they had to adapt to a new environment. We all know stress in child childhood has much worse effect than stress in adult. Uh, in the case of America, unlike South Korea, uh, which is I origin from, each school has a different curriculum, and so there's a good advantage for children and parents to choose according to their preference. It is very hard to understand, uh, close the school because of the budget and cost.

Please do not take the opportunity for the children who are responsible for next generation. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. Please state your name for the record.

You have 2 minutes. Good evening. My name is Mike Still. I've been an educator for 17 years and I currently teach at Bowman Elementary. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak with you all.

A month ago, I testified asking you to offer a contract that makes me and other teachers want to stay in Anchorage. I talked to you about the hard work teachers are putting in and ask you to offer a contract it retains teachers rather than wasting money hiring our replacements. You nodded along while you listened to all the testimony, but then your contract literally moved one single percent. If I add that to the 50 extra healthcare dollars your team authored, then my meager— to the meager raise, then my monthly salary will only go down by $20. That's right, down by $20.

Your offer merely stops me from hemorrhaging money. It is not Competitive. The bargaining team knew how laughable it was and didn't even put it to a vote for us. Did you know that my paycheck went down $361 a month? I didn't make any changes, but that's me losing $5,000 a year to stay with ASD.

Your teachers have devoted countless hours to writing and sharing this testimony. Why not use that time and energy to fight alongside ASD rather than against ASD? Let's work together in June to raise the BSA and fully fund Alaska schools. Have you heard of Positive Behavior Supports? PBS for short.

It's a buzzword and it's staying because it works. Reward the positive behavior, you'll see more of it. It's time for ASD to use PBS with our teachers. We aren't naive. Rather than being insulted by these laughable offers, our teams have suggested other ways to keep our contract competitive.

Do you realize the message you send Anchorage by giving new dads Only 2 weeks and new moms 6 weeks to recover from childbirth, build a family, navigate the largest change in their life they'll ever have. An extra 2 weeks for a C-section tells our community you view building a family as a medical procedure with orders to return to work at a bare minimum level of recovery. But let's work together in Juneau. Keep your teachers here. We want to be on the same team.

Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next 2 speakers are Kim Cole and Josh Kim Nicole Higgins.

Welcome, Miss Cole. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Good evening, my name is Kim Cole and I've been employed by ASD for 17 years, a certificated teacher for 15, and I am ready to strike. In 2016, I did leave teaching for 18 8 years, not because I hated it, but because I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After fulfilling that dream, all I wanted to do was come back to the classroom because I love it and I'm good at it. Despite my passion for the profession, the only reason I'm back in the classroom was because I was able to retain my Tier 2 status with a pension. If I had had to return with a 401k, Tier 3, I would still be working my last corporate job.

We need more robust pension program to attract attract and retain teachers, especially since this is the standard in most other states. My daughter has a BS and would love to be a teacher, but she can't seriously consider it because she makes more money bartending and she can't afford to take a year paying for and completing classes with an unpaid internship. I want to thank you for starting the pilot program to allow people like her to potentially long-term sub or work in a school while completing their certification. I look forward to an expansion of this program to include all grades and disciplines so we can continue to attract quality teachers to educate the next generation. We, the union, have accepted lesser raises for decades, causing the city to go from being highly competitive and attracting talent to falling further and further behind.

ASD has repeatedly promised to make it up in the next contract when times are better, but instead our take-home pay is essentially reduced every year while piling on more responsibilities, bringing education in our city to to the brink of crisis. There are a ridiculous number of unfilled positions this year with long-term subs, and this will continue to escalate unless we stand up and correct it now. I implore you to join us in supporting our students by taking care of your teachers before we find the need to strike. Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record.

Welcome. You have 2 minutes.

Um, my name is Jackie Higgins, and I am the chair of the Special Education Advisory School Council. I am a mama bear of a student at Lake Otis Elementary, but tonight I will be speaking as the mama bear of special education in the Anchorage School District. I want to point out, as the chair of the SEAC, I feel it is my duty to take a stand for children in special education, especially those whose parents are busy working or are unsure of how to stand up and stick up for their children. Um, let's have another talk about discrimination. I want to point out to the board that both schools slated for closure this round of right-sizing contain regional placement special education programs, as well as every single school slated last year.

These programs are vital to their communities. I want to remind the board that the goal of right-sizing per the district is to maintain continuity of education for its students. However, trying to close either of these schools slated for closure speaks to the contrary. If you are looking at the education of life skills, SLC, or SBDS students, disrupting the students of these programs with moving them to unfamiliar schools and staff will be extremely detrimental to their education, as well as removing them from their gen ed peers, uh, as well as burdening the special education administration staff who are already overburdened with with further helping with unnecessary changes. There are 3 other schools with low attendance.

None of them contain regional special education programs, CIT, ELL, or any other high-needs programs, only homeschool hybrid programs. This is an injustice and we see it. Children of the programs you are speculating on closing don't deserve the instability the district is providing. Something has to be done, but closing schools where the most vulnerable children attend is not the solution to accommodate special, special interest charter and immersion programs. Thank you for your testimony.

Our next two speakers are Alicia Bucic and Imre Manyoki.

Okay, our next two speakers are Alexandra Jagree and Ephraim Jagree.

Uh, Miss—. It sounds like Miss Bucic is with us on the phone. Um, Miss Bucic, if you could star 6 to unmute, we'll hear your testimony now if you're available.

My husband's on the phone. Does he go first, or—. No, we're looking for Miss Bucic. Miss Bucic, if you're still with us, can you star 6 to unmute?

We'll come back to Miss Bucic. Miss Bucic, can you hear us? Okay, my apologies. Yes, my apologies. Thank you.

Yes, my name is— full name—. Francesca Lisha Bucic. I'm the mom of 5 Anchorage School District students and currently one student at Fire Lake Elementary. I am advocating for Fire Lake Elementary School to be—. To stay open.

Um, this is now the third time that the Anchorage School District has plotted to close this school that my children are currently attending. My children have attended multiple types of ASD programs, everything from virtual school curriculums to charter schools to neighborhood schools, and I can tell you indefinitely that our neighborhood school was the ultimate program that helped with my children's learning success. Charter schools, unfortunately, they have their niche, but they are not a right size for everyone, especially Fire Lake Elementary School. My background, I work in commercial and residential real estate, and the area immediately surrounding Fire Lake Elementary is slotted to increase enrollment substantially within the next school year. By spring of 2026, there will be 115 homes built adjacent to the school.

This will substantially increase enrollment, and as of today, Fire Lake enrollment is at 203 students. It is imperative that Anchorage School District look at the long-term goals for this area, the school, and understanding that neighborhood schools and choice schools are vital to an economy and an industry. One of the market trends that we're looking at right now from 2023 to 2025, projections are showing that home sales are going to increase. And when you look on realtor.com, the number one— [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] [Speaker:ANDREW_HOLMBERG] Okay.

Thank you for your testimony. Please state your name for the record, and you can begin. You'll have 2 minutes. Okay, my name is Alexandra Haudigee, and I'm a mother of 4. Currently, 3 of my 4 children attend Fire Lake Elementary.

I personally have had the opportunity to firsthand experience the surrounding schools in Eagle River and have had extremely poor experiences as a parent with—. A parent of children with special needs, having experienced the ill-equipped administration At schools like Eagle River Elementary and Birchwood ABC, I can tell you that my children with special needs suffered until they were enrolled at Fire Lake Elementary. Fire Lake administration and staff have proven to be effective in the management of care and education of students, and especially those with special needs. I personally believe that Fire Lake sets the bar and should be the example for other schools to learn from. The alternative placement for students will be inferior and as a result will have a discriminatory impact, which would affect ASD and their budget.

The discriminatory impact may open ASD into legal danger in the future, which will impact the ability for all kids to receive education. I know the board has to make a choice based on the greatest number for the greatest good, right-sizing. But thinking you are temporarily affecting a small population like Fire Lake for the benefit of education for the entire ASD population, you are wrong. The closure of Fire Lake will be negatively impactful to the students and have a lasting negative effect.

Thank you for your testimony. If we have Efrain Chagri, could you please star 6 to unmute, and then you have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

Hello, can you guys hear me? We can. Please begin your testimony. Okay, I just want to say, uh, first of all, thank you for taking the time to listen to these testimonies. I want to echo a little bit of what my wife said.

As well as some of the other speakers who've been advocating. Um, 3 of our children go to Fire Lake Elementary, and Fire Lake was the right fit. Um, the staff there have provided more than enough, and we're truly grateful for their ability to help us navigate special needs and the challenges our children face. Um, we want to reiterate that, uh, Keeping Fire Lake open means preserving a piece of history. It's, for us, helps us within our community see the impacts that our children are having overcoming challenges, and we're truly grateful for the staff.

Fire Lake isn't just a facility or a business. Where children go to learn math or reading. For us, it's an educational institute where families and our children also learn a little bit more about themselves and their community. Fire Lake is a place where the teachers have believed in them. It's where they've made great friends.

And it's where students' sense of pride in their community begins. Please save Fire Lake. Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Imre Minyoki and Matt Lasley.

Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready.

So the—. This plan to close the schools, in my opinion, is perfectly in the wrong direction. The emerging job markets that are— that we're preparing our students for is going to be vastly different than the past. So trying to stay on par with the stats of the past is a fool's errand. We need to figure out how we can go way past what educators have done in the past.

And so I propose an alternative solution, or to repurpose these schools in question. And that involves converting them into laboratory schools where experimental, innovative educational tactics can be employed and then syndicated to other schools when successful models are built. The— I have general ideas about what type of tactics could be used, but I don't have time to explain.

But we get to see that the general trend is that it's not clear what type of future we're preparing these kids to have a viable career in the future. You know, by the time we graduate, everything's going to be different. But what we can say is that the trend over the past 40 years is that advancing technologies is creating jobs that need smarter people that have better problem-solving skills. And, um, you know, in general, I think I speak for the strong majority of Americans that are sick to death of watching governments at all levels waste money on all sorts of frivolous nonsense, and there's no funding left to maintain schools and roads goods and other essentials, uh, that build a successful society. Thank you for your testimony.

Welcome. Please state your name for a record, and you can begin. Lastly, I thank you for letting me speak tonight. I've been a teacher at Lake Otis Elementary School for over 12 years. While aware of the district's needs to find ways to save money, the move to repurpose Lake Otis into a charter school will do more harm than good while making a negligible difference in the budget crisis that is faced by our district.

Our students come from lower income families. This does not make them less deserving of the very best that we can provide. Short-term solutions are not going to fix long-term problems. Not only that, we have many students who are children in transition who come to our schools for a stable environment. Closing Lakotas would take that from them.

I know one of the arguments about right-sizing our schools is to limit the shared resources like counselors and nurses. However, I would like to argue that our students will lose even more resources when they are moved to schools like Cassoon Elementary that are not Title I schools. The sheer number of resource students would see them become merely a statistic when they lose the people and support that Lake Otis has put into place for them. This proposal will disrupt hundreds of students and families, not just from Lake Otis but also Cassoon as well, which will have to move programs over to Ocean View just to make room. I would like to remind you that Ocean View was proposed to be shut down last year and is still operating at less capacity than Lake Otis.

Over the last 7 to 8 years, there's been a big emphasis on our district on equity and equality. We have had numerous trainings and professional developments on its importance. So I ask you, is moving some of our highest-needs students from Lake Otis to make room for a charter school equity or equality? I implore the school board and the school district to practice what they preach. I beg you not to close Lake Otis because of right-sizing, but to keep it open because it's the right thing to do.

Thank you. And thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Shadar Washington and Alana Walker.

Welcome. Could you please state your name for our record and begin? You have 2 minutes.

Hi. Hi, my name is Alianna Walker. I am 7 years old and I'm here to help fight to save Fire Lake. I have been to Fire Lake all my life. I feel excited to go to school.

And see everybody every day. I have good times there. So many people have good times learning there. We have movie nights and carve pumpkins. We really have fun.

My principal called my mom to tell her I was being responsible by being extra helpful helpful in class and made it— made her so happy. Please don't make friends and teachers and me sad. Keep Firelake open because we love Firelake.

Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hi, my name is Shardy Washington.

I'm here like many others to save Fire Lake. There's nothing I can really say that hasn't already been said. A question I still have is, who decides which kids are more important? As a parent, it feels like ASD kicking out Fire Lake or Lake Otis to accommodate charter schools sends a clear message to the community that low and lower income and special needs kids our kids are of lower priority. I might understand why we were in this position again, again, if it were because the building wasn't safe or because the kids weren't doing well emotionally or academically, but that's not the case.

I haven't heard an argument to reallocate our building that overshadows the fact that Fire Lake is our neighborhood school, which ASD is required by law to offer to the community. In just a few days, we've gotten almost 700 signatures on a petition to keep it open. All night we've heard how the teachers aren't being paid enough, so little in fact that they're willing to stop showing up to teach our kids altogether. We've been told that we can't afford to keep the doors open to schools that are flourishing. My question is, where's the money going?

Because I'm sure I can speak for every adult in this room when I verify that taxes are coming out of all of our checks. Where else is ASD looking at for funds besides derailing the stability of hundreds of elementary kids, not to mention their families and their community. I know you all have been given a wealth of information to absorb, so I do want to make sure that you've learned, if nothing else, that Fire Lake won't stop fighting. We know the kids and the teachers that make up our Fire Lake family are worth whatever it takes to keep it open. Thanks for your time.

Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Kevin Brownsberger and, uh, John—. Last name isn't super clear, maybe Young.

Kevin Brownsberger and Chan Young. Welcome, Mr. Brownsberger. You have 2 minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Thank you.

Thank you for having this time to share. I'm an East High School graduate. My name is Kevin Brownsberger. I've been teaching in the district for 32 years, faithful teacher. Been at service and at East High School for most of my career.

Thanks everybody for being here. And last time I was here, I shared numbers with you, and I want to share some numbers again. Once again, I'm 33 years in the district, dedicated teachers. I've been in master's equivalency at 90 for 19 years. I've been stuck in the in lieu of status for 10 years, and I'm still a passionate teacher.

I'm a father, 66-year-old man, a father of a special needs daughter, and I'm hoping to retire someday, but right now I can't afford it. My last paycheck only covered my mortgage and a car repair, and I'm driving an old used car, and I can't afford to get a new one. Is being a teacher a viable career? I used to think so. I was all excited in the 1990s when I was teaching.

Very first year I was teaching, there was a strike, and so I know what a strike is. I still know what a strike is. Okay. The workload is huge. You know, we work 50, 60 hours a week.

Grading lesson planning. I got papers back there I didn't tackle yet.

But after a series of bad contracts and holdbacks and promises for the future, it looks less and less viable. And I wouldn't recommend this as a viable career for any young person coming in. We can't afford it. I can't afford it 33 years in.

I'm trying to head towards retirement, but every time that salary gets stalled, it takes a chunk out of what my salary could be. I don't wanna get on the SNAP food line in retirement. Hope you understand that. Worth—. Cost of living has gone up 33% in 10 years and the salary is way behind that.

Take-home pay is going backwards. Mr. Brownsberger, thanks very much for your testimony and service.

Welcome, Mr. Young. You have 2 minutes. Please begin with your rate of English. Please state your name for the record, um, and then begin your testimony. Thank you.

Thank you. My name is John Yarger. Good evening, members of the board. In 2013, I accepted a Spanish immersion position at Chugiak High School, and now I teach at Betty Davis East High school. Having been born and raised on a farm and ranch in eastern Montana, I was blown away that there was a Spanish immersion program in Anchorage, Alaska.

How could that be? How could a community and school district so far north value the Spanish language and culture so much that they put their kids in it for 13 years? I had to be a part of it. I can honestly say that was one of the best decisions I ever made. With the support of building principals and administrators, I truly felt supported and needed, and ultimately my experience was vital and useful to students.

However, I come before you today to let you know that what was, was, or used to be, no longer is. My experience and my ability are no longer valued, and it saddens me. Our students deserve to learn and to see beyond the borders of their own experience, but systems around them are failing and breaking down. Our wages have been stagnant for years while the cost of living keeps rising. Raise, uh, rent, groceries, gas, all up.

And now with the $500 a month increase in health insurance, I can't express how demoralizing it is. That's not progress. That's a step backwards. It's disheartening to pour your heart into your students every day only to wonder if you can afford to stay in the profession you love. And while I struggle to make ends meet, we're also fighting to keep our programs alive.

World language programs, the very ones that open minds, build empathy, and prepare students for a global world, are being chipped away. Positions go unfilled, classes get cut, and when that happens, it sends a clear message. That global understanding and cultural literacy are optional. They are not optional. My wife is Mexican and I'm raising our child bilingual.

How can that be? Every time a world language program is diminished, our students lose opportunities to connect and to be— connect and communicate and become citizens of the world our world desperately needs. We tell them that learning another language opens doors, but what doors are we opening for them if we can't protect and keep our language programs that make that possible? Please value the educators who are shaping the next generation of global thinkers. Invest in fair wages of— Thank you, Mr. Yurta, for your testimony.

That completes our public testimony list for tonight. We'll take a 10-minute recess.

This is a quick mic check for our YouTube stream. Testing, 1, 2, 3.

Goes back to order. 8:19 PM. We've completed Section D, public comment. We're moving on to Section E, consent agenda. Is there a board member who wishes to pull the consent— a consent agenda item for discussion?

Hearing and seeing none, is there a motion to approve the consent agenda as listed? Yes. As amended, I move to approve the consent agenda as amended. The amendment was to move 071. Thank you.

Correct. Thank you, Member Bellamy. Is there a second? Made by Member Bellamy, seconded by Member Wilson to approve the consent agenda as amended. Uh, Miss Sullivan, can you call the— uh, I apologize, I think we can all vote online today.

Miss Sullivan, can you please hold the vote?

Members may proceed to vote to approve the consent agenda as amended.

Point of information: what was the amendment to the consent agenda? Was to move ASC Memorandum Number 071, the ACFR, to a future meeting. Um, I know I'm late because I didn't get back in the room enough. I would like to pull 073, the personnel report, for discussion.

I'm going to ask Miss Sullivan to void the vote. Um, we're going to remove the ASD Memorandum Number 073, the personnel report, and then Members Bellamy and Wilson, do you object to moving the, um, motion to approve the consent agenda as further amended?

Perfect. Okay, so we have the motion to move and approve the consent agenda as amended made by Member Bellamy, seconded by Member Wilson. Hearing no other discussion, we will vote on this amended consent agenda.

Did you get my— oops.

I'm just moving my mouse. I'm not sure where I put it.

Members may proceed to vote.

I'm not having it appear, but I would be a yes vote.

The amended consent agenda is adopted by a vote of 7-0. We'll move on to our action items.

Our first action item is AST Memorandum Number 075. Um, Member Bellamy, do you have a motion? I do, Mr. Chair. I move to reallocate 8 unallocated holdback positions to support 8 Academy Coach positions beginning October 1st to directly support the school board's College, Career, and Life Ready goal and priority action steps.

There's a motion to approve AST Memorandum Number 075. Is there a second? Second. Made by Member Bellamy, seconded by Member Holloman. Is there discussion?

Member Melanie?

Member Lessis? I had a simple procedural question. I know I asked a lot of questions last week, and this is not an indication of a lack of value on any individual who might be attached to this memorandum. But what would happen if the board failed to pass this memo tonight?

Sure, through the president, member Lessens, that's a great question. So if the board chose not to approve this memo tonight, essentially that would mean that the budget transfer wouldn't take place. The good news is that I would have plenty of time to provide a new memorandum to the board. And in fact, if the board did have issues with this budget transfer, I'd prefer the board vote down that memorandum because then I would have some time to make some administrative adjustments based off of the board feedback, and I'd be able to bring that before the board prior to the last meeting of December. So we'd have time, um, and that would fund the, the positions, um, at that future meeting with the adjustments that the board is requesting.

Uh, thank you, um, Mr. Superintendent, Dr. Bryant. Um, I appreciate that response, and I appreciate I'll just, in the interest of transparency, a solid conversation that I had with Dr. Bryant and President Jacobs yesterday. I'm aware that and appreciate that the administration revised its initial memo 075 to address some technical questions that I asked about at our last meeting. And I wanted to share with the board that I spent a little bit of time over I don't know, the last few days, um, reflecting on a comment that Member Wilson made, um, after I raised a number of questions really speaking to the long-term value, uh, that our community has placed on, on CTE in the Anchorage School District.

And I really do love BoardDocs because that allows me to do search metadata and pull up old documents prior to my time on the board and prior to my time in Anchorage, and that impetus, um, let me understand at a more granular level how we got here. I didn't know there had been a bond around 2011 to improve CTE access, um, at schools across the district. That was enlightening. Um, I didn't know that from about 2012 to 2017 there was a multi-year plan to improve, improve access in a more integrated way to CTE across the district. It was interesting but also dismaying to come across a document, and I'll probably share with Ms. Sullivan, from the end of the 2013-2014 school year, which showed that in that year we had more than 100 CTE FTE allocated across the school district.

This year, I think with grant support, the number that comes to mind is about 55. That's an extraordinary indication of how prior boards and administrations have sought to align dwindling resources with core instructional needs, and I think it's a it is, um, it falls to the legislature to maintain educational opportunities. Um, so anyways, I appreciate the comments that all board members make in meetings, but in particular that one inspired me and nudged me to go a little bit back to the Wayback Machine. Um, that said, I did spend time creating a substitute memo. I am not going to move it forward tonight But in the spirit of the question that I, I asked a few moments ago, um, I stand by the objections that I, uh, that came to my mind as I reviewed the, the pertinent fact— the pertinent facts in, in the memo that the administration prepared, and as I reviewed what I believe is the board's obligation to align resources with core instructional needs and We are in uncharted territory.

Never before, certainly while I've been on the board— others of you have been on the board much longer— has a grant been unfunded in the middle of a year, and now we're being asked to, to, to backfill it to maintain our contractual obligations. So when I think about what I understand about Academy Coaches, which is I'm sure more limited than their full scope of responsibilities. What I see is that there's a lot of effort being made in good faith to orient those actions towards improved relationships with the community, and there's value to that. But at this time of acute staffing and financial shortfalls, um, I believe that we have an obligation to, to really closely align available resources with classroom instruction. And that is the intent that was behind the intent of my substitute memo, which I'm not moving forward.

And that would have allowed principals to have discretion in directing that available FTE towards the particular needs that might be at their individual schools. So in the spirit of what Dr. Bryant shared, um, I am going to be voting no on this particular memo. And I encourage board members to, to vote as you always do, um, in the way that suits, suits your understanding of your role and responsibility. But I will be a no vote on this particular memo in hopes that we can come back to the drawing board with an effective, efficient, and aligned plan in a timely manner. Thank you, Member Lessons.

Member Higgins. Yeah, I, I don't have a problem with it, but, but I also want to make sure that the issues that are being raised or reviewed— I've heard from superintendent that he's comfortable that if we delay this, it's not going to adversely impact the implementation of it. So when I've got a school board member wanting to do that review, I got a superintendent wanting to do it, I'll go ahead and support not move— not approving it tonight so that we can have it come back in December and the superintendent can address whatever concerns are there.

Go to Member Bellamy.

Uh, thank you, and thank you, Member Lessons, for your explanation. Um, there's a lot in the substitute memo that I shared with you that, that concerned me because I think beyond all of that, we may not be able to afford these positions next year, but we have 8 people who I don't want— why would, why would we have them wait when we know that we can accommodate them to get them through the year? What we do in the future with next year's budget is an entirely different thing. So I, I would hate to be one of these employees having to wait, not knowing if I have a job next semester, basically, or not knowing what my job will entail. So, um, I, I would hate to wait, and I, I will be voting yes on to move it forward.

Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Sure. And I I think we're having a great dialogue. I just wanted to clarify that I would prefer that the board either vote up or down the original memorandum as it was written. When I said that I'd prefer the board vote down the memo, I meant in lieu of a substitute memo.

But one of the reasons why I really appreciate Member Lesson's perspective is that I think that we see a similar trend here, and really what this memorandum would allow is some continuity for Academy coaches to continue the really valuable work that they've been doing for the remainder of the year, despite the circumstance that they didn't ask for, which was that their grant was defunded. Their roles are adding value, but we also recognize that we have huge financial headwinds around the corner. So I know that member Lessens had expressed a preference for beginning to transition those roles beginning the spring semester. Really, my role is to take the next semester to to really figure out our financial picture and potentially to partially redesign the program in time for the fall semester. So really, I think we're on the same page, we're just talking about different timelines.

But I did want to clarify that I, I do think that it would be prudent to give those employees the certainty that they would need to as soon as the board is comfortable, which is why I presented this memorandum tonight. Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Member Holloman. Um, well, I think first of all, we should point out they absolutely have jobs and they're going to be paid. There is uncertainty about what they'll be doing next semester regardless of what we do, because the grant has been pulled and, and the situation is in limbo.

Um, I, I was ready to support the S version that Member Wesson drew up. But in a discussion with Dr. Bryant, I also have to acknowledge it really would be the board reaching in to try to put our hand on top of his hand on the steering wheel, and it really wouldn't be a proper role of the board to try to specify where those teachers should be— or yeah, where those teachers should be placed or what their duties should be in the coming year. And so I, I was prepared to speak positively about the S version and vote against it. I think what we're actually saying is we would prefer to table this, uh, so that there is time for the administration to put together more of a plan about what academies will look like going forward. Um, I do support the idea that, that where he can, that some of those coaches may be back in the classroom.

I would urge him to look at any other positions in this building or other administrative positions, especially at elementary or secondary, to put back in classrooms due to the rather incredible numbers of students we're seeing in rooms all across the district. Uh, I, I think what we're hearing from teachers is very sincere. They feel overworked. One of the ways they feel overworked and undersupported is the caseload that they're being given to manage. And to the degree that we can do something to alleviate it— and I realize we, we can't do much, but if we can do something, I, I think it would show that we're looking in the right direction, we're trying to do the right thing in trying to put as many resources as we can into the front line, which would be the classrooms.

I would move to table this motion until our second meeting in December. I second it.

Motion to table made by member— uh, you wouldn't table, you would postpone to a time certain of our second meeting in December. Okay, and it was made by Holloman, seconded by Higgins.

I, I do. So again, um, it is possible for us to delay this conversation until the second week in December because that would give the board enough time to vote whether or not that you approve of the budget transfer. However, I can't guarantee that the academies will be completely redesigned by the end December, and that's really because I'm leaning on the board members to provide me some direction as to what would even be allocated for the academies. If there's a universe where there may be a $0 appropriation to academies for the FY27 budget, it wouldn't really be a good use of staff time to redesign academies for a vote in December. So it's actually my preference that the board decide one way or another, do you approve the memorandum tonight, yes or no?

And I hope that we can have that resolution resolution tonight, ideally in favor of our employees who would like to know what their duties are for the spring semester. And simultaneously, in the spring semester, I'd like to lean on what the board's guidance is with the budget so that we can determine the path forward for academies. I think that the entire community is very aware that our best case scenario would be for ASD to operate status quo, nothing changes. That would be a miracle. It's highly unlikely, and it's very likely that every single program will need to be redesigned, rethought, or reimagined in some way, shape, or form, including academies.

So really, my request to the board is that if you feel it's appropriate to approve that budget transfer, I would recommend that you do that tonight, because I'm not anticipating making a programmatic change to academies this semester because the board will not have approved a budget, um, prior to that time. Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Um, Member Wilson, do you have discussion on the motion to postpone or on the underlying motion? I, I have— I'd like to speak regarding the underlying motion. Okay, we'll come back to you if I can do that.

Sure. Um, can I speak to the motion to post? We'll come back to that. Yeah, your points. Yeah, once we're dispatched with this amendment or the motion to postpone.

Um, I'll speak to the motion to postpone. What I, what I think I'm hearing pretty clearly from Dr. Bryant is a desire to have a firm answer on his proposal for, um, the work duties of these particular employees for the spring semester. If he is asking for that clarity at this point, I'm fine having that conversation and then making a decision either way. Uh, and I'll speak to my stance on the underlying motion later, but I would prefer that we vote down the request to postpone this conversation and provide Dr. Bryant the clarity he's seeking. Uh, on the motion to postpone, Member Higgins, are you speaking of the underlying motion?

Yeah, with the additional information from the superintendent, this is, uh, this budget change, what we do next year, everything's up in the air. Okay, I mean, there was nothing that whatever we do now is guaranteed that it's going to be that way in the fall. It really doesn't. It's a very short-term decision in which we've already got things moving in that direction. So it really, it just allows it to continue out through this year, but beyond that, nothing's out there.

Nothing's guaranteed because if we have a $75 million deficit, everything's on the table. And so I'm, I'm not interested in disrupting the superintendent just trying to handle this for this year to finish it out. And so I'm gonna— for that reason only, I'm not— I really want to hear the ideas and the recommendations, but I do understand the need to be able to just— this is a relatively simple, small amount and it won't make a difference next year because the budget, everything's on the table. Is there any member who wishes to speak? For or against the motion to postpone?

The motion to postpone. Member Holliman, on the motion to postpone. Um, I, I should have made more clear, we— I feel like we absolutely have to pass this motion. Um, we're contractually obligated to pay those people, and, and my real intent was just to get clarity on what they will be doing for the remainder of the year, because the grant cancellation affects everything.

And to emphasize, I am truly hoping that we will put every available position that has a teaching certificate in a classroom if we can. Given that, I'm willing to withdraw the motion to postpone and vote in favor of the motion. If I'm unable to do that at this point, then I, I would urge people to vote vote down the motion to postpone and vote yes on the motion, whichever way the chair wishes. Yep, it's as long as your second agrees, we can withdraw. Okay, uh, so Member Higgins and Member Hallman have withdrawn their motion to postpone.

Okay, now on to the underlying motion to approve AST Memorandum Number 75. Member Wilson.

I know there is no surprise that I'm, I'm a huge fan of CTE and the importance of it. I think is incredible for, for our kids, our community, and our families. It—. Like everyone else at this dais, I'm, I'm really sad to see the grant be defunded because of the impact, the positive impact that additional CTE opportunities for our kids at Career Technology Education for our kids, it, it benefits them in so many ways. I mean, we look at graduation rates are incredible for our students.

We look at the, the programs that we do have in place for our students that either choose to go to college and are impacted by, by the, the opportunities they have to learn before they get there to determine if, if that's even a path that they want, because the deselection is just just as important as the selection when, when they're learning about careers. And, and I, I do believe I've had the pleasure of working with the, the Career Academy coaches, and it's, it's just so incredibly important. And I don't know all of their duties, but in my dealings with them, they've had the, the opportunity to to bring businesses into their schools. And, and right now we need those connections and understanding of our community organizations and our businesses to, to understand the importance of what's going on in our schools and how incredible our students are, how incredible our teachers are, and how important it is to make those connections for, for the future economy of of our state and these opportunities for our students. I've had conversations with parents who've learned about different career opportunities and maybe have chosen that for both their, you know, themselves or possibly another sibling, an older sibling learning about a different career.

So it's opportunities for not just our students, but truly, I believe, for our families as well to learn about those those careers and learn about the path to get to them. I, I, I hear so much about CTE being associated with students that are just going to go straight to work after school, and that's, that's not the case. So many of our kids learn and go to college, learn and, and go to apprenticeship. They learn and go to the different pathways. But if they don't know about those pathways and they're not exposed to it by family members or other community members or within school, then that limits their opportunities.

So in a roundabout way, I, I guess I say that I absolutely support our CTE program. I absolutely support the work that our Career Academy coaches have been doing.

Again, I, I I see the budget for next year, and I know we have to revisit that here coming up soon and make different plans for next year. But allow— please allow them to continue what they're doing, making that positive impact, bringing the community and businesses into the schools, because we truly need them now more than ever.

Thank you, Member Wilson. I'll jump in the conversation as someone who hasn't spoken yet on the main motion. Um, I think my comments largely align with Member Wilson's. I hear Dr. Bryan indicating that his recommendation, along with his administration, is to not shift the sand underneath the initiative we have and focus we have on CTE, specifically regarding Academies of Anchorage work in the middle of the year. I, as someone who is responsible for holding the administration accountable for academic outcomes for, um, related to goals that our community established and asked us to hold dear.

Um, I tend to trust the superintendent's perspective to tell me what he needs to get the mission accomplished, and I don't have the expertise to guarantee that I know better than the recommendation. And so I'm not comfortable, um, doing anything but supporting it, recognizing that this is the plan for the second half of this calendar or academic year, and we're going to have to have a very different conversation about how we can continue to support an initiative that was primarily grant-funded and then had that rug pulled out from us years before we were expecting it to be a potential challenge. And so I will support the memorandum and the administration's recommendation. Member Lessens. I'll defer to Member Donnelly.

I've already spoken for the moment. Member Donnelly, your mic wasn't on. Please proceed. I just want to thank Member Wilson for her remarks, and I agree with those remarks. Thank you, Member Donnelly.

Member Lessels. Thank you for all of the thoughtful feedback. There are a lot of wonderful things that academy coaches have definitely done. You know, the enthusiasm of our community. Tapped into that and harness that.

But at the end of the day, I don't see— we talk about effect size or efficacy, right? I don't see those efforts, as lovely as they are, improving or actually decreasing students' rates of course failure. I don't see them serving in the same way that a smaller class size would allow a classroom teacher to provide more detailed feedback or provide credit recovery opportunities or provide high-dose tutoring or any number of things that, you know, an educator could do in a school system. These are really talented educators. Dr. Bryant has said as much.

So again, I'm thinking about our policy asserting that the board's role is to align our resources with our board goals. If the board goal in this case— we're not talking about 3rd grade reading, we're not talking about 8th grade math, we're talking about graduation rates— we need to align our available dollars. In this case, it's just over $1 million this year with the actions that are effective. And touchpoints are lovely, but it's not the same as an effective intervention to help a student pass Algebra 1, which they need to graduate, or an econ class. So we're, we're in a case where we have a breathtaking lack of resources, and I'm trying to align what we do have, which is a million dollars, really courtesy of the legislature's override.

I mean, we have funds available because of the override, um, to, to the work, which is getting students across that graduation finish line. And when I looked at extant data Um, I didn't see that— as wonderful as many of the efforts have been and are in, in supporting the community relationships, um, with the schools, um, I don't see those initiatives moving the graduation needle. And I'm, I'm just trying to perhaps at this point buy more time for the superintendent to create a new memo, uh, in, in quick fashion. Um, December is right around the corner, uh, that could present something else. But I recognize that the will of the board is the will of the board.

So thank you for, um, thank you for your time. Thank you, Member Lessens. Not seeing any other comments. Um, we have a voice vote on ASD Memorandum Number 075. Again, the motion is to to approve the memorandum as written.

Student Representative Madison? No. Member Bellamy?

Member Higgins? Yes.

Member Donnelly? Yes. Member Lessens?

No. Member Wilson?

Member Holloman? Yes. President Jacobs? Yes. Memorandum number 075 is adopted by a vote of 6 to 1.

We'll move on to AST Memorandum number 073, the personnel report. Is there a motion to approve?

I move to approve Personnel Memorandum number what was it? 073. Second. The recommendation is that the, uh, the board approve the attached personnel report was made by Bellamy, seconded by Holloman. Member Holloman, you pulled this from the consent agenda.

Any questions? Yeah, um, I've, I've long perused the personnel report for a couple of decades now, um, but I was caught on this one by 5 resignations in October and December, uh, and from employees over a pretty broad range of experience with the district. And I, I think this is really unusual. I, in my experience, any edu— we do have educators that leave during the year occasionally, But my recollection is it's more like 1 or 2 or 3 in a whole year. I can't recall ever seeing 5 in 1 month, and I was just wondering if administration had exit interviews or has any feeling about why, why this happened, why there were so many so close together.

Other than that, of course, we just approved the report, so I'm not advocating we not pass it. But I did want to ask that question through the president. Mr. Lang, do you have any insight on trends, not to call specific employees, obviously? Sure. To respond to Member Holloman, first, you got my attention.

I haven't seen in my tenure anybody pull the personnel report, so I, I was curious what your question was going to be for sure. Um, you know, I can say each of those situations is a different story. Story. You know, sometimes we have folks who just need a partial service credit in order to meet the number of retirement years that they need. And so sometimes they'll work just 9— in one case this year it was 9 days into the school year and then we allowed them to retire, but they needed those 9 days.

In other cases, we have people who sometimes relocate and just realize that they made a decision that wasn't the right one for them. I haven't seen any particular trend or pattern this year that feels different than the 3 years that I've been in this position. Typically, if somebody is going to leave mid-year, it happens kind of mid-first semester. We tend to have fewer in second semester, so it doesn't stand out as highly unusual to me, but it's a number that certainly I think we need to continue to watch and ask questions around. Member Holloman, any other questions?

Okay, see no other discussion. Uh, Miss Sullivan, the voice vote on approving ASD Memorandum Number 073.

Student Representative Madison? Yes. Member Lessens?

Yes. Member Wilson? Yes. Member Higgins? Yes.

Member Holloman? Yes. Member Donnelly? Yes. Member Bellamy?

Yes. President Jacobs? Yes. AC Memorandum Number 073 is approved by a vote of 7-0. Move on to Section G, non-action items.

There's a list on our agenda. Uh, does any board member wish to discuss non-action item before it's in front of us for action in 2 weeks? Hearing, seeing none, we'll move on to the superintendent update. Dr. Bryant? Thank you, Mr. President.

I just wanted to take just a few minutes to update the community and the board on our students from Western Alaska. It's been a couple of weeks and we're seeing a lot of questions as to how the students are doing and what their future looks like. So we're going to pull up a quick PowerPoint just to discuss a little bit about what's transpired. So we can go ahead and go to the second slide. So just to recap the community, it really took a citywide effort to support the hundreds of families that relocated relocated from Western Alaska to Anchorage due to the, the Typhoon Halong.

Everyone from the American Red Cross to ASD to the state, the Muni, we all worked in tandem to make sure that we welcome these students with open arms. For ASD, that meant that when these families arrived, that we had buses waiting for families at Jay Bear to transport them from the plane that they got off of to the shelters that were hosting them. And then, of course, we were in the picture when it came to providing them supplies and other resources to get them started in that initial crisis response. Next slide, please. So we then made that transition from being in their shelter to transitioning to schools, and I want the community to remember that it was just a few days after students had arrived to the shelters that they made made the very brave and courageous transition from being in the shelter to attending school just a few days afterwards.

And I'm just so proud of Team ASD for doing whatever it takes to welcome these students and make them feel as normal as possible during a, a really difficult time for them. So in total, ASD welcomed more than 150 students district-wide. We were sure to provide students and families with resources at the shelters and in in the schools, everything from Yup'ik and even Kupik translation services to again supplies, outreach, and just understanding what their needs are. And that also entailed some partnership with LKSD, which is where these students largely come from, to make sure that there's that seamless transition. So they entered school a little bit over a week ago, and I actually want to talk a little bit about what's been going on.

If we can go to the next slide. Next slide.

So something that I did on Friday was I wanted to spend some time at the schools that welcomed the majority of these students. So I started off my Friday morning at College Gate Elementary. This school, just so everyone realizes, took on 71 new students to their school, and they are participating in the school's Yup'ik immersion program. Immersion program. And, you know, believe it or not, there are some differences between the Yup'ik immersion programming that they had at their previous school and the programming here.

And we're so thankful for the LKSD leadership team. They were very willing to provide resources in their curriculum to ASD. So we're actually able to provide two different types of Yup'ik curriculum to these students, one that's being, you know, operated as usual with ASD students, And then we're also able to offer that continuity to the students that are visiting us or, or with us for the foreseeable future from Western Alaska. And so again, a major thanks to the LKSD leadership team and to our College Gate community. Walking into that, that school myself on Friday, I was just surrounded by so many colleagues that were rolling up their sleeves.

I want to recognize our teachers too. I know taking on these students super last minute was, was hectic. We had to, you know, move classrooms, we had to move furniture, we had to really brace ourselves for what these students were bringing to our classrooms, and it wasn't easy. But from the principal to every educator that I met, I'm just truly thankful for them for making these students feel as welcome as we possibly could during this difficult time. So that's College Gate.

College Gate, the next school that I visited was— actually, here are some photos actually from College Gate, just so you see. There's one picture in the bottom left, so that's a student. He came up to me right before this photo was taken, and he introduced himself to me with his name, and he made sure that I knew that he was from Kipnuk, one of the communities impacted by the typhoon. And then I had the opportunity to see these students in their classrooms, you know, learning. This also happened to be Halloween, as we all know, and many of these students were dressed in costumes just like their friends who were the— they're just normal ASD families.

And again, that speaks to the community that really came together. Many of these students just came with the clothes on their backs. Some were even visiting for the AFN conference and didn't even get to go home. But I was pleased to see these students had access to Halloween costumes, and more importantly, the winter gear and the boots that they may have not had with them. And I know that that's in due part to our community.

Next slide. Um, I then visited Wendler Middle School, which is hosting 38 students from Western Alaska, and I really applaud Principal Wilson. He wanted to make sure that these students had that sense of community, even though, you know, the Wendler Middle School is such a bigger, bigger community than these students are used to. It really was a culture shock, but I was just so thankful that, that Mr. Wilson was able to provide the students with that shared space. These students are even taking a shared advisory period where they're learning about all sorts of different things, but it's also helping them maintain that sense of community and just learning the ins and outs of what it takes to be successful at a place like Wendler.

And, you know, I'm so thankful to the, the staff that you can see in the photos here They were guiding the students through some pumpkin carving to really make them, you know, remember the Halloween spirit. I had the opportunity to talk with the students in this room and, you know, they're just, they're just kids and they miss their PlayStation. They miss their home. They miss, you know, all the normal things that they had back home and slowly but surely we're starting to build that sense of connection for them here. I know that they'd much prefer to be in their villages.

Villages, but until we're able to reopen those villages stronger than ever, I'm so glad that they can have some support here in Anchorage while they are here. So just a major kudos to the entire Wendler staff, again, really making ASD proud and really making a positive difference in these students' lives. Next slide, please. And then I went off to Betty Davis East Anchorage High School, which is hosting 37 high school students. And again, Betty Davis is a large high school.

One of the students told me that there's more students in the Betty Davis building than was in their entire village. So you can imagine just how frightening that could be for these students. And Mr. Brown was the first to make sure that he had some trustworthy senior students really be the guide for these students so they can navigate all the resources that are there for them. A very caring assistant principals, teachers, other staff. Many people may not know this, but there's what we call the EWE program at Betty Davis.

It's an Indigenous education program, and it really serves as a nice hub for these students during lunch. That's where they like to go. So, you know, about some of those 37 students, they like clustering together. Because I recognize that these students are going to be here for a while, I was curious to know, you know, what's the integration looking like? What are, what are they interested in?

And I was pleased to know that these students are ready to start participating in activities, not just with their community, but they're ready to make some friends with other students too. So I met some girls that were interested in joining volleyball practice, and Mr. Brown is working really hard to make sure that they get the, the basketball shoes that they would need for sports and all the equipment and to tools they need to be successful in the various activities at Betty Davis and making sure they have access to the resources. You know, a lot of people worried, um, will these students have access to the free reduced-price lunch if they are qualified, the various services, and we're connecting them with that. And I just really saw a lot of positive connections and partnership at Betty Davis, and I'm just very thankful to that team as well. Older students bring different challenges than the younger peers, but, you know, the common denominator is that these kids are yearning normalcy, and they're yearning welcoming, caring adults.

And I think they were pleasantly surprised, and I want to make sure that we follow through because, again, these kids are strong. They were showing up to school just a few days after the storm, but that doesn't mean that they don't feel fear and they don't, you know, yearn things that they miss. I mean, they're navigating trauma, alongside their families, and that's not lost on me, and it's not lost on the teams at the schools. And then just two more slides. You know, I did make my way to the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School.

This is a really interesting example of just organic connections. Most families were clustered at the three schools that I just discussed. The Alaska Native Cultural Charter School is a really nice hub love for some of our Western Alaska families that had family members or friends that were already in ANCCS. So it was really through the recommendation or referral of, you know, Anchorage-based families that they were welcome into ANCCS. There's about 10 or so students there, and they're fully integrated into the school.

And the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School really prides itself on fostering connections based on culture and tradition, and those students are in good hands at that school as well. They're a much smaller demographic. They're in a slightly different situation than many of the other students, but they're thriving too. And, you know, the last couple of slides, I just wanted to emphasize just a couple of the points that I started this presentation with. We're here in ASD to support these students for all their needs.

Obviously, we're a school system, so education is at the top of mind. I trust that they're in great hands with our fantastic teachers. That welcome them in. But again, these students are seeking meals, they're seeking services, so we're making sure that we provide the mental health and student supports and other stability that these students need to be successful. And I just want to thank our community too for the generosity.

I know that so many of us are struggling in different ways, but a lot of us were able to find, you know, old winter gear or Halloween costumes or food, culturally, you know, relevant sent food to them, just to make sure that they feel as much at home as they possibly can in the situation. So, you know, just thank you to the ASD community for standing with Western Alaska, and we're here for you as we make that transition from the crisis response to the longer-term situation that these families will find themselves in here in Anchorage for several months, if not the remainder of the year and longer. So just to close, you I learned a lot just about the strength of this community and the power of those connections. And while, you know, these students have a long path ahead, as well as their families, they're in good company, and I want to make sure that they're welcome here for as long as they want Anchorage to be their home. The closing photo is just an image of one of the talking circles.

It's a daily tradition at ANCCS. If you're squeamish, don't look too hard, but there's actually a a deceased duck, and that was part of the lesson. So even though they were learning about, you know, duck hunting and, you know, that traditional process, this teacher is brilliant. I mean, she should be leading TED Talks and conferences like around the country because it was more than just about the tradition of preparing the animal. It was really about, you know, resilience and patience and feeling a connection to self so that you can become better.

She said it much more eloquently eloquently and beautifully, but the kids were just bought in for the entire class, and that's brilliant. And just thank you to every educator, parent, community member, principal, staff member that touched the lives of these students. It goes a long way, long road ahead, but it's, it's been a couple of weeks where I just feel a lot of pride in our community. So just thank you to everyone who was involved, and we still will remain standing strong with our colleagues from Western Alaska. That concludes my report.

Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Other questions for the superintendent?

Dave, remember, Donnelly. Thank you, Mr. President. Dr. Bryant, the district currently has administrative guidelines which have been— not have never been voted on by the school board— that allow biological boys to compete in girls' sports. These guidelines are are completely under your discretion as superintendent, and they do appear now to be in conflict with both federal and state guidelines. And I'm concerned that it only takes one boy competing in girls' sports to potentially physically endanger female athletes, harm girls' potential scholarship opportunities, and deny girls proper recognition of their athletic achievements.

And my question continues to be, do you have any plan to revise these guidelines? Thank you, Donnelly. My answer remains the same, that I'm not tracking any inconsistencies between practices in the Anchorage School District and federal and state law. Um, if I'm mistaken or if the board would like to take on additional urgency, I urge you to use your governance processes to make the changes that you see fit. I'd like to remain committed to focusing on improving math, reading, and college career life readiness.

Thank you for the great question. Thank you, Dr. Bryan. Seeing no other questions for the superintendent, we're moving on to school board administration comments. I understand that there's no comments from administration tonight, so we'll go to board comments. We'll start with my left, Member Higgins.

Thank you. Um, first I want to express my appreciation to all the individuals that came out tonight to testify, um, on behalf of schools, of course, also for the, for the teachers union contract. That's an important issue, but I'm focusing right now on the schools. We had a tremendous turnout from parents. Love when, when students testify.

It's always kind of cool. Within that, I tell you where I'm coming from. I have visited both those schools 3 times in the last Okay, and I have looked at the issues that I think are important in regards to those schools, listening and, and exploring it. And when we started talking about closing schools, it first started a little bit like the politics of it. That didn't register real good.

Then we had the presentation saying, look, we can save money if we close these schools, and everybody would agree with that if they saw if they understood the money. I didn't buy that either. Then it became ease of administration. I remember that being quoted correctly out there. Then it became, you know, the complexities of having too many classrooms, but an understanding small class— small class— those classrooms can be successful and the schools smaller can be, but it's a resource issue because we're losing teachers the training, the skills, and, and all of those never focused and said the first thing I want to hear is student.

This is for the benefit of the student. This is— I didn't hear that. I heard a lot of the, the politics, the money, all the other issues. And I like this starting off this time because it started focusing on right-sizing as opposed to downsizing. And we had a presentation where we needed 8,000 slots for preschool, early childcare, and that we have the space within the school.

Well, these two plans don't even address those issues. Okay, I don't see that at all being in the plan. It's downsizing again. Okay, so I went to Lake Otis and I remember, you know, having a discussion that the capacity of the school with the state, there's just You know, it's, it's, this is not rhyme or reason. There's a lot of problems with it.

First thing I notice is 5 classrooms dedicated to 32 students, high-intensity special ed kids, 5 classrooms. Take that out of the formula and see how full it is. You've got, you do have an art class, you've got the WIN program, you got the ELL. It's a school that just, you know, you, you— all these things should be evaluated before you simply use a number and say 48% or 52% or anything else. That needs to be assessed.

It reminds me of last year where we looked at Bear Valley and they said, oh, it's low capacity. You had 100 people on the waiting list. All the classes being used within the community within that, and they didn't have any staff to be able to do do it, but it wasn't because the school wasn't— the demand wasn't there and the use, and so they pulled back. These things need to be looked at carefully in regards to selecting these, and I don't see that happening, and that's more than frustrating at this particular point in time. Lake Otis is a Title I school.

You look at it, and I will do that, and there's a couple of classrooms clearly you can do, and I see where you could do 4, but we need that capacity and we talked about right-sizing with the preschool and the early, in early education. I went to Thread. It's a group that did the presentation last week with about 200 education business individuals all there. They had people coming in from lower 48, tremendous presentation on childcare issues in this country and how devastating it is. And I enjoyed that.

By the way, I paid for that myself, just to let you know. No, no, no ASD money. But I went to that and what you're hearing is how critical it is from staffing. We need 25% of that to go to, you know, for ASD so that we can do that. I'm talking to professionals telling me it took them a year to get somebody, but we need that for that.

We need it for the emergency response. We need it for the general public. We need it for our economy because we got so many people not able to work because of lack of childcare. It's a critical issue and putting it within the school, talking to the professionals in the lower 48, they gave a strong assessment of the benefits and how it can play out. But I don't see that being rolled out here.

But what I do see is a school that would be very disruptive to a Title I school. And when I look at the capacity, I question how come they say it's as low as it is. 5 Classrooms for 32 kids. Take out that percentage and then start remodeling it. Every school is different and their numbers are going up right now for different reasons, and they got a lot of construction going on and, and other things going on.

But it's so dis— I don't see the benefit for the students. I don't see it that way, and, and I don't see where we are not— we're not right-sizing, we're not providing that support for the community. So it doesn't make sense. I go to Fire Lake, got the same issues out there with the SLC program, with other things going on. Both the schools, I can see where you could— you can consolidate a few classrooms because they're more generous and they could put them together.

But understand, you got, you know, a K-1 combination with 27 kids. So it's not like it's, you know, a few kids in a classroom, but you could take 4 classrooms and provide that at both schools for the ideal right-sizing. If we're going to make a difference, they don't have it out there in Eagle River like they need it. They have— I'm talking to people in the school. They don't have it, the staff.

So you have problems, but we, we can right-size without downsizing. And these are— I only see this focus is downsize. I want to encourage every school board member, if you want to consider closing a school, at least do them the favor of going and visit that school before you make that decision, to see for yourself how it's being utilized, see what you're going to do if you publicize it and you disrupt it, because it's going to make a difference, and we owe it to the kids to know what we're doing. I'm the— I've said it before and I'll say it again— NSBA, National School Board Association, my job, I'm the voice of the public. That includes students, it includes parents, it includes staff, and in general public.

We provide direction to the administration, we hold them accountable. That's responsibility of every best school board member in the country with them, and I agree with that. In this particular case, I am listening to a lot of bosses, uh, tell me what they want, but I'm not— but my focus is still going to be not on that. It's going to be focused on the kids. That's my primary.

And at this particular point in time, I don't see, well, this is benefiting the kids. And I look at that for the Title I. I look at the connection when you've got parents involved the schools and you see the impact it has on academics. The studies are big out there. And, and as I said before, smaller schools can do great results, but it's difficult. I know that's part of this.

We're doing this is a, is a challenge right now. We don't have the funding. We've got all the deficits and we're doing that, but I don't want to do long-term damage to our school system. It's big to the, to those and to those communities This is a big deal. This is really big and disruptive.

I'm not going to support these school closures, but I, and I understand there are always pros and cons to everything, but I would urge anyone who's thinking that this is a good idea to at least do the, do the, give them the honor of going out there and visit. They do a great job. They'll show you the school, but in this particular case, the, the how short these schools are, how much they, they're under, is misleading. Everything has mitigating circumstances. And in this particular case, like I said, 5 classrooms for 32 kids— take that out of the equation.

Look at the ELL classroom, look at the WIN program, look at the other special ed programs. You have an art classroom too, but you could take 4 classrooms and finally put it by the, by the bus and you could put that with the childcare. Then you're doing right-sizing. We'll do— this is public facility. We need to support the community, but we've got to put kids first, and I don't see this as being beneficial.

So I'm just begging school board members, if you feel like closing these schools, taking it away from very heavy Title I school, and, and the numbers are high at Fire Lake as well. And you feel like that's an advantage and you're going to distance parents and you're going to do things, you're going to be disruptive, at least do them and go visit with those schools and to see how they're being utilized. Because I'm very concerned that this is not doing in the best public interest. I like the right-sizing. This is downsizing, and I am not going to support that.

Thank you. Remember Higgins, remember lessons.

Um, thank you to everyone who attended this evening. I'm looking at an empty room. I know it was many, many more times, uh, it was full many times over and overflowing. Um, I also really appreciate the opportunities I had last week and this weekend to listen to community members share their thoughts, their feedback, their concerns about the right-sizing proposal as has been proposed. I am thinking deeply about it.

I'll be asking the administration probably for a conversation here pretty soon to share some, some thoughts before going more public with them. But, um, really appreciate the feedback that we've received and value the time that people have put into bringing to the board's attention. So I'll leave it there. Thank you. Thank you, Member Lessons.

Member Donnelly. Thank you. After tonight's public testimony, I'm convinced that Lake Otis is the wrong school to be closing at this time. Um, in addition to the impacts on the students at Lake Otis, I'm also concerned about the planned impacts on students at Kusum. Um, as to Fire Lake, I would welcome more information about the change from last year, the data that we had last year, and the timing of the planned large housing developments happening close to Fire Lake Elementary.

There was some testimony or advice from staff at the beginning of this process that those housing developments had been run into difficulty and were not proceeding as rapidly as had been projected when we dealt with the issue last year. And I'd really appreciate any additional information about that to fully understand what the timing of those, those housing developments because they're huge, frankly, and they're in a close proximity to Fire Lake School. So that's a very legitimate, uh, data point that I think we need to consider accurately.

Thank you, Member Donnelly. Member Wilson.

I, I also want to share some appreciation for the folks that came to testify this evening and spent their, their time and are still spending their time here this evening. Also wanted to share some appreciation for the, um, all of the community members that participated in the various community conversations, as well as the appreciation for all of the staff that participated in, in those conversations, were available for our community members with their, their knowledge and expertise. So thank you for that. That was, um, a lot of evening time for our staff members as well. And, uh, I, I appreciate Dr. Bryant sharing about the students from Western Alaska.

Um, I've had the opportunity to talk to staff that are working with these students as well. Um, and the— actually, I called each of the principals at each of the schools, um, trying to help help find some donations based on, on their— the students' needs. And, um, got to hear some wonderful feedback about the students. Um, the, uh, the, the principals and the, the staff I spoke to, um, talk about how nice and polite they are and, um, how although they're just starting to process what happened, they, they share a little bit, um, in regards to, you know, if they were in the house and the house was actually moving. So they have a lot to process.

And then the same token, they're, they're so excited that they get fresh fruit here at our schools. So there's— I also got to hear about the therapy dogs that are being taken around to each of the schools as well as the students being able to see. There was one principal who was taking his dog to the shelters every night so his students could, could spend some time with, with his dog as well. So, um, some great stories and, and lots of community members, um, providing donations and, and really showing up. So Anchorage, um, has shown its best self to, to our students and our families of Western Alaska.

So, um, great appreciation for that. Thank you. Member Wilson, Member Holloman. Well, thank you. Um, I will say, with a background as a classroom educator, we always look at administration a little bit skeptically.

Sorry about that. But a lot of being in the classroom creates a sense of urgency because the students are right in front of you. Things have to be handled right then. Issues come up. But I will say that, that over the past 4 or 5 months, I think we've had a lot of urgent situations for administrators that I'm sure have really taxed their depth.

I don't think we have as large an administration as we used to. And when things come up, and I look at it like the budget situation this summer, Uh, it used to be if we didn't know the budget in June, that was considered kind of stunning. Um, and we didn't know the budget in June. Um, we didn't know what would happen with the veto. We had federal funds that looked like they were going away and came back, and now you've got federal funds that are going away and you're pretty sure they won't come back.

So just the budget situation has been kind of consuming. I do want to say that the typhoon response made me very proud to be part of ASD. And certainly it's individuals putting in time, but also you could recognize that there was a lot of coordination behind it. And I have some friends, particularly in Rotary, that have really given up a lot of time to try to work directly with individuals, but also recognize that ASD has school buses. That aren't in use 24 hours a day.

We have nurses. We, we have things that large numbers of people in dire circumstances that we can do really meaningful things for them. And I saw that happen. I have no idea how much time everyone down the line here had to spend to help make that happen as smoothly as it happened, but I'm sure it was quite a bit. And, and I do hope people recognize that the whole right-sizing effort, um, right, wrong, or otherwise, it's been consumptive.

And when we've had the community conversations, we've had a lot of staff on hand so that people could talk to someone, um, and yeah, I think every part of ASD was represented there because people from the community come up their own unique concerns and questions, and, and we saw a lot of interaction. That's been consuming. I hope—. We've still got the budget to go, and that's going to be a lot of work. But as we finish up the fall, it's kind of hard to believe we're just 3 months into this, but as we turn towards November, December, and the beginning of the semester in January, that we can kind of put that same intensity into trying to think of creative ways to support our classroom teachers.

Because we've got a contract negotiation that has drug on, we, we know that we've got real limits on the resources in terms of what we can put into it as money. Um, I think we have to look at other ways to try to take the load off or show support And the most critical thing, I think, in trying to retain the people we've got is taking steps that help them be successful. I think most teachers have had days where they're not successful in the classroom, and for lack of a better term, those days really suck. When, when things aren't going well, it's just not a fun job at all. It's incredibly draining.

When it does go well, it, it's marvelous, but it takes a lot of things happening. And of course, a lot comes together every day that I think people look past. The buses run, food gets served, kids get hurt and they get taken care of, and kids get engaged in sports, they get engaged in electives and different things that draw them into our schools. Make them want to be there. In relation to right-sizing, I did go to Fire Lake, I did go to Lake Otis, and that's what I saw was, was intense effort focused on kids to help them have a good day, to help them not melt down, to help them get their own emotions under control.

And, and, and sometimes like really focus on a lesson and learn words and learn math um, but I really think that, that we've hit this point. We— I think we saw it in the spring when we thought we were looking at a 20% cut from the governor's budget. When the administration tried to put together schedules, it just began to break. And my understanding at secondary level, when they were trying to put together academy schedules things began to break. They could not come up with a working schedule for what they were being asked to do with the personnel they have.

And so in some ways we backed off of that, but in other ways all those kids are still there. They all need teachers. Um, and, and I have to admit, I, I don't have a good solution myself, but I am hoping that administrators in this building can really put their minds to focusing on how we can support our frontline effort for the remainder of the year. I— it's no substitute for reasonable pay and reasonable benefits, but it's an essential element. And until we can change things in the legislature, I, I don't know what else we can do because we really do have limited resources on But I, I do want to say what's happened so far I think shows a lot of good faith.

Um, I think we're trying to talk to the public and we are listening to the public. I do think the typhoon represented a shining moment for Anchorage, the larger Anchorage, and the Anchorage School District in particular. I really appreciate everything that everybody did to help make that happen. Um, and that's really all I have for tonight, but hopefully the weather won't be severe, there won't be any major disruptions, and we can really focus on our schools, which means focusing on our kids. Thank you.

Thank you, Member Holloman. Member Bellamy. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, next time can I go first?

Anyway, I do want to thank everyone, um, who took part in the community conversations. As difficult as they were, people were sincere. Um, I mean, we heard from kids, we heard from staff members, we heard from nanas and papas and people who taught 20 years ago in that neighborhood.

And it was heartfelt, but we still have a decision to make. And I don't know, I mean, we, the administration did exactly what we asked them to do, and we're already forecasting that that plan does not work. That's fine, but we've got to figure out how to get from here to 20 years from now. It's not just about now. This is not a competition among schools as to who gets closed and who does not.

So we've got to figure it out. I don't have the answer, but I do know that we cannot continue to do things the way that we have done them. Not now and not in the future. And I think we do ourselves, our kids, especially our kids. We do them a disservice when we have them expect more that we know we cannot do.

So I don't, I don't have the answer, but if we are not— just don't tell the— ask the administration to bring forth another right-sizing plan if we are not going to be able to get through it. That's a lot of time and energy that's being wasted, and I just think to put the community through this over and over again, to have staff working on a plan over and over again, and we can't even get to the night to vote without forecasting. And, and to me, that's divisive, although you have the freedom— we all have the freedom to speak. Anyway, I do think, um, I do think those families— I think, um, the, the schools that are the two schools They are amazing. They've always been amazing.

This does not change that, but it is different. And I don't know how to get to where we need to get to, but I do know that it's not just about the day. It's not about the year. It's about years from now. And we've got to project, somehow be able to project that.

Finally, I just want to remind board members that we do have a conference coming up, and if you have not— if you are intending— it is at the Denina this year for the School Board Association. I'd like to see members there, and if you can provide some time for the resolutions committee on Thursday, that would be equally awesome. I have invited Madison to come and help me do a welcome to Anchorage, uh, at that event and a land acknowledgment. So come and support her if you don't support me. Thank you.

Thank you, Member Bellamy. I will just very quickly express appreciation for those who continue to make time to testify on the significant number of issues this board is juggling. Um, continually grateful for students remaining engaged, our parents choosing to make their voices heard regarding the important issues we're discussing, and then our educators always for holding the front line for us. Um, the number of times I've connected with an educator recently who have said they both are desperate to have the contract issue resolved, as well as they understand the complex nature of how wages are negotiated through an intermediary despite funding coming from other entities is both appreciated and remarkable. With that said, thank you to administration for continuing to support families in Western Alaska, and I'm grateful for all school staff for doing the same.

Those are my comments for tonight, and that wraps up our member comments section. I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Move to adjourn. Second. Made by Bellamy, seconded by Holloman.

Seeing no opposition, we are adjourned at 9:33.