Anchorage and Mat-Su school buildings will be closed to students on Election Day

Alaska’s two largest school districts are set to close to students on Election Day due to concerns over safety, and to make the voting process smoother.

The Anchorage School District told parents in a Friday message that it would hold a “remote learning” day on Nov. 5 for the general election. Thousands of voters are set to cast ballots at Anchorage schools, which is said to pose safety challenges for the district.

“As this is a Presidential election year, ASD would need to suspend or compromise its standard visitor management and safety protocols to accommodate the voters and increased vehicular traffic which will enter our campuses to cast ballots, thus elevating our level of risk,” Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said in a message on Friday.

Alaska’s largest school district recently implemented a visitor management system that requires guests to provide identification before entering schools. Visitors’ records are checked against a national sex offender registry. Sex offenders are prohibited from entering district property by school board policy.

Sixty-five Anchorage schools are set to be open as polling locations for the general election, including all of the district’s secondary schools, Bryantt said.

The Anchorage School District has over 43,000 students at 130 schools and programs. Bryantt said it was not possible in some school buildings to have a dedicated area for voters. They would need to use the same hallways as students, which “could create operations issues and bottlenecks for voters,” he said.

School districts typically finalize their school calendars months or years ahead of time. A spokesperson for the Anchorage School District said district leadership had made the decision to hold a remote learning day on Nov. 5.

“This decision was not made lightly, but safety is our highest priority in ASD. After reviewing all the options, this is our best path to maintain continuity of learning while making the voting experience as smooth as possible for the thousands of people who will depend on our school buildings to cast ballots,” spokesperson Corey Allen Young said by email.

Two years ago, the Alaska Division of Elections requested that Anchorage schools close on Election Day to make the voting process easier, the Alaska Beacon reported. Carol Beecher, director of the Division of Elections, said a similar request had not been made this year.

“The decision to close the schools on November 5 was entirely made by the respective school districts,” she said by email.

In the Mat-Su, 14 of 49 schools are set to be used as polling locations on Nov. 5 for the state general election, according to a list published by the Division of Elections. Borough elections will be held on the same day, which will be used for “professional learning” by teachers.

The Mat-Su school board approved its calendar on Feb. 7, giving Election Day off for students, district spokesperson John Notestine said by text message. In an interview, Lonnie McKennie, the borough’s clerk, said after the 2022 election that there were concerns with voting happening at schools in the area.

In other states, school districts in recent election cycles have decided to close on Election Day or move polling locations out of schools due to threats of political violence. McKennie said that had not been discussed for Mat-Su.

McKennie said by phone that it was too early to say if parents should expect schools in the Mat-Su to be closed every Election Day.

“I think it does make it easier for the voters, and if they’re concerned about student safety, it would probably be good to continue to do it,” she said, adding that that decision would ultimately be made by the local school board.

In Anchorage, Young said that the district administration will work with the school board to review and potentially amend upcoming school year calendars to close schools for elections in the future.

”It is too early to say if the new norm will be remote learning, as having staff development on this day is another option,” Young added.

Fairbanks and Kenai Peninsula schools — the two next-largest districts in the state — are scheduled to host polling locations but will remain open for normal school days on Nov. 5 for the general election.