Anchorage School District’s proposed 6-year plan includes building 3 new schools

The Anchorage School District administration reports that the ASD has a maintenance backlog of about $800 million. For years before the 2018 earthquake, the Anchorage School Board had a formal policy to maximize the coverage of new bond funds by prioritizing needed remodeling and roof replacements rather than building new replacement schools.

A newly proposed six-year capital plan proposes bonding to tear down three existing elementary schools and replace them with three new schools at a total cost of close to $100 million. The three schools are Inlet View, Wonder Park and Tudor Elementary. The first of these is Inlet View and the School Board is deciding, at its Nov. 16, meeting, if it will appear on the 2022 school bond.

This comes at a time when, over the past five years, the ASD student population has dropped from almost 50,000 to this year’s projected 42,800. Wonder Park is currently at about 58% of capacity and Tudor is at 70%. In 2020, the Inlet View design cost was combined with the earthquake repair projects bond by a 4-3 board vote. In the 1980s and 1990s, the district proposed to close Inlet View. Now Inlet View absolutely needs at least a major remodel, costing about $15 million-$20 million but possibly more. The new school has a total price tag of more than $30 million and seems to be growing.

I strongly support a major remodel project at Inlet View to address existing needs. These needs include a new sprinkler system, a multipurpose room, relocation of the office to help secure the entrance, some increased capacity and many other overdue upgrades. ASD administration points out that if every student in the area went to Inlet View, increased capacity would be needed even without the out-of-area students. Further, they argue that if universal pre-K education were implemented — at a cost of tens of millions of dollars just in the Anchorage area — the extra classroom space would be needed.

Pre-pandemic, Inlet View was at 120% capacity. But that is not the full story. Some 70 of the about 240 students at Inlet View come from outside its boundary area. I do not support students currently at Inlet View having to go to other schools, but the district should stop allowing new out-of-area students to go there until capacity is available. Without these additional students, Inlet View would not be over capacity. There are five schools that border on Inlet View’s boundaries with lower occupancy: Turnagain (69% capacity), Willow Crest (82%), North Star (67%), Denali (78%) and Government Hill (86%). Obviously, some basic phased-in — to not affect current students — boundary adjustments could eliminate overcrowding at Inlet View.

Turnagain Elementary is of similar age as Inlet View, and was very successfully remodeled just a few years ago. A similar major remodel at Inlet View is estimated to cost about $15 million-$20 million. The experts are saying it is more cost-effective to tear down Inlet View and build a new school. Probably true, but spending twice as much for a larger school than needed has immediate lost opportunity costs unless unlimited funds are available. Remember, all these school building costs are now 100% on the Anchorage taxpayers, as the state no longer reimburses new school construction debt. Many other schools in Anchorage badly need remodels, new roofs and security upgrades. Those projects will be delayed to pay the extra cost of new schools versus remodeling.

Inlet View is a great school, and its parents are a great example of how parents can be effective advocates for their students. Although the Inlet View Community Council and, it seems, most of the neighborhood residents, support the total new school plan, some do not. Quite a few have told the School Board they believe the 2020 bond language’s use of the word “site” meant any new school would be located where the current school is now, not at the south end of the current school property, as ASD is proposing. Among other concerns, they also question the new school being two stories and the soil conditions at the new proposed southern site. Concern has also been raised by the school district’s Capital Improvement Advisory Committee, which declined to adopt a recommendation, citing earthquake risk reports: “The reports depict the Inlet View location within the Bootlegger Cove Special Landslide Areas, and thus at risk in a large seismic event.”

The other proposed new schools at Wonder Park, and Tudor are currently significantly under capacity — 58% and 70% — and are mostly surrounded by schools currently under 80% capacity, and even as low as 57%.

When it comes to debt retirement, an old dollar does not equal a new dollar. For years now, ASD has been retiring more debt than it is adding with new bonds. But the real value of this to Anchorage taxpayers is being greatly reduced by the loss of state bond reimbursement funding. ASD is retiring bonds that had up to 50% state subsidy with new bonds that are 100% paid for by Anchorage taxpayers. Accordingly, the cost of even the reduced total debt is going up every year as more of the state-reimbursed bonds are paid off. So now the question Anchorage faces is: Do we want to build three new elementary schools?

Dave Donley is a parent and an attorney born in Anchorage. He served 16 years as a state senator and representative, and is currently a member of the Anchorage School Board.

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