001Good evening. We'll call ourselves to order. It is 6:11 p.m. here in the boardroom for ASD's 6:11 p.m. Um, today here in the ASD boardroom for our regularly scheduled school board meeting. Today's Tuesday, March 17th. Present in the boardroom are members Jacobs, Bellamy, Donley, Higgins, Hollowman, and Lessons. Member Wilson's will won't be with us here tonight. We've called ourselves to order, conducted a roll call. Um, Student Representative Madison, if you would please lead us in the flag salute and then land acknowledgement. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. We acknowledge that we gather here today on the traditional lands of the Denine and people of the upper Cook Inlet. For thousands of
002years, the Denina people have been and continue to be 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. We want to welcome you to our meeting and thank you for attending and supporting the work of the ASD school district and this board. The board thanks students, parents, teachers, staff, school business partners, the entire community for your investment in our district with your time, your talent, and your tax dollars. >> Mr. President, >> member Donley. >> Thank you. Uh, Mr. President, I think there's some significant questions that need addressed prior to adopting an agenda that involve the closure of schools that could impact the question of how we adopt an
003agenda. Accordingly, pursuant to Robert's rules 25.12, I move to suspend the rules to have the superintendent give his report before approval of the agenda to allow him to address concerns raised about the possibility of public about the possible insufficient public notice of the board's actions, including Campbell Sten, Lake Otis, and Fire Lake Elementary Schools. Okay, just a moment while we um discuss how to enter that into board documents moment. Mr. President, I just wanted to clarify that was 2514. I think I might have mis said it. I think Yeah, I said 12. It's 14. >> Thank you, Member Dun. Just another moment. Good with that one. >> Okay. Um, is there a second to the motion to suspend the rules from member Donley? >> Second. Okay. Member Higgins is seconded. I'm going to um ask
004member Donnelly if he has any other comments and I'm going to enter the queue. >> Thank you, Mr. President. I anticipate there'll be some public testimony tonight regarding the closures vote of Campbell STEM Lake Otis and possibly Fire Lake Elementary Schools. And it would be very advantageous to the public if they could hear from the superintendent regarding some of the questions that have arisen regarding the adequacy of public notice and allow them to present their remarks based on that additional information and data. >> Yeah. Thank you, Member Doy. I'm going to enter uh discussion and then um move to substitute the main motion with um I move to suspend the rules to require the ASD superintendent to address any questions regarding the consolidation process during the ASD superintendent update uh when and where it is
005placed on the 317206 agenda which at this point is to be determined. There's a second. I'll um discuss my motion to substitute. >> Second. >> Thank you. Um motion was made by member Jacobs, seconded by member Villamy. Um we're going to give Miss Sullivan just a second to get that copied into board docks. Then I will uh discuss my rationale. I think we can begin discussion on the motion to substitute at this point. Um u I don't have any issues with uh the proposed underlying conversation to have Dr. Dr. Bryan address um this point before testimony. I think it's just a procedural matter as to how we accomplish it. Um this would allow us to provide direction to the superintendent before we adopt our agenda for the meeting that um we would appreciate him to
006address this topic and then uh when we adopt the agenda we could choose to move the superintendent update uh further in the agenda prior to public testimony. So I would ask support for the uh motion to substitute. Is there other discussion on the motion to substitute? There are multiple hands raised. Is there discussion on the motion to substitute? Not seeing any. Um, Miss Sullivan, when you're ready, can we have a voice vote on the motion to substitute? Again, this would be to require the superintendent to address this item uh while it's once it's placed on the agenda where it's placed on the agenda. >> Student representative Madison. >> Yes. Member Bellamy. >> Yes. Remember Donley? >> No. >> Remember Higgins? >> No. >> Member Lessons? >> No. >> Member Hullman? >> No. >> President Jacobs?
007>> Yes. Motion fails 2 to four. We're back at the underlying motion. I saw multiple hands raised. We'll go to member Alman. Had his hand raised. Did you have discussion for the underlying motion to suspend the rules? >> No, I did not. >> Okay. Is there other discussion on the motion to suspend the rules? Seeing none, uh, Miss Sullivan, a voice vote on the motion to suspend the rules. Student Representative Nassen. >> Yes. >> Member Hollowman. >> Yes. >> Member Higgins. >> Yes. >> Member Donley. >> Yes. >> Member Lessons. >> Yes. >> Member Bellamy. >> President Jacobs. >> Yes. >> That's a 51 vote in favor. We have suspended our rules and we're asking the superintendent to address uh the uh process of um school consolidation regarding public notice. Dr. Bryant. >> Thank you,
008Mr. President. So, I'm happy to walk through the timeline of events as I recall them. Uh and it begins with the school board directing the administration to produce a school closure proposal that took place on February 9th. The school board gave me a deadline to provide that proposal um by February 14th. The administration presented a school closure proposal to the board as I was directed on February 13th, so one day ahead of schedule. That gave a total notice period of 11 days. The end results of that notice period was 148 individuals signing up for public testimony as well as 300 written comments being submitted during that time. and the end result was ultimately the school board approved that proposal. With that said, to uh speak to the motion, only the board can speak as to
009why the administration was directed to close schools on that timeline. And to be clear, school closures were never included in the original FY27 budget proposal. They were added after I was directed by the school board to uh to prepare a proposal for school consolidations. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other comments from the board? >> Member Donley. >> Just wanted to confirm something that we had discussed earlier and that's we don't have a written legal opinion on this subject yet. >> That is correct. Member Donley. Uh schoolboard members were given a briefing and I do not have a written uh legal uh proposal at the store legal analysis at this time. Okay, I'm going to call for a fivem minute brief at ease and then we're going to adopt our agenda. Okay, we'll call
010ourselves back to order at 6:27 p.m. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? >> I move to approve the agenda as uh modified. >> It was Yeah, it was not modified. We haven't adopt an agenda yet. >> All right. I move to approve. Made by Bellamy, seconded by Lessons. Is there any discussion? Member Dunley? >> Yeah, I believe public comment at this time is a higher priority than goals and reporting. And accordingly, I move to amend the agenda to move the public comment portion to before item C um which is goals and guardrail monitoring. >> Second >> made by Don Lee, seconded by Higgins. Is there any discussion? member lessons. >> I thank you. I appreciate the intent um to bring additional to bring public comment to the board's forefront. Um however, I am
011not going to support that at this time because I think it's critical that we focus on the goal monitoring sessions that we've said are deeply important. We have three foundational goals as a board for reading proficiency, math proficiency, and graduation rate readiness. We've adopted a student outcomes focused model of governance. And we've prioritize their placement um so that we can understand how our students are doing. And I I also believe there's value for members of the public to hear how our students are doing as well as part of our transparency and accountability. >> Member Belly. I also think we um we need to I I won't be voting to move uh to to trans to move that um similar for similar reasons as stated by member lessons. Uh we have always been very lenient with
012time and testimony and uh we have always given the public more time uh and we've gotten our business done. So I won't be supporting the motion. >> Member Higgins. >> Yeah, I'm going to support it. And the reason why is I think it's an issue that goes beyond this one meeting. Uh we have an opportunity to we've got public coming here. We've got kids coming to testify other issues. We do the presentations. We delay their their their opportunities to talk. It puts a a burden on the kids, on the parents and and the like. And I just think it's probably just good to do this time, but also set it up in the past. I don't think at all this um and I don't see how why it would in any way uh indicate that
013we think the goal monitoring is any less important than what it is. It's is the academics is what we drive everything with. But I I think this is just trying to make it easier for kids and parents that have come in here uh spend their time and to try to testify and to do that and then be able to bring uh their family home. Thank you. Seeing no other discussion, Miss Sullivan, a voice vote, please. >> Member Bellamy, >> no. Member Higgins, >> yes. >> Member Lessons, >> no. >> Member Donley, >> yes. >> Member Hullman, >> yes. >> President Jacobs, >> no. >> Motion fails three to three. Um, we have an underlying agenda. Is there any further discussion? Member Donley. Okay. Sorry. Seeing no other discussion, Miss Sullivan, a voice vote on the
014agenda, please. >> Student Representative Madison. >> Yes. >> Member Bellamy. >> Yes. >> Member Hullman. >> Yes. Member Donley, >> no. >> Member Higgins, >> yes. >> Member Lessons, >> yes. >> President Jacobs, >> yes. Our agenda is adopted without modification by a vote of 5 to1. We'll move to reports B1 is student representative report. Madison, the floor is yours. >> All right. Thank you. So, just to start off, um I will notify that Steven was not able to make it today, which is our current president-elect who shadows me over the year before I leave my position at the end of high school, but he should be able to attend the next school board meeting. Other than that, I do want to note that I did send out a email to the school board about
015the recently passed resolutions at SAB Student Advisory Board's recent meetings. These included a resolution about ASD parent activity passes where parents would have the ability to purchase sports activity passes for themselves as well as students are able to do so to save money and time for parents who are particularly in the care of student athletes and have to frequently attend numerous games over many different weekends. And then additionally, there was another resolution I sent out about foreign language credit by choice revision policies in middle schools and high schools. And those resolutions can be viewed at any time throughout the year whenever there is a chance to go over them. Other than that, there will also be a student advisory board meeting on the 24th where we will hopefully be able to discuss uh more concerns
016about different schools and how they are impacted by the budget cuts as well as how each school is doing individually. I also want to note that there was a district-wide walkout at high schools responding to the recent budget cuts passed on the 24th and there is more of a larger turnout and lead at Polaris High School that I do want to note. Other than that, I do want to bring up some questions and concerns about DF speech and debate um revisions or concisements regarding the ASD budget. Other than that, that concludes my report. >> Thank you, Madison. Are there any questions for our student representative hearing? And seeing none, I'll note that uh there was a military report scheduled tonight. However, um we don't have our personnel with us. And so we'll move on to
017board conference and committee reports. Does any board committee chair wish to make a report at this time? Seeing none, we'll move on to item C, goals and guardrail monitoring, math proficiency, student achievement, and grades three through eight, MAP growth assessment. Dr. Bryant, do you want to call your team forward and then any opening remarks? Thank you, Mr. President. I will give our team just a moment to get situated, but to orient the board and the public as to what we're about to discuss. And I'll give the team a second to pull up the PowerPoint. Um but in short uh this discussion is aligned to interim goal 2.1 which for the record is the percentage of grade 3 through 5 students that are above math benchmark on interim adaptive assessments such as math grow math growth
018will increase from 51.2% in spring 2023 to 65% in spring 2028. that's aligned to our board goal to increase math proficiency um to 41.5% on the state summitive assessment by May 2028. Uh so I'm joined by a variety of senior leadership team members and experts on the area of math and school leadership. So I will um go ahead and uh begin the process of accepting Q&A. >> Okay, we'll open it up to questions from the board. We'll start with member lessons. >> Um, thank you. I wanted to start with a a positive question slashobservation. Can you can the administration talk about the notable increase and I guess that's my word. Uh, but notable increase in the percent of students in grades three through five entering at benchmark this fall. It was like an almost 10
019point increase for fall of, you know, August of 2025 versus August of 2024. What's different? >> Thank you for the question. Um, member lessons, there's a couple of key factors that are really important to keep in mind is this is um MAP growth. It's a normed referenced assessment. And really what that means for everybody's knowledge is that it's it's a when we look at those percentiles, it's a comparison of how students do compared to other students in the nation as a whole. And one thing that that happened that is new and different is the norms were updated. The previous norms um they're both accurate, but the previous norms were comparing to student populations precoid and the new norms are comparing to the student population postcoid. So it's important to note they're both accurate, but that
020you're comparing it to two different populations. And just a little background knowledge uh for the board and the public is um something that uh became abundantly clear in the research and as they analyze data nationwide is postcoid students were growing at a lesser rate not just all across the nation. And so um it is a positive because um we are performing uh really just slightly above typical um right now compared to what is happening in the nation. So, we're just above what it would be typical nationally, which is a positive. Uh, but in terms of the size of the increase, a lot of that has to do with the norms change. >> You have a follow up, member lessons. >> Well, thank you. I think I had known that, but I had forgotten that. So,
021it's a great reminder. And so, that's something that we're going to see with all of our MAP testing in grades three through nine. Just to put that out there for the future. Um, can you talk a little bit about um this year's third graders? And maybe this is the same answer to another question, but but it does strike me that our third graders um made a little more growth between fall and winter than our fourth graders or our fifth graders did. So, is that within the realm of sort of normal statistical variation or is there another explanation? I mean, I did poke around the attendance dashboard. It looked like our third graders had some pretty good attendance rates earlier this fall. >> So, I I'll answer the first part and I'm happy to pass it
022off to a colleague. Um, but you're correct. I mean, it's a it's a slight um it's slightly more than the other uh grade levels. Um but in terms of statistics, it's not hugely uh significant. Uh but I would be be happy to pass it off if there's other factors that somebody would like to talk about. >> I can add a little bit to that. Um, our elementary math work is focused on really strengthening that tier one instruction um through a systemwide approach grounded in highquality instructional materials. So, we've been doing a ton of learning walks lately. We've been doing implementation walks. We're implementing walk universal walkthrough tools and we're really boosting up that professional development. But really typically yearbyear growth is made by spec like a different cohort every year. So it just depends on
023the year and it depends on that snapshot in time. >> Member Bellman, do you have a question? >> Sorry I do. I actually have a a couple. Um my first one has to do with uh the report really shows uh that uh strengthening tier one instruction improve uh uh improving MTSS fidelity and using PLC's are key strategies and I guess my question is uh what indications do we need to do would would should the board be monitoring uh to know whether these strategies are really being doing what we want them to And we could be futuristic. >> I would say to continue to monitor the growth of the students um will be enough monitoring. I mean we do implementation snapshots and we could provide uh reports on implementation snapshots but really the the work will
024be in the results that our students are providing in their map and their Alaska star data that how our students are doing is a direct reflection of their tier one um improvements as well as for tier 2 and tier three. You can see that uh as we look at our goal monitoring for three 2 uh 2.3 I believe is the growth. >> Okay. And then the other question I had if I might Mr. Chair it's okay. Um are there schools what are we learning from schools that's showing really strong um that we can take away and and and and not take away but share with other schools. >> So um I I'll get us started and then I'm happy to pass it off to colleagues. Um a couple of things before I jump into that.
025Um, Miss Somerville mentioned implementation snapshots and so with that to uh core tier one instruction. We're we're going out at least twice a year um visiting many different schools, all different types of schools. We're looking at the use of the curriculum. We're looking at high leverage practices in the classroom to really get a a sense of the health of our district. And I know u Miss Somerville and her team um uses that information in their professional learning planning and so forth. And so I just wanted to kind of tag on to that. Um aligned to that um with our middle school goal, our eighth grade math goal, um our team uh undertook a project and um this year called a high growth math project where we uh analyzed our data uh down to the teacher
026level. Um, and we looked for teachers with significantly high growth uh across different types of schools with different demographics and and we did this a few years ago in early elementary with reading and found it to be very useful. Um, but in this particular case uh we then once we identified those uh individuals, we actually took a team uh to go observe with their permission. It was voluntary. Um and we actually looked for those high leverage practices in the classroom. What and after we visited each of those classrooms, we looked for trends and patterns of what were those instructional practices that we were seeing in tier one uh tier tier one core instruction. And um it's although it's a small data set similar to what we found in the reading in early grades is what
027we find in terms of our our high leverage practices and the trends and patterns that we see. It emulates research and what that what it is is it's that daily high quality instruction where every minute is used um in in these classrooms. And so we've recently shared that with our leadership teams at this level and we have a presentation built that can be shared out more broadly with our schools and administrators. Um we just need to find the time to do that. And so I really what I love about your question is that there are good things happening and identifying those and celebrating that is a great way to build momentum and energy. So I appreciate that. I don't know if anybody else wanted to add. I guess I can also add um I will
028add that um during our learning walks and our implementation snapshots, we're also bringing other principles and directors, assistant directors in to get to know what the work is really happening. We're seeing common formative assessments being created, but really on our end, we're focusing as principal, supervisors, and principles to really go through those feedback cycles so that we can make instructional changes for um improvement. >> And I would say, you know, you asked about particular schools. What we find is our schools that are using the curriculum that we've adopted, you're going to find that it's really you're going to have great classroom teachers at all schools. And it's variance between teachers more than it's variance between schools. And so we need every teacher doing the best job they can every day and continue to work on
029providing support for all of our teachers to continue to support all of our students. >> Thank you, Mr. Chair and team. Oh, >> I just wanted to add that um a continuation from the learning walks and the conversations specifically with principles is kind of closing that loop by bringing conversations back to PLC's. >> Yeah. >> For teams as well. So really looking across all levels. >> Thank you. Um can we discuss um the the differences in benchmark attainment among our specialized student groups um special education learners, English learners, Alaskan Native um American Indian students and what how the team feels um that we're gaining ground in that area and is there evidence that we're seeing in these results that we can point to accelerated growth or some positive signs for hope in the future? I
030think it's a really important question. The disparities are real and um we have a lot of work to do on this front. Um I think one thing that's going to inform uh this conversation is our last goal uh monitoring which is actually focused on growth. In other words, how much did the student grow from the fall uh to the spring? And one of the things although we're not seeing the achievement levels that we hope to and we're going to be hyperfocused on how do we continue to work towards that uh in the past number of years as we presented that data um we have seen uh um larger percentages of of our subgroup populations making catch-up growth. Uh but we obviously have a lot of work to do and uh the team is dedicated to
031that and I would I would pass off to someone else to talk about the specifics of that work. I I think those are really great questions. um you know as we find um more effective ways of supporting our students with curriculum um I would highlight for instance with our ELLL students um the work we've been doing with um English language development and providing students um another period in the day for instance at middle school to um to improve access to English language that's going to then equate to a better understanding of what's happening in other core classes including math And so, um, if you look at, um, the our English language learner, um, improvement, um, on slide nine, you'll see that, uh, we saw a really, um, dramatic increase in our English language learners versus
032our non-English language learners. I think that really points to just that extra work we're doing. um some of the improvements we've seen with our um with our Alaskan Native American Indian students speaks to the relationships that our students have with um with student success coaches in our buildings which then I think really improves um attendance and again it we know that students being in the classroom is really going to be that first key characteristic to make sure students are learning >> and I can just add so again our approaches shifting from remediation to access. That means ensuring these students are consistently engaged in grade level instruction with the right scaffolds through inclusive practices like targeted language support strategies within the core classroom. But we're also strengthening MTSS to ensure interventions are timely and aligned to
033what students are learning in tier one rather than separate from it. So again, our goal is acceleration, not catching up slowly. meaning having strong core instruction and then lay laying those needed supports down. >> I did want to point out again with middle school specifically, we've got a really targeted focus on data and looking at student reports map and I Ready. Uh and if you look again as on that slide nine, you can see that those subgroups are making accelerated growth compared to the other more traditional groups. Member Higgins. >> Thank you. I guess the middle school growth is what's interesting to me because we had some schools where sixth grade was in elementary and now it's in middle school. So, I'm interested in seeing some sort of comparison between how well they did in
034sixth grade before we switched the math and then how well they're doing now in the middle school. I mean, the Department of Education says academic scores can go down. graduation rates can go down. Uh the administration said the one thing they did was continue middle school. We're going to be losing that now. We may have an opportunity to take a seventh class, but the benefits of the middle school is going away with our current budget. So, I don't know if there's we can't do it right here, but I would like to get information that would clearly show what the impact has been with the number of with the schools that went from sixth grade elementary to middle school. how many kids in each one of those, what the academic growth was, you know, within that.
035You can't do it by kids for each school, but how academic growth was for each one of those schools by the number of kids and then what the academic uh scores for sixth grade u is going in, you know, the following year with u with the kids in whatever school they went to. So, I would like to see something like that if that's possible and that to do that. >> I I think it's a a a good question and um it's a very tricky question from a data side. Uh because of course the students that were in sixth grade where we have that data in order to get sort of an applesto apples comparison, those kids are now in seventh grade. Um right. So, so we're looking at fifth grade versus sixth grade. So, it's
036just it's a tricky tricky operation from a data side. Uh sort of a data lens, but we did do I think I don't know if it was your question, Member Higgins, but one at one point a couple years ago, we did do some um comparisons of sixth grade in elementary versus middle school where we really worked hard to look at the demographic information so that we could get as close to sort of an applesto apples picture. Um, and we found that it was uh relatively consistent. And what I would say is just looking at the data for sixth grade right now, we're we're about two and a half percentile percentile points of our sixth graders in terms of them being above what's nationally typical right now in the middle school. I know that's not a
037comparison. Uh, but but being slightly better than right now than what is nationally typical is a good a good start. Uh so let I'll think more about that in terms of like how how to organize that data. But it is a tricky operation. >> Yeah. We're not taking it from where they were in fourth grade to fifth grade or just saying fifth grade. What do you do? I'm looking at it from the standpoint this is growth. So the growth seems like that's a fair comparison with the sixth graders in one school versus the sixth graders in middle school. And I don't think that's that's an unreasonable comparison that way because we're not talking about academic outcomes. We know that um u obviously co made a difference on some of these grades and some of the
038growth that may be taking place here is we're moving further away from co as well. So that's a factor in regards to your report as well. But in this particular case since it's growth I don't see that being a factor here because we're comparing how well you might say that those kids that were caught up in co they have more opportunity to grow because they're held back. I understand that too, but I don't see anything here that would would jeopardize that being important point for the board to look at and I would appreciate that data. >> Yeah, I I I will definitely look into that and and and put my head around it for you. >> Uh Madison, do you have a question? >> Yes. So, I kind of had two. Um most of my
039kind of questioning comes from concerns of how rural districts compare to more urban districts. So I wanted to ask so since we use exam like exams like the AK star right um to compare to national scores. So in order to do that how are Alaskan like specifically math curriculums kept universal or similar between each school district to be able to compare these state scores to national um to to n to compare to national scores? and if so are like are there any state laws or policies that oversee this for school districts? >> So there is no Alaska state statute that determines for mathematics which curriculums you can or can't use. So, it's really based on school districts, um, school, uh, school boards, how the schools operate, whether they're one room school houses, whether these are
040online schools because they're so small, or whether they're full brickandmortar schools like us or Mattsu, Kenai, um, to adopt whatever curriculum they would like, uh, which they feel best meets the needs for their students. They do. We are all still held to the same math standards, the Alaska math standards. The curriculum in terms of the book you use, whether it's I Ready or Illustrative Math, that is really a district decision, not a state decision for mathematics. With reading, there's a little bit more control in the foundational with the Alaska Reads Act, but for mathematics, it's really a schoolboard schoolbased uh school district decision. >> And I'll just add, not on the curriculum side, but this idea of comparing state to national, it's actually a really really thoughtful question, Madison, so I really appreciate it. Um
041because what happens with NWA, which is the um vendor that produces MAP growth, is they do what's called a linking study. You might remember me talking about this in the past. So in other words, they they look at how students perform on this assessment because we can compare it to all the kids in the nation and then they compare it to the ala the different states um summitive endofear assessment. And something to keep in mind is in Alaska and and forgive me I don't know the numbers exactly off the top of my head um because and it varies by grade level but typically in order to be proficient meaning the state standards on AK star um you our students typically need to perform somewhere in between the 60th and 80th percentile and what that means
042is you need to be in the top if I took it a average or in the Well, you need to be in the top 30% of all kids in the nation in order to sort of hit the 50/50 chance mark of being proficient on AK star. And that's just strict data. It's a onetoone comparison. They take this score and they map it to these scores. And so it's a very demanding um assessment AK star. Uh but that gives us sort of that picture of connecting national to the state. >> Madison, you have a followup. I can also say that the standards that our state adopted have been compared to other national have been compared nationally to other state standards and we at one point were like 13th or so in the nation. So rigorous standards,
043rigorous test. >> Uh no, I do not have a followup but thank you so much. >> U member Belly. >> All right. I'm just curious on uh the participation rates. Um it looks like uh they declined slightly from fall to winter. Should we be concerned about that? I mean what are our thoughts about why why is there any way for us to ensure that every kid is getting tested? Probably not. But um it it just looks to if we're monitoring accurately, does that impact the participation rate? How does it impact our monitoring? >> So, our participation rates are actually going pretty good. So, at the elementary level where almost all of our um neighborhood elementary schools are above the 90th percentile, which means we're statistically doing well. Um in our middle schools, we're also above
044the 90th, I believe, percentile, which is great. We've made huge gains in our middle school uh in terms of their participation rates as well and it's showing um our some of our alternative schools I didn't do anything and our charter schools uh their participation rates are not where we would like them to be and so it's that's um where there might be some differences. I don't think we dipped that far. I think it was like 2% in participation rates. It could be winter. or it could be. There's lots of factors we don't know, but it's not statistically relevant. >> So, it doesn't impact the outcome that we're talking about here. Okay. Thank you. >> I want to ask a follow-up question on that same line. Um, I understand we might not have exact figures. Is
045there anything more you can tell us about what alternative and charter school testing rates are like right now currently in ASD? >> Um, I believe it ranges. It depends. some of the the homeschooler correspondence charter schools are quite low. Um we're talking 9% 14% of the student enrollment actually the parents have to bring them in for the assessments and frequently they do not when we get into the brickandmortar charter schools they're much higher something like um uh Aquarian is up in the 90s again. So, it really depends on how much whether the kids are in school every day, whether or not uh those parents choose to have their students participate in state testing, but it it varies quite widely with some of those schools. >> Okay. And then the um the percent of students tested
046would include uh students from the optional and charter programs. Okay. All right. Um, member Higgins. >> Yeah. The I I'm interested in knowing what options we have as a board. We have policies. They have a charter. We enforce that. We we have we have authority here to encourage or to somehow force them to have a larger participation rate in testing because it's good for the parents, it's good for the system, and we need to be able to have that type of assessment. So, I don't know. leave it to the administration to come back with something. But if there is some sort of policy we can do to say they have to do it or something in that line or how we want to word that, I would look for the administration and welcome some sort
047of recommendation to have a goal of having higher participation rate on these testing because we really do want to know uh how well they're doing. Those are ASD kids. This is an ASD schools. They're charter schools. They're optional programs, but they're still ASD kids. And not getting that type of data undermines our ability to to have oversight over these schools. And I think that's a serious issue. Thank you, member Higgins. Um I'm happy to look into that with the team. Um just one thing to kind of just a one uh fact regarding the state the state um and I don't know how that um sort of now and you negotiate that with the district but at the state level it is published that um parents may choose not to participate and so that would just
048have to be part of our conversation but I'm happy to have that conversation. >> Sure. And I'm not trying to undermine the right that parents have to option out, but that doesn't mean the the charter schools are doing what they need to do to exclude them when parents aren't opting out. Uh so that's if if that was the real issue. If we had a listing of all the parents saying, "I don't want my kids tested." That's one thing, but I don't think that's necessarily the case from what I've heard with different charter schools. And so I just wanted to see what options are there. If parents opt out, that's different. But if they don't opt out, I'd like for them to take some initiative of why we want to do the testing, how the information
049is used, and encouragement participation. >> Thank you. I just going to one really quick followup. We do track reasons not tested, and so parents do communicate um if they are choosing not to test. So I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of that. Thank you, >> member lessons. >> Um thanks. Maybe a comment and then a question. Um looking at just the basic charts right on slide three and then slide seven we have our annual targets sort of where we've been the roots that we think we need to attain. I think that what's missing is any recognition of the class size increases that our teachers have confronted and food for thought. do with it what you will, but it seems like we need to make sure we're accounting or at least noting
050that um you know, class sizes for FY26 are uh PTRs are plus one over where they were in FY25 and class sizes PTRs for FY25 uh I believe were a plus one over the prior year. So, as we struggle to see the growth that I think we'd all like to see, um I think we have to recognize that our budget constraints have really put our educators and our students in the unenviable position of a harder place to teach and learn. So, if you guys can somehow factor people teacher ratios into future goal monitoring conversations, um I think that would be welcome for the record. So, that's my comment. Um, and and really it's a manifestation of of we've just finished our budgeting cycle. And I could say more, but I'm just I'm really struggling to
051understand how our budgeting process is able to support the growth that we want to see in a lot of ways. Right? We've reduced all the wraparound supports for next year. Um, we cut a lot of them for this year already. uh PTRs in our budget will go um next year. And I will be brutally honest, we're looking at one of our five curriculum coordinators whose position was eliminated. That's that should be noticed, right? We will no longer have curriculum experts in ASD next year outlining what needs to happen from the K through 12 sequence. So, um it's a pretty open-ended question, but are there any thoughts or reflections short of um immediate action by the legislature and a positive vote by le by members of the community on proposition uh nine um in the April
052municipal election of of how we can better direct funds towards areas in which growth is needed. Yeah, I appreciate appreciate that member lessons. There are certainly some things within our control and many things that are outside of our control. Um, but I think one of the things that I admire about the board was its willingness to direct the dollars from a potential successful levy towards what I think matters the most when it comes to academic growth, which is as many fantastic educators as possible. And I know that we've also made choices to invest in our educators, our frontline educators, um to make sure we can do whatever we can reasonably to retain them. And there's so much more that we can do. Um and then, you know, focusing what's within our control. I think as
053an administrative team, we can make sure that we commit to our educators to really keep it simple because we don't have any bells and whistles. We'll have much fewer resources next year than we have this year. So, it's my commitment to make sure that next year there's not going to be a ton of initiatives, but there will be a firm commitment on our frontline teachers to give them whatever support we can reasonably offer to make their truly difficult jobs as manageable as possible. That's what's within our control and that's my commitment is to keep it simple going into next school year. >> Thank you. No, no followup. Seeing no other questions, I think that completes uh goal monitoring on this report. Um Dr. Bryant, we have a technical report next on our agenda. Did you
054want to provide any introductions? >> Sure. Uh so we'll go ahead and take a moment to pull up the PowerPoint and uh I appreciate the board's patience. As we said earlier, um this afternoon, we're in the process of catching up on Gall monitoring because of all of the different budget conversations and other uh other pressing matters that we were uh working through. With that said, in two weeks, we look forward to having a conversation with the board on our interim goals 1.1 and 1.2, which relate to our board goal on um reading proficiency. So um the next slide you'll see that it lays out the board goal for the board and the public but it is our focus to increase reading proficiency on AK star to 46.4% but in May 2028 from where we are
055today and the interim goals that we'll focus on in two weeks will be on our K1 students as well as our second grade students. These are the intram intram metrics that we use and we measure this using Mclass dibbles 8 to ensure that we have that we are making progress as a team. Next slide please. Uh so we'll leave the board with slides such as this one which shows our progress over time historical trends. Uh you'll see that we also have an assessment of evaluation of performance on this goal which is near the annual target and you can also see uh comparisons overear um including the numbers of students tested. Uh next slide please. And as I briefly stated a few moments ago, uh this goal focuses on K1, but board members may be interested
056in that broken down by kindergarten and first grade students and to see those trends there to guide our conversation as to what grade level specific supports might be needed to facilitate academic growth. Next slide, please. And then we'll leave the board with this data um disagregated by uh students subpopuls, gender, economically disadvantaged because another key part of that conversation we'll have will be what are the ways that we can continue to ensure progress is happening because we do see uneven outcomes amongst our various student populations and that's a key part to our continuous improvement as a district. Next slide. And then as I stated uh this uh presentation will also focus on the grade 2 data. So K1 is a separate bucket. This bucket is grade 2 um where we have a similar goal to
057increase um the MClass Dibbles uh benchmark to 80% in spring 2028. Similarly uh the board will have a slide that shows the overall evaluation of performance. You can see the historical trends over time. Um immediately you can see for 2425 um we're very close to approaching that we were very close to approaching that annual target and some of the discussion can be about ways that we can use what limited resources we have to keep that momentum going. Similarly again this slide is broken down for um second grade specifically and you can compare fall to winter. Earlier um this evening we discussed the the changes that could happen between those two snapshots and we can again review that in the context of our reading goal. Next slide and then we'll share next steps that pertain to
058both of those subgroups. So that's actually the next slide where you'll see that we have a very small number of priority action steps that um we're happy to discuss with the board in two weeks as well as the universal action steps. Um but the bottom line is at the very top um strong tier one instruction is key to this goal. So we need to do what we can to support our educators in this task of helping support our students achieve their our goals and dreams in reading proficiency. And that concludes the technical report and we'll follow up in two weeks. >> Thank you. Are there questions for the superintendent on the technical report? >> Hearing and seeing none, we'll move to item D. All right. I want to welcome the public to the board's opportunity
059for public comment this evening. We've um set aside a time slot for our students and community members to be heard. Uh during public comments, board members will not answer questions or engage in discussion. This is our time to listen, your time to speak. Uh we welcome your contributions to our meetings. However, our meetings must be structured and civil. Uh we utilize Robert's rules of order. Uh stipulations of Robert's rules include do not attack a member of speaker's motives. Please no profanity or foul language. Please refrain from disturbing the meeting. No cheering, applause, outbursts, or waving or signs of posters. If you have handouts, you may give them to Miss Sullivan who's seated to my left. Um, we will enforce the rules uh into quorum as necessary. There is more information on the table um near
060the entrance of the meeting room tonight. As always, we'll start with our student testifiers and though the parents who are bringing them President >> Member Donley, >> thank you, sir. Um, I think there's some significant questions the public may have that it would really be helpful if the superintendent, the board could actually respond to questions during this period. Um, I know that's different than our normal rules. So, I'd move to suspend the rules to allow the superintendent and members to respond to questions from the public during the upcoming public comment period. Not seeing a second. That motion fails. I'm going to move on to our community speakers who have students participating as well as parents. Our first testifier first two testifiers are night tonight are Claraara Ward and Shanti Ward. If you could please come
061forward. Welcome Clara. You have two minutes. Clara, please begin when you're ready. I haven't gone to my school camel >> camel stem since kindergarten. I love my teachers and friends and family. Dr. W. I I learned to be brave from my school. Please keep it open. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. is becoming ready. >> Reasons not to close Campbell STEM Elementary. Cample STEM is currently projected to receive $ 1.5 million grant. The details for the grant was shared with the student leadership team, staff, and families. We voted to the school to the terms of the grant and have supported the school leadership team in their vision. Let me tell you about the grant. The grant was written to provide STEM interactive learning environments through the throughout the
062school outside the classrooms. The grant covers five learning nodes inside the school, two STEM outdoor playgrounds, and the remodel of the STEM lab. Another part of the grant is that we have a STEM coordinator and that we are open to all ASD schools for field trips. The use of Campbell STEM as a field trip would be a free except for transportation costs. The school will also be required to open twice a year to the public offering free STEM experiences. Think about the networking potential these events could offer ASD as a whole. In addition, Campbell STEM works with multiple organizations and companies to support our mission and vision. CITC has a fab lab at Campbell STEM. This program provides knowledge and learning experiences for all students that highlights our indigenous population. They also provide learning activities
063during school, after school, and during schoolwide events. In addition, Campbell STEM just received a grant through CITC that pays for two additional reading interventions full-time in the Campbell STEM. You might think that we do not need these positions and that other schools do. My thought to you is Cample STEM averages the school budget of $20,000 to spend while a title one funded school around our size gets a school budget around $20,000 plus title one funding of about 280,000. Yes, we get about $20,000 and a school titled school title funded school about the same size gets 300,000. Oh, we also partner with over 100 international, national and state and local organizations to provide college and career learning opportunities where students learn about STEM careers and are able to ask questions. As an example that I was
064able to observe while volunteering in the school with Marty Kelsey with STEM in 30 Smithsonian Airspace Museum did a special zoom just for Cample STEM. He walked us through a spaceship and showed us how to use the controls. How >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two testifiers are Hannah Winger and Carmen Winger. >> Welcome, Hannah. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Hello, my name is Hannah. I'm a seven and in second grade at Campbell STEM. I love all my classmates and teachers and can't wait for another camp year in of Campbell STEM. But if you lose my school. It will not happen and it will change my life. I will not have teachers I hoped for and me and and may not have friends that would be helpful in
065my learning in my school. I like that my music teacher teaches us music and different dances. I like they I like that they give different grades of STEM and make it fun. I like my gym and the many games like ninja course. When we get to go outside, my gym teacher, Coach Roland, teaches us to cross country ski, kick sled, and also ice skate. I like the people in the school that come and tell us about Alaskan Native culture and their knowledge. Ignite is my favorite subject in the school. I was first told I could be part of Ignite on that very same day you voted to close Ignite and Campbell. My backyard is part of the school grounds. I can go there all by myself by walking. I play there on the playground during
066the breaks. It is a safe and fun place for me and other kids. It is in the heart of the neighborhood and very important to it. I like the Campbell. >> Anna, thank you so much for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Thank you so much. Good evening, members of the school board. My name is Carmen Winganger and I am the mother of two students at Campbell STEM Elementary. Um, I came here tonight to talk about process um and to ask for a stay in the closure of our school. I'm not arguing the long-term need to consider all options, including consolidation. I am discussing this specific closure due to the type of process that took place and I'm changing my testimony based on some of what we've heard.
067We've already heard some about the timeline and I've heard that the board feels that we've had adequate ability to communicate and I disagree, respectfully disagree. Um, our families were given zero business hours to register for public testimony. From the time we were given our first email notice to the time the school board website said we had to register for public comment, there were zero business hours and 11 days until our schools voted for closure. Representatives from the district have talked about only having three days to find a school to recommend for closure and they have also been quoted in the media that the process was done well previously and will be done well in the future. Please pause this and carry out a full and responsible process now. Um the survey that was used in
068justification of the school closure included information that was not relevant to Campbell STEM. The question stated school consolidation would combine the students from two or more underutilized neighborhood elementary schools to save resources and produce even more class sizes. And it states while the consolidation of schools is an effective way to reduce the ASD budget in the future, particularly long term. Campbell STEM is not underutilized and the budget information presented by the board to the board has shown this closure only potentially provides short-term savings and will cost money to the district starting in a few years. I'm heartened tonight by hearing how important your goals and guard rails are and how important it is to hear from it. I believe it was not fully understood because of the rust decision of this the implications particularly on
069goal three and guardrail one. This decision violates those directly and I ask that you institute a stay on the closure process until due diligence can be done before irreparable harm of closing a specialized program serving a wellutilized neighborhood school takes place. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Dino Winger and Heimwinger. Welcome Dina. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> School board. Please do not close Camp Gamble STEM. I have been a student there for my entire education. I have loved every moment of it. I love that it's a neighborhood school and that the public are welcome to the school grounds. The gym program is amazing. It is not just running stretching and exercising. Every gym period is we either play a game that includes physical movement or
070do a fun activity outside. This year we ice skated for four weeks and our school is the only school that does an intercourse in the gym. It's so fun. And the ice rink is maintained by the school and open to the neighborhood. And did you even think about what you're doing to the kids? If you close the school, you will be shadowing and scattering friendships. My bestie Juliana and I have even created our own language. Every time I step into the hall, I see posters embracing friendships. You might as well be ripping those in half. On the Zoom meeting, Cole Jacob said that part of the reason you were closing Campbell is because Stephanie was low at other schools and you need the staff there. Well, staffing is low. Then why are you filing half
071the staff next year? Today you're saying money. Money? If money is what you need, then for goodness sake, we can get money. That is why fundraisers, donations, and budgets were invented. Have any of you actually visited Campbell? It is an extremely good role model for other schools with excellent attendance, grades, and behavior. Please open the curtains that have kept you blind about Campbell for so long. Please make good decisions. Do us all a favor and keep Elementary School. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Members of the board. My name is Ha Wanger. I work as a medevac pilot, 28 years in Alaska flying airplanes. My family lives next to Campbell STEM. I'm the luckiest father of two amazing kids. I'm testifying tonight
072because I believe that we want the same things, that we are allies towards the shared goals of raising strong people who are ready for the world. My family has attended the last several meetings with my kids to show them how this process is happening. It's been a hard month. So I hope you will listen when I say with empathy and understanding that the school board has a problem with credibility and trust. It's a credibility because the pro because Campbell STEM is a jewel inside the Anchorage school system and the process and rationale to close it have been rushed and the rationale has changed. The district's savings math is questionable and hasn't made any sense as it's changed. The district has um and this excuse me and this is why the community is quite angry. I
073wish that you could visit the school. So as a parent volunteer, I'll testify what I see. Campbell STEM has tremendous pride and strength. In the hallways, kids walk orderly, quietly, and with purpose. I've always felt the respect given between students across classes, ages, and towards teachers and adults. This is the school culture. Look at the respect shown by the kids here in this room as they that they've given the board as this time of most unwelcome news. This is an accurate example of their behavior. The academics are solid integrating STEM fundamentals into multiple aspects. Students and parents also lottery in teachers choose to choose to turn to Campbell year after year. and the we have three teachers in our neighborhood as you ch as these numbers changed and as a pilot this undermines the trust
074and I know as a pilot it's my responsibility to not only operate safely but to get everyone else to believe that I'm going to do the right thing always and in the future this is questionable please keep hand open >> thank you for your testimony Our next two speakers are Juliana Belaloo and Jackie Belaloo. >> Welcome Juliana. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Good evening school board. My name is Juliana Blue. I am a fourth grader at Campbell Staten Elementary. I'm here because my school is very important to me and you are trying to close it. My school is not just a building where I learn. Math and reading is it's a place where I feel safe, where my teachers know me and where my friends are like family. My teachers
075help me when things are hard and they cheer me on when I succeed. that makes me want to try my best every single day. I'm my If my school closes, I won't just lose a place. I'll lose a community. Instead of walking to school, I'll ride the bus where everything is new and scary. It would be hard to learn without the people who are already un understanding me, me and supporting me. Our school is also important to our neighborhood. It brings families together and gives kids a place to grow alone and feel like they belong even outside of school hours. Please reconsider closing my school. Please help keep our community strong and give us give students like me a chance to keep learning in a place I love. If you close my school, not only
076will you close the only certified STEM school in the state of Alaska, but you will lose an entire community of people. Thank you for listening to me. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Uh, thank you. My name is Jackie Belaloo. I've got a few questions. Um, why is Campbell Elementary not being given the same level of public process as every other school in the city? Why haven't you given us the assessment information behind the decision to close the school? Solutions are our middle name at Camelep. So, let's see the information and we can work on a solution together. How can you permanently shut a successful school down just to save money for a couple of years? Families have chosen our neighborhood for decades because
077there's a good school there. Asking for more bond funds to repair schools. How do we know that you're actually going to follow through with these plans and not divert the money elsewhere? My son goes to Romeig and they say they're going to get upgrades, but I just want to tell them good luck. Hope you don't get shut down before the school district actually gives you those funds. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Uh is is there a Herb Belaloo who wishes to testify? Herb Blue. Okay. Move on to Ellie Robinson and Jean Jean Robinson. Welcome, Eli. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hello, my name is Eli Robinson. I am a fifth grader at Campbell STEM. Campbell STEM is not only is not the only ASD the only school in
078ASD I have attended. My I attended my neighborhood school Rabbit Creek in fourth grade. I like Campbell way better than Rabbit Creek. In fourth grade at Rabbit Creek, I was struggling. At Campbell, it's the opposite of that. I am excelling. My mom gave you a copy of my test scores at both schools. In fourth grade, you can see my test scores show I was testing well below, but in fifth grade, I am testing at or above. I'm doing so well. My teacher recommended me for advanced math in middle school next year. It was my goal this year to get re that recommendation. Math is my favorite subject. If I was still attending Rabbit Creek, this would not have been possible. The school didn't care about helping me in be being successful. At Campbell, all the
079teachers care about helping all all students be successful. I have a younger brother and it bothers me that Campbell is closing next year, which will force him to go to Rabbit Creek. After the experience I had, I don't want my brother to go through that, too. Numbers don't lie. I'm just one of the students at Campbell STEM, but from my test scores, you can see the difference a school can make. I recommend your you reconsider the closure of Campbell STEM. Campbell Cubs can do great things. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> My son just talked about his test scores. I want to give more details. His test scores in fourth grade at Rabbit Creek show he was struggling. When I brought this up and
080other matters related to his learning struggles, they simply brushed him off and called him lazy. It was disheartening that year that led us city decide our neighbors could hood school was no longer safe for our children to attend. So, we opted to go the school choice route. That is how we ended up at Campbell STEM. We have been nothing short of amazed of what Campbell STEM has done for both kids. If you look at the test scores for fifth grade at Campbell STEM, you will notice my child is no longer struggling. He is excelling. He loves school. Again, you can't look at the data which shows that much of a significant improvement and tell me he would have been able to achieve this anywhere. I get this is just one student, but it clearly provides
081measurable data between two schools within ASD for a student to show the difference it makes when all kids are given opportunities to be successful. I implore you to delay the closure for one year to allow time to find an alternative option for the only certified STEM program in the state. This isn't something that can easily be obtained. It took years and dedication. Once the doors to Campbell STEM close at the end of the school year, all the hard work that went into getting the STEM certification goes with it. The grants ASD can currently obtain for STEM are now all gone. This school closure will cost ASD more with lost revenue revenue from grants, STEM partnerships, and STEM program opportunities for all of ASD. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers
082are William Baxter and Dedra Brown. >> Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. I'm William Baxter and uh the FFA uh state convention is the 14th through the uh 17th of April and uh you know I've been there and and that's why there this state convention if anybody's never been to a state FFA convention is it's fantastic. And the other thing is uh when when uh is when I I came I came to God when I was 23. And the other thing that helped me a lot in my life was I always got an Amway. And uh Silway Wolf was the pioneer of Amway in Alaska back in 1964. And she was the at the time the biggest Amway distributor here in in Alaska. And they uh in in Amway they they
083call they call it a a pioneer uh what anyway they call I can't think of the name right now but anyway uh the I uh and she was then I got Amway a second time and uh she was the second largest Amway distributor in Anchorage. One of the things in Amway they have uh they got these uh pro these uh groups called network 21 raw raw raw raw raw raw raw raw raw raw dream builders and that they're motivational groups they they push tapes they you read books motivational books like uh uh uh uh uh they D they Dale Carnegie uh the think think by no point and they helped me a lot in leadership I have a lot of good leadership skills and a lot and that and one of the best books I've
084ever read was magic thinking big. I have I the thing is I think big and I think a bit big in a lot of ways and then I got another multi-level marketing company and I I sponsor about 27 people in it and one of the reasons I failed is because I didn't push. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Janice Flehman and Petty Falner Hamray. >> Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Thank you. My name is Patty Falner Hamry and I'm a lifelong Anchorage resident and a retired teacher from Campbell STEM. I think you need to reconsider the decisions to move Ali neighborhood school and also to close Campbell STEM neighborhood school. Go back to the drawing board and ask how do we educate our
085northern community. The Campbell and Omali families priority is for their children to excel in learning reading, writing, math, and science. Mali Hillside residents are key taxpayer payers for school bonds and taking away their school will take away their community hub for education, sports and meeting families. Campbell STEM is a different neighborhood with many newer Alaskans and starter homes and those families are 100% supportive of their children learning reading, math and science. Both schools are hubs for excellence in learning, attendance, behavior, sports, and parental participation. You might consider combining French immersion and Spanish into the same building, more centrally located into a magnet school, not in Leb. Four times I've traveled to Juno on my own dime to advocate for Alaskan education funding, talking one-on-one with senators and aids. I have led the song. Teach your
086children on the Capitol steps. In times of budget shortfall, we expect you to choose priorities that will strengthen reading, math, and science learning for all children in the nucleus of our neighborhood schools. Not gutting, closing, and making people drive far away from their homes and work locations. How many more seconds? Not too many. The mayor can expect to increase crime, homelessness, and drugs in the Campbell Creek. >> Your current decisions will negatively impact. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two testifiers are David Hardy and Amanda Thompson. Not seeing Mr. Mr. Hardy or Miss Thompson, we'll move to Katrina Wiloff and Mike Neil. I'm sorry, Miss Thompson, please come forward. And then, um, Mr. Hardy is not present. So, um, Katrina Wilov, please come forward. >> Miss Thompson, you have two minutes. Please begin
087when you're ready. >> All right. Good evening, school board members. Um, there are six or seven copies of the packet that I get for you. My name is Amanda Thompson and I am here tonight. Um, I'm an art teacher teaching this year at the elementary level and I'm testifying now because our youngest students are being starved of programs that can help them grow to be adults that will make our city beautiful, wise, and safe. We have a design thinking problem going on here. Why close down Ignite that supports our most inquisitive kiddos? Why leave elementary art up to an unknown reduction? This is the very stage of development and children when their neurons are at their most creative stage. The final shock for me and all these kind of changes was when I heard about
088the sudden closure with no business hour notice of an excellent equitable well-attended science and math program. Okay. as your own elementary director said about um STEM steam education you see in the packet there the quote is from a slide fosters critical thinking creativity and problem solving skills essential for addressing complex programs encourages students to apply scientific principles to artistic endeavors and vice versa and cultivates exploration discovery and collaboration while nurturing a generation of learners capable of navigating an interconnected in dynamic global society. These are what Gamble Elementary students are achieving. As far as why are these closures happening, it's just been something we're really trying to ask as a community and the schools that I'm involved in. Why surplus Campbell and Abbott Loop? Um look on the front page of the packet. You'll see a
089planning and zoning document and agenda giving notice that those neighborhoods have changes bringing dense multifamily housing. Is the land from these schools being traded to the municipality to benefit someone else other than students? We need these answered. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. I welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> There are many reasons why Campbell STEM Elementary should remain open. One of which is that Campbell STEM has an outdoor learning center. Let me tell you more about our outdoor learning center. Campbell STEM received $40,000 in grant funds and permission to turn Wolverine Park into an outdoor classroom. Every student has multiple opportunities during the school year to access this outdoor learning environment. Let's talk about the park remodel. Students created the plan for the outdoor learning environment. They created
090and cleared walking paths. These walking paths have studentmade birdhouses and observation points. Along the trail, you'll find learning plaques full of information created by students. Students also put together outdoor learning backpacks. These backpacks have everything you need in them for an outdoor learning environment to include specimen containers and binoculars. The park is used by the school for schoolwide events. Creating this space, using this space, continuing to find funding to improve the space for learning and maintaining the space is one of the things that makes Campbell STEM different from other ASD schools. Please stop telling us we are no different from other schools and acknowledge that we are different and what makes a difference is worth voting to reopen Campbell STEM and let us grow our program through ASD. Campbell STEM offers Friday clubs. These are
091not win clubs for reading. These are clubs that allow students to investigate and have the opportunity to attend clubs of their choices. This means that my student and all other students at Campbell STEM get to choose their learning during clubs on Friday. At the beginning of each quarter, the staff and various volunteers select a club that they would like to be in charge of. They can consist of coding, robotics, Legos, knitting, cooking, sports, Alaska culture, art, student leaderships, and chess. These are all STEM focused clubs. Every students get a list of the SE clubs and gets to select their top three choices. Each student gets into one of their top three clubs and that's another reason why Cample STEM is so different from other schools. >> Please consider campus. >> Thank you for your testimony.
092Our next two speakers are Mike Neil and Sarah Sunberg. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> You have plenty of data at your disposal. I don't need to add to that. I teach my kids that it's only a lie if you know it's false when you say it. For this reason alone, I'm going to give you grace about last year's bond for Campbell Sims repairs and this year's upcoming. Maybe you don't know it's false. So, what does that leave? Incompetence or malice? Hanland's law says never attribute to malice that which can be sufficiently explained by incompetence. Nine times out of 10 when somebody bumps into you it was an accident not on purpose. However, Gray's law says that any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice. Malicious compliance is that it
093because the state is not giving you enough money, you won't even try to make real meaningful change. If you know you're incompetent, you should at least avoid a situation where you can cause harm to others. If you can't review the data you have and hear reason from your constituents, perhaps you should step down from this board. As other members have warned you in the past for this vote, you have lost public trust. I'll point out all of your lies, mistakes, and shortcomings to anybody who will listen. I will rally against any and all requests for additional funding. You are among the most topheavy districts in the country and among the bottom in the results. Maybe it's not the board, though. You don't entirely control the buzz, but you act like every other bureaucracy and just
094hand the knife directly to the fat and ask them to make recommendations for you to vote on. Don't expect to trim any fat that way. It's not too late for you though. You can reverse this. You know, closing Campbell STEM. You can explore the other previous 14 schools that were considered. All the discussion around Campbell STEM on the 24th should have been done at a public meeting specifically for this purpose. Every single topic you went over, someone in the crowd had an answer for. We will not stop advocating for our school. We will not be quiet and you will be accountable. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Hello. My name is Sarah Sunberg and I have two boys at Campbell STEM. I'd like to
095start by thanking board members Donley Higgins and Hollowman for their support. The Campbell STEM community has been fortunate to learn some truly valuable lessons over the past 30 days. Voters have learned that their support will be manipulated and that a promise kept is not a two-way street. Parents have learned that despite the ethics touted on our board members online bios, we stand alone to fight for the stable, reliable education system our children deserve. Promises of transparency, collaborative problem solving, and equitable education are empty. Dr. Bryant, you promise to support parents who may not be able to attend emails or or excuse me, attend uh board meetings or write emails, but where's the support for the families here tonight? President Jacobs, you taught our teachers and kids to strive for mediocrity, stating that schools should not
096be punished with closure for poor performance. Our teachers performed their way out of a school, their current positions, and our kids out of stability. My own children have learned about what it means to struggle with mental health um as a result of your rash decision to rip away their foundation. When I asked my oldest about his feelings surrounding the closure, he told me that he was sad and mad but didn't want to think about it. Here's to suppressing our feelings. The silver lining is that by aiming for mediocrity, though, our youth can achieve greatness. Maybe they'll get the job that they didn't qualify for so that someday they can help future generations also achieve the same level of mediocrity. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Virginia Gates and Renee Hely. Virginia
097Gates and Renee Healey. >> Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Do I need to move this down? Okay. Uh, good evening. I'm Jenny Gates, a retired Campbell STEM teacher and STEM teacher expert for the district. I'm here to implore the board to reconsider your vote to close Campbell STEM Elementary, Alaska's only nationally certified STEM school. Reasons to keep Campbell STEM open include one, closure of Campbell STEM Elementary would be detrimental to the entire Campbell community, including staff, students, parents, and businesses who worked collaboratively for six years researching and developing STEM components for the alternative application that was approved by all ASD departments and unanimously by the school board in April 2017. staff attended years of training including Mickelson Exxon Mobile and Sally Ridemies, NST conferences, college courses, and other professional
098development opportunities. Most of these were funded by teachers, teacher grants, and donations from parents and the community at large. Another two years were spent earning national certification. As part of Campbell STEM's placebased learning component, staff and students worked with Taku Campbell Community Council, Anchorage Parks and Recreation, ADFNG, and landscaping firms to adopt and redesign Wolverine Park. Um, students presented their design and vision to Taku Campbell Community Council, which approved the adoption, citing it as an asset to the community. Students received a grant which funded the learning center, including ADA compliant tables. Without the school's oversight, it will be a loss to the community. Three, Campbell STEM's program supports ASD's career academyy's vertical alignment, elementary to middle school to high school. Research shows that the vast majority of college age students who choose STEM careers develop
099both an interest and a level of proficiency in STEM by the end of elementary school. That is unique Campbell STEM asset. And I turn over to my colleague. >> Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Good evening. I'm Renee Healey, retired Campbell STEM teacher and grandparent of a current student at Campbell STEM. Um, I am asking you to reconsider the closure of Alaska's only nationally certified STEM elementary school. Here's a couple reasons. First, the enrollment data trends need further explanation. Campbell STEM has always had plenty of students on their weight list every year, but has not been allowed to enroll these students in the spring as all the other alternative schools do. Instead, Campbell must wait till August when the local enrollment numbers are in, causing a weight listed family to make
100choices and choose programs or lose their spots. Low enrollment data can be corrected by changing this policy. This closing is inequitable. The Campbell Taku area has traditionally been composed of very hardworking young families who may not have the resources to take their children to alternative schools. Campbell STEM provides an alternative education for this population. It does not seem equitable to choose this school and not consider the closure of any other alternative or charter school. Lastly, there are some financial issues to consider. A recently passed bond measure allocated monies to Campbell STEM. Now, these funds will go to other unknown schools and programs despite taxpayers intentions. ASD spent millions fixing the school's roof. That's a waste of taxpayers monies if you close the if you close the building. And ASD had will have to have additional
101bus routes to move these students with that are dispersed to other schools. Closing the only nationally certified elementary STEM school in Alaska would be a great loss to our community and Anchorage as a whole. So again, I implore the board to reconsider its vote and keep Campbell STEM open. A STEM school provides authentic learning experiences that develop students critical thinking and problem solving abilities. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Britney Harris and Bradley Kell. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Hi, I'm Britney Harris. I am the mother of three boys that go to Campbell. Also, my cousin goes there. I have the speech. I'm not even going to look at it. You guys have a lot coming at you tonight. But
102one of my questions is when you guys made this vote to close, did you guys know about the grants? Did you guys know about the plans for the Wolverine Park? Did you know about all of these makings that were in motion for the school and the STEM program? Because if you guys didn't have that knowledge, I really question why you guys weren't giving all the information. My other concern is if you look at the stats for Campbell STEM, our attendance rate is up, our education rates are up. Our kids are doing amazing there and that's awesome. I want to see that across the board. I would love for the group of teachers and principles that came to Campbell on Tuesday when I was making the t-shirts to save the school. They were coming into our
103school to shadow our teachers and our principal and get advice from them. And my son stood up and read in front of them and said, "Mom, I read in front of a group of people today and I'm so proud of myself. I actually did it, mom." And he was so proud of himself. That is that's Campbell STEM right there, man. I'm telling you guys, look at all of the information before you close this school. Please reconsider what you guys are doing because this could be one of many STEM schools. We could open a couple in East Side and Westside. This could grow more than just Campbell STEM. I would love to see more of them. Ocean View is a high school. You've got the other one. I can't think of the name. They're middle school.
104We're elementary. Boom. Elementary. Middle high school. There you go. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Good evening, members of the board. My name is Brad Calb and I'm the parent of two Campbell STEM students and a future third. I'm asking you to reconsider the decision to close Campbell STEM Elementary. Many families have shared tonight why this school matters and I want to echo some of those messages, but tonight I want to focus on a broader on broader concerns. Public process, public trust, and short-sightedness. The Campbell community was given just 4 days notice and at best one business day to prepare for the only opportunity for in public inperson public testimony. This is not how the public process works. The Alaska Supreme Court addressed this
105very issue in Tunley versus the Anchored School Board. In that case, the court found that 5 days notice to prepare public testimony was not sufficient for parents and communities to provide meaningful input. The timeline surrounding Campbell raises the same legal concerns about whether families had a real opportunity to participate in this decision. There is also the issue of voter trust. In 2025, Anchorage voters approved an 11.5 million bond to update the Campbell STEM building. Now the school is being closed and bond related funding tied to Campbell is being redirected elsewhere. If this board does not reverse this decision, it sets a dangerous precedent. Voters will reasonably ask why approve a bond to improve a school if that investment could later make the school a target for closure. Public education depends on trust. If voters believe
106bond promises can change after the vote, it will make it will be much harder to pass future school bonds. Finally, I want to say that we have had we have heard from many legislators that at least one at least a one-time BSA increase is coming, if not a permanent increase. It will be far easier to restore sports, nurses, or other programs than it will be to reopen a school. Do not make a rush decision with permanent lasting implications for such a short for such a short-sighted view. For these reasons and many others, I ask the board to please reconsider the >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Christine Calb and Paul Mcdana. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Uh, good evening members of the board. My
107name is Christine Calb and I'm a mother of two students at Campbell STEM Elementary. I was born and raised in Anchorage and I am a graduate of the Anchorage School District. I'm here tonight to respectfully ask you to reconsider the closure of our school. Campbell STEM is the only C certified STEM elementary school in Alaska. Its program has STEM integrated across all subjects, not just a once- a week STEM lab. Students build problem solving and collaboration skills by applying what they learn uh to real world situations. These are skills that prepare them for both technical careers and college. This is not something receiving schools can simply absorb or replicate. It would take years to replicate. Our school also serves a diverse population with 62% of students classified as economically disadvantaged. Statistically, schools like ours face
108greater challenges with attendance and standardized testing. Yet, Campbell STEM is succeeding. Closing the program doesn't spread that success, it eliminates it. I am also concerned about public trust in the district. Voters approved a bond that included significant funding for Campbell renovations. Closing the school after that decision raises questions about how those commitments are honored and risks eroding confidence in future district initiatives. Finally, I want to address the timeline and public notice. Families received insufficient notice before the sole opportunity to testify. Uh and community members without enrolled children received virtually no notice. A decision of this uh magnitude deserves meaningful time for community input. This concern is supported by the Tunnley versus Municipality of Anchorage School District case where the court found that inadequate notice before a school closure meeting violated the public's right to be
109heard. I understand the board faces difficult decisions under challenging circumstances. However, the best decisions are not made in haste. Please take another look at Campbell STEM and what it offers to students and this community. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Tribal education departments. I gave my introduction in sukun, one of Alaska's 17 official languages that is in critical danger of extinction. For the record, in English, what I said is, "My name is Paul Mcdana. My alutic name is Pasa. I'm from the region of Alaska, once called Gaywick, and I serve as the tribal education director of the Chugatmute Consortium. Thank you, President Jacobs, and the school board members for your time. I'm here tonight in my professional capacity to comment on memorandum 134,
110which is the renaming of the school formerly known as Dunaka Valley. I'm here in person to point to two online testimonies submitted by leaders of our tribes, Brandon Moon and of Tatitlick and Chief Danielle Malach of Nunwalik. The ancestry of the Chugachmute is comprised of Sukpak and Dana people who have lived along the coast of the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound long before Nunaka Valley Elementary was constructed. At the Chugatmute Education Department, our sacred responsibility is to keep the Sukun and Danuga languages immortal long past the years when this school will eventually fade. That is why we are proud to support the retention of the name Nunaka Valley as its doors open to a new charter school. The Sukpek people have been using this word for thousands of years. Nunaka is the the possessive
111form of nuna which means place or village. We will be proud that the stream academy charter school will be one of the only schools in Anchorage and in fact the only one with an original indigenous name on its walls. So I ask the board to recommen adopt the changes recommended by Chief De. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Jordan Wood and Imray Mini. >> Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Reasons not to close Campbell STEM Elementary. As a part of our STEM cert certification, transparency to all stakeholders was required. This means that school data and most major decisions are shared with the staff, student STEM leadership team, and parents. All stakeholders got a voice in determining the next steps. Yes, everyone got a say in the
112PBIS system put in place at Campbell STEM. We also know all the up-to-date data. You may not be aware, but this year the winter benchmark the winter benchmark scores of K through 5 resulted in the entire school scoring high growth and high achievement. During the winter district benchmark assessments of the year, over 70% of Campbell STEM students in the third through fifth grade scored above the 41st percentile in reading. In math, over 60% of third through fifth grade students scored above the 41st percentile. Kindergarten through third grade scored above the 50th percentile in M-Class reading. Campbell STEM has over 25% of its population identified as special education. This does not include preschool which we have seven preschool classrooms. Six are special education preschools and one is gen ed. All special education students demonstrate academic grow
113growth with the average being over 70%. Campbell STEM has two resource special education teachers and one SDI. The SDI was created to support multiple students at Campbell STEM who had low IQs but high adaptive skills. The school staff did not feel that life skills was the best placement for these students. So, they had received special permission four years ago to create the program. There are multiple students in the program that are testing out of sped altogether or specific areas period. The average student in the SDI program had over 89% growth. You wanted to know how we were different from other schools. This is how we are different. It is one of many ways. Please let me know of another ASD school where this is occurring. By the way, we had over 90% inclusion rate in
114our to include our SDI students. This means our average student has an IEP and are spending 90% of their time in gen ed with their peers. Yes, I said these students are considered and they have low IPS. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Hi, my name is Emry Manokei. been coming to these meetings for the past uh 3 months or so since November. uh just been trying to alter offer an alternative perspective on how to proceed with making improvements to the Anchorage School District and to try to shed some light on um you know some things that uh there's just a basic layer of systemic ignorance um concerning uh methods of education. And my opinion is that it's not by accident. It's um largely
115constructed by uh conglomerates uh corporate conglomerates which uh have an interest in augmenting the educational process and you know part of that mechanism has to do with educating the educators or miseducating the educators. Um, so that's that's what I've been trying to do is trying to raise raise awareness about what's really important here. And what I've seen in the process is all these kids coming to testify um with just so much potential. they enthusiastic about their education, you know, they're concerned about their schools closing and they they got this momentum going and I I just don't think that the people the management personnel in this building uh really understand the value of that. It's it's really everything. And you know in general you know you look at the stats and compared to a national level.
116Well what about you know the actual human potential that these kids could rise to? It's way higher than what most schools do because the same program of misinformation has been syndicated across the country. So you know um so consider that please. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Ethan Hoyer and Cameron Hoyer. >> Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. I'm Ethan Hoyer, a Campbell alumni and recent graduate from UAA. My father has been a teacher at Campbell STEM for 28 years. Let me speak plainly. Campbell STEM is at or above the district average for most every metric. I'm talking attendance, test scores, school index value, and then there's the fact that Campbell is the only STEM certified school in the entire state. So why why why is
117it scheduled for closure? The way I see it, it's because of the Proposition One bond, which passed last year and granted Campbell $11 million for renovations among other schools. But before construction could begin this summer, you've decided to close Campbell, take $2 million as SBDR, and use 9 million for other capital projects. You can say that closing Campbell is because of the facility size, location, or maintenance costs. But you weren't thinking about any of that until just a couple weeks before you voted to close it. Mr. Gustoen over there said as much last month that because Campbell's pipes froze in a random citywide flash freeze and caused a several day school closure that that got school attention this year. And that freeze happened in January. What I think got Campbell attention was the SPDR bond
118money. Why else close Campbell so suddenly if not because construction begins this summer according to the will of voters of our community? Why else declare the facility excess when Lake Otis and Fire Lake are being given to charter schools? I know the board has noble reasons to repurpose the bond money. I get that. But I do need you to understand that our community voted for Prop One to support Campbell among other schools. And now because of its passing, our community has both increased our taxes and inadvertently turned Campbell into a cash grab. Understand that you don't sell a golden goose for poultry. You don't cut down apple trees to get the apples. And you don't scrap a good school for parts when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And understand this,
119we've got an election coming up and this year's Prop 1 looks an awful lot like last year's. So, if you keep Campbell closed, I will not be increasing my taxes and painting targets on the backs of more schools that you could later cannibalize for SPDR money. Understand that if you close Campbell again, I will not vote for this year's Prop One. And I implore anyone listening to do the same. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> May I approach before we start? Max just want to hand a couple things to you guys. give that to them and maybe to our speaker over here. Just something for you to look at while talking. I'm here tonight to hopefully change your minds. Google says to
120change somebody's mind, three things need to happen. I need to build rapport, create active listening, and encourage self-reflection rather than forcing facts. In 1993, I volunteered at a local elementary school and I was asked to help students understand subtraction and regrouping. After about two minutes, uh uh the students said, "Oh, wow. I get it now, Mr. Hoyer." Uh and another one said, "Oh, wow. It's easy. I get it." And I said to myself, that was a special moment in my life, life-changing. the time that I wanted to become a teacher. When I started at Campbell 1998, very quickly I saw how Campbell was doing great things. Campbell has carnivals, skating nights, science expos, movie nights, lunch and learns with scientists, real scientists, NASA pilots, engineers, 80 foot egg drops with the help of the AFD.
121We've gone on trips to the sewer sea life center, space camp, Kenai, trained to Alaska, saw glaciers on a boat to portage, even traveled to a Noah science center in catchmeck bay. So many special things. So many special moments, unforgettable moments that create long lasting memories and experiences for Campbell students. Another very special part of Campbell is our principal, Dr. Jenny Wit. She has built a program and a team of professionals that support in our STEM program and actively participates in Campbell projects and activities. There's an old saying, people make the place. And Campbell staff are dedicated to creating a fun and engaging learning environment for kids to thrive in. I'd like to complete my testimony with one more thought, maybe the most important thing that I can say tonight. We have over 90% attendance
122because kids want to come to school. They want to come to Campbell. Don't you think that's special? And shouldn't that be saved? Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Brandy Castalute and Shannon Balau. Brandy Castalute and Shannon Below. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Hello and good evening and thank you for your service to Anchorage students and families. I'm here to respectfully urge you to keep Lake Otis Elementary open. The school is more than a building. It is a vital anchor in Midtown Anchorage and it is closing and closing it would create long-term consequences that outweigh any short-term budget relief. First, LEO supports community stability and equity. It serves a diverse population, including workingclass and multilingual families. As a neighborhood school, it provides safety, accessibility,
123and a strong support network. Closing it would disrupt families and deepen inequities. Second, Leotis is has established programs for students with special needs. These students rely on consistent relationships and specialized environments. relocation risk interrupting progress and undermining this ability they need to succeed. Third, district proposed bond includes significant investment in LEOTA's facilities even as a closure it considered funding major repairs only to close the school soon after raises concerns about physical or yeah physical consistency in the public trust. Fourth, enrollment. The declines reflect citywide treads. Not a permanent loss of families in Midtown with ongoing housing development and natural community turnover. Enrollment can rebound. Closing schools based on short-term dips risk costly long-term regret. Finally, right sizing does not mean closure. It shared use models, partnerships, and operational efficiencies can reduce costs while preserving access
124to neighborhood educations. For these reasons, I respectfully ask you to keep Lake Otis Elementary open, and pursue solutions that protect students, honor public investment, and strengthen our communities. Thank you. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Good evening, superintendent and board members. Here I am again. My name is Shannon Bulauo and I come before you yet again hoping for a change of heart and mind about our closures of our beloved schools. It is to the point now that it's not just one or two schools, but now you've chosen three schools to close their doors. All three incredibly fundamental and substantial to our community, especially our youngest members. Our children are our future. But yet, with this constant instability of whether they have a school to
125go to next year or not is absolutely outrageous. Three times we have stood here before you giving you heartfelt reasons to save us. Three times we have given you facts. Three times we have given our all in hopes that you our youngest and brightest community members can continue to thrive in their current locations. Overcrowding schools with new students and no extra faculty is your current s solution with these closures. How does that do any of our kids any good? Having to drive or bus them to new locations in neighborhoods, mind you, traffic, you know. If you know, you know. Sit in said traffic. Being consistently tardy does anybody any good? No. Not to mention the parents losing work time because of the overcrowding of traffic and the buses. Will there be more available again? How
126does this save money? How does it add stability to our children's elementary education? You say we are in a huge deficit and I'd be willing to bet that this has not impacted any of you personally. No pay cuts, no alternative solutions to your kids' schools or transportation. Nice cars, fancy houses. It's all about the money. So you target the small fish. Lake Otis Fire Lake first round. We won. Ha. Three months later, after the vote didn't go your way, you decided to reopen the issue, but cause a major storm by adding one of the most thriving elementary schools in the state into this right-sizing plan. Put the parents against each other while plotting next pitfalls while making the teachers outraged by demanding more from them and with less pay. Yeah. Okay. How's that? >> First
127time. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two testifiers are Sydney Bidwell and Zachary Hart. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Sydney would be first. Correct. We'll let go. >> Okay. Hello, Anchorage School District board. My name is Sydney. I graduated from West High School's IB program in 2020. since I've graduated from since I've graduated from West. I've graduated from Whitman College with a degree in math and physics. Thank you ASD for preparing me. Um we've talked a lot about STEM today and um go Campbell. And I'd like to say that my education has shown me the importance of listening to scientific experts. Today many scientific experts in AI are sounding the alarm. I'm going to Washington DC next month to talk to our representatives in Congress about AI safety.
128And I'm here to ask this board to do one thing before I go. AI companies are in an unregulated race to build systems smarter than humans. Not in 50 years, but this decade. In 2023, the largest survey ever conducted of AI researchers, um nearly 3,000 scientists who've published some of the world's top AI research found that the average estimated chance of catastrophic risk outcomes from advanced AI, including but not limited to human extinction, was one in six. One in six. That's the same odds as Russian roulette. And these are the people building the technology. and 50% put the chances at higher than 10%. So, it's not like a fluke that some people put it super high and it skewed the odds. Currently, we have no international agreement, no abinding treaty, and no federal safety regulations
129in the US. Nothing that exists like what exists for nuclear or chemical weapons. The children of ASD will inherit whatever this race produces. Meanwhile, the tech industry spends over 250 million lobbying Congress last last year, more than oil or gas. And I'm making asking you to make sure that community voices are heard. Um, and I'm asking this board to pass a resolution and send a joint letter signed as the Anchorage School District board to um and I will hand it to DC. Um, sorry. >> Thank you for your testimony. Please feel free to submit written comments if you'd like. We'd appreciate that. >> A lot of scientists are talking about it, but no one talks about it in the media and it has a ton of money behind it. And I would love it. >>
130Thank you for your testimony, Miss Woodwell. >> Welcome, Mr. Hart. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Uh, I just want to start with a simple question. What exactly did voters approve on this last Proposition One and what is what is actually happening? As a homeowning taxpayer, I have consistently supported school bonds because I believe investing in our schools in our community. I've trusted that funds would go towards improving specific schools and strengthening public education. Those weren't vague promises. Those were clearly listed projects tied to real buildings, real students, and real needs. Now we're in a situation where Campbell STEM Elementary included in the previously approved bond is being closed. At the same time, Lake Otis Elementary, which served as serves as my neighborhood school and is the future zone school for
131my three-year-old, is also impacted by these broader decisions. And yet, we're being told that funds tied to these schools are being redirected. and even more concerning that we should approve additional capital improvements for facilities that are being closed or fundamentally repurposed, including transitions to charter programs. That feels like a bait and switch. I understand that circumstances change, enrollment shifts, like moving sixth grade to middle schools and citing that as a drop in elementary enrollment. Budgets tighten. Difficult decisions have to be made. But when those decisions directly contradicts what voters approve, there needs to be a higher level of transparency, accountability, and restraint. If your schools are slated to close, why are we continuing to invest capital dollars into those facilities? And if those use those and if the use of those buildings is fundamentally challen
132changing, shouldn't that come back to voters before additional funds are committed? This isn't just about buildings, it's about neighborhoods, stabilities, and trust. And I'll be honest, because of this, for the first time in my life, I am not planning to vote in favor of the school bond. That is not a decision I take lightly. It reflects a loss of confidence at what is presented to voters will actually be be followed through and promised. I'm asking for three things. Uh first, longer and more transparent deliberation under decisions to made to close schools supported by clear fact-based reasoning that the public can be fully a part of and and understand. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Maxim Ischuk and Rachel Gage. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >>
133Good evening, Anchor School Board. Uh, hi. My name is Maxim Mishuk. I am a West High School class of 2023 graduate. I currently attend UAA for computer science and have been coaching robotics at West High School since my graduation. Since my senior year and with the release of Chad GPT, I have seen firsthand the effects of AI usage in my peers and fellow students. developing students are becoming increasingly more reliant on AI models like chat GPT. I along with many other Alaskans worry for the continued e efficacy of our education system in addition to the much broader concerns that uh Sydney already mentioned. Three years ago with the original release of CHGPT, this board updated the academic honesty policy to disallow the submission of AI generated content as students own work and called that version
134of chat GPT just the tip of the iceberg. The board was right and the models that the students have access to today would have been unimaginable three years ago. Not only are these models able to generate human sounding text, now models are able to solve PhD level math questions and are becoming increasingly more difficult um to detect and are only getting more powerful. I fear that no district policy can keep pace with this industry which spends tens of billions of dollars a year in development. Considering the amount of growth we've seen in only even the last few years, I can't imagine what we'll see in the next few if we continue at the current pace. The world isn't ready, much less the school district. There are currently zero federal AI safety standards. Our members of
135Congress have the power to change that and they need to hear from you. This board represents 43,000 students and their families. I'm asking this board to sign a letter to our members of Congress urging AI safety standards. I'll be going to DC along with Sydney and would love to present it to our members of Congress along with the support of any other Alaskans who wish to safeguard our future. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Rachel Gage and Terry Wood. >> Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. I've been sitting back there wondering whether or not I wanted to testify because I'm not sure I have faith anymore that it will matter. But here I go again. Last month, the school board voted to close Fire Lake
136Elementary and it came down to a vote for the greater good. You put us through this process again and again and again. Each time we pointed out the flaws in the district's choices and each and every time the district pivoted. based on our research, our finds, our knowledge. That is the value of public testimony. The thing is there are many of us and it is our schools, our communities. There are few of you with over 50 elementary schools. We know our schools. We know our communities. The district put themselves in a box set by criteria of their choice and then was unable to think outside of that box. We were not limited by that. As we proved, we could see beyond and as a result, we protected children from poor decisions. Though we did not
137succeed in stopping the closure, I know if that we had been given time, we could have and would have shown why Fire Lake is still not the right choice. We would have provided you with even more valuable information. Information that is now lost to you by your own choosing. You rushed to vote against us, Lake Otis and Campbell Stem. You damaged the public trust with this board. All in the name of the greater good. And one last thought, the idea was established 50 years ago this year in order to shield children with disabilities from the systemic discrimination. The use of the greater good theory philosophy fails these children because it inherently excludes this population that will never be large enough to be the greater. Is that good? If we justify harm to children with disabilities
138based on the greater good theory, where does it end? Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin your reading. >> Um I I see you and hear you and understand where you're coming from. And at the same time, I hope that you're seeing and hearing and understanding where we are. Um there's so much to say and there's so much that's been submitted to you already and I understand they're hard choices. But the information is out there. Um, I know it's been talked about. We don't know if funding is coming in January 20th, 2026 Alaska Beacon. Alaska schools, students, and education funding will continue to be in focus in the 2026 legislative session set to begin on January 20th, but early signs show they are unlikely to be at the center of
139the political spotlight as they were last year. Governor Governor Mike Dunlebee will not be pursuing education policy changes this year according to a spokesperson wi with his office on Friday. We don't know if that's happening, but it clearly states it and the district is still saying that we're not sure if funding is coming. almost I can't remember a year that some kind of funding didn't come to change some of the things that have had to happen. The move to close this school happened so quickly. There's no way the district or the community or the school board could have wrapped their entire mind around the process and and what's going on in this community. Um you say you it was brought up how many people did come out Well, imagine if we'd had the same process
140everybody else had. Imagine if the community around us, not just the people in the school, actually knew. Um, I think that's very important. I think that the fact that we haven't been able to grow our program the entire time, the seven years since you unanimously inated our program, we have not been able to add students to grow our program. And that's come from the administration. the number of teachers that we're allowed to have. >> Thank you for your testimony. Our next two speakers are Linda Brooks and Isley McDonald's. Linda Brooks, Isley McDonald. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. Is this microphone? I'll start. You jump in if you want. Good evening. I am Isa and I love And I don't want it to close. I really like it and I'll be
141sad if it closes. And I bet all the other kids that go there will be sad if it closes. And I also bet the teachers will be very sad, too. If it closes, there's no other science school like it. So, please don't close Campbell ST. >> And I don't want to imagine the teachers having to go to a different school. It will be hard. my friends at Campbell STEM again. I bet all the other kids don't want to find a different school either. Even though you don't have enough money, please don't close Campbell STEM. >> Thank you and good night. >> And thank you for your testimony. Miss Brooks, welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Thank you. I'm a proud 1980 East High graduate. Airport Heights Wendler East. Um, I
142understand that you guys are in a tough place. A lot of times making decisions in government and school districts are difficult. I understand that you're looking under the cushions for anything that you can find. Um, I think you've heard a lot already about why the notice to the Campbell comm community was not sufficient. And and as you've heard, you know, the residents in the community are stakeholders as well, even if they don't have kids. And uh there's also a lot of families that thought their uh kids were going to start kindergarten this coming year and it was a big shock to them to learn that they're not starting at Campbell STEM. Um but we did remedy this in part because there were six of us that canvas the neighborhood doortodoor talking to people having conversations
143with them. So we did raise the level of awareness in the community because an email to staff and and parents alone was insufficient clearly. Um, and in anyhow, I um I was I still don't think the community ever felt that we really understood clearly what led you to close Campbell, but I'm really thankful that the reporter for Alaska Public Media did dug into it a little bit and appreciate that he interviewed Mr. Anderson. And from that, I think we can piece together a little bit better what it is that happened. Um, I was still a little puzzled by all of this because I used to work on fiscal issues and how could you move, you know, how how was this bomb money that was state state reimbursement bomb money going to be used for salaries
144because that's an operating expense for the salaries and how could you do this? And there's a lot of rules about capital monies and operating monies and so forth. Um what I've heard now in uh recently was that there was something in you know the governors kept vetoing the state reimbursement for debt and then in 2022 apparently there was some more flexible language but um it appears that it was that was the reason why Campbell was singled out because it was Miss Brooks. Thank you so much for your testimony tonight. Our next two speakers are Verina Gil and Fellainia Miles. out here. >> Welcome, Miss Gil. You have two minutes, please begin when you're ready. >> Hi, my name is Vina Gil and I have lived in Anchorage for almost 40 years. I'm a federal scientist
145and I have two daughters in the ASD system. This morning, myself and many of my neighbors, including Fani here, received a very intriguing, interesting, out of the blue phone call from the school counselor. It went something like this. I know your child is a junior at Service High School, but they're going to have to go to South High School to finish out their senior year. We have redistricked. You are no longer in the service high school district. Hm. Interesting because not to sound like Sarah Palin, but I can see Service High School from my deck. It is just a couple of miles from my house. Huh. And then the other phone call. I know your child just left um Omali and went to Henshue and is integrating very successfully and we love her at Henshue,
146but she's going to have to go to Golden View now for seventh and eighth grade. Now, I have been following this uh all of the changes in the ASD, but there was nowhere in any of these that said that students would be yanked mid grade to go to different schools. I understood Ali was turning into a French-only immersion school. My child actually went there. Um, but there was nowhere that I understood that suddenly a junior has to go finish their senior year at South and a sixth grader suddenly has to go to Golden View. Now, they can stay at their current schools if I don't have bus transportation. I'm a full-time single mother. Your late do uh late start Mondays. I can barely even do my job, let alone drive my child to Golden View.
147Also, have you thought about buses? You're talking about the new contract with the buses. Have you thought about those bus drivers that now have to trundle up Rabbit Creek up to Upper Alley, the Prospect Heights neighborhood, back down and back down to Rabbit Creek to deliver our children to South and Golden View. Whoever drew those redistricting maps needs to take a very close look at what they have done because I am next to Hilltop. My children are going to go six, seven miles away from my house. Please reconsider the redistricting. >> Thank you for your testimony. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin when you're ready. >> Hi, my name is Fenna Miles and I concur with everything that Verina just said. Um, what my main concern is and I have watched the Anchorage School
148District over the years, many years is the lack of planning and foresight and especially implementation that comes out of the Anchorage School District. Just like saying you want uh grades improved throughout the Anchorage School District, then you make it very hard on parents to get their kids to school and you reduce the amount of time kids spend in school. That makes absolutely no sense. now. And I'm looking at um the the uh demographics throughout Anchorage where a whole bunch of people in the hillside are retiring and moving on and out of state. And you've got a whole bunch of younger families moving and there is a whole bunch of littles all the way upper Mali on that bus drive now. And I'm just so excited to see new kids moving into that neighborhood. And now
149you're going to yank them out and send them over to Huffman and then all the way over to Golden View. more than that is a very dangerous road for those buses to be up and down. And what I haven't seen is any professional planning coming out of here. I see plenty of nicely put together graphics. So obviously you guys have money somewhere. Where are your planners? Where is the implementation plan? Where does it show how much money it is going to cost gas for all of these buses to be going extra distance? I mean, on this map here, you show K all these kids from Omali area getting sent over, even though they're right across from service, over to South Anchorage. That's ridiculous. And my kid is currently in advanced placement at Hansshoe and was
150going to go to service where my daughter is also in advanced classes. And we just got the call that one can stay at service, but the other might be able to get into service if she goes through the lottery system. Otherwise, both girls have to go down to South. And just thank you for your testimony this evening. Our last testifier tonight is Rob McDonald's. Mr. McDonald's, if you'd like to come up front, please. Welcome. You have two minutes. Please begin your interview. >> Good evening, Anchorage School Board. I've only recently been fortunate enough to become familiar with Campbell STEM. It is an incredible place. I have visited other elementary schools and none have welcomed me as warmly. My daughter was immediately made to feel a part of things and fully included. She climbs at the
151Alaska Rock Gym, among other extracurriculars. When she leaves Campbell STEM, she is more excited to tell me about what she has done and learned than when she leaves from anywhere else. I sat in the office today and watched Dr. Wit, the principal, interact with over a dozen students, calling each by name. When I asked if she knew them all by name, a staff member told me that she also knew the proficiencies and where each student will go if Campbell STEM is closed. So much has already been said about the data that supports Campbell STEM's excellence that I won't speak more on that. Member Donley, I appreciated your motion to suspend the rules and allow questions that the public can understand the thinking behind this decision. Absent that, I would like to flip that script. Perhaps
152it would be more enlightening for you to understand the reason for our passion and resolve to keep Campbell STEM open. Member Bellamy, you asked, "What are schools doing successfully that we can take away from this?" I recommend that you and the other board members visit Campbell STEM. Many of the excellent takeaways you were looking for already exist here at Campbell Sim. I'm going to reheal the remainder of my time because my daughter would like to do a doover. Let's go for it. Good evening. I am Isa and I love Campbell STEM and I don't want it to close. I really like it and I will be sad if it closes. And I bet all the other kids that go there will be sad if it closes. And I also bet the teachers will be very
153sad too if it closes. There is no other science school like it. So please don't close. And I don't want to imagine the teachers having to go to a different school. Be hard. my friends at Campbell STEM again. I bet all the other. >> Thank you for your testimony. That concludes public comment for this evening. We'll move on to our consent agenda. >> Mr. President, >> member Don. Yeah, I think we owe it to the dozens of public testifiers tonight to at least have a discussion regarding school closures and all and alternate, you know, options. Um, so just to facilitate that discussion, I move to reconsider the decision to close Campbell STEM Elementary School. >> I'll second that. >> I'll second it, too. We'll take a just a two-minut break um to address a Robert's
154rules issue. Thank you. No, that's not a What's in the book? We'll call ourselves back to order. Um, member Donley, your motion, according to Robert's rules, is out of order. Your motion to um to reconsider is neither timely and you were not a member of the prevailing side. So, Robert rules 12th edition 373 and 378 address that that motion isn't in order. I understand you have another motion to suspend the rules. Would you like to proceed with that? >> Thank you, Mr. President. I would move to suspend the rules to allow the reconsideration of the decision to close Campbell STEM Elementary School home. >> Is there a second? Hearing and seeing none, the motion fails. We'll proceed to our agenda. >> Mr. President, I'd suggest the absence of a quorum and call for a quorum
155vote. >> Member Donley, there's four board members of a seven body meeting. >> I call for a vote on whether there's a quorum or not. >> I can see four board members present. Remember, >> I think Robert's rules allows a formal vote on whether a quorum exists or not. I don't know the exact rule, but that's certainly part of Mason's manual. >> Okay. Um, could we have a roll call vote, please, Miss Sullivan? >> Member lessons >> present. >> I request a brief I request a brief at ease. you. >> We're we're we're doing a we're conducting a roll call. Member >> D. >> Member Bellamy. >> What are we voting on? >> Member Member Bellamy. We're simply conducting a roll call vote. >> Oh, a roll call. Yes. >> Member Hullerman >> present. >>
156Member Higgins. >> Member Wilson is out. President Jacobs >> members >> here. >> Okay, we'll move on to our consent agenda. >> Mr. President, >> member Donley, >> I'd renew my motion to suspend the rules to reconsider the decision to close Campbell STEM Elementary School. >> Member Donley, that motion failed without a second. >> Let's move. >> We'll move on to our consent agenda. Is there a member who wishes to pull an item from a consent agenda this evening? >> Mr. President, I appeal your this issue and the chair do not allow a second at this time. >> Member Dunley, I asked for a second and the board member chose not to second it. >> Mr. President, the members weren't in the room. All members weren't in the room at the time. They're all present.
157I'm simply asking for every board member to be given the opportunity to second if they so wish to do so. Is there a motion to reconsider and resus I'm sorry. Is there a motion to suspend our rules to reconsider this motion for a second time during our meeting? >> If that's what you would require as chair. >> Second. >> So there's a motion to suspend our rules to reconsider a item that was previously disposed of on the 24th. Member Donley, why don't you restate your original motion? Thank you, Mr. President. I move to reconsider the decision to close Campbell STEM Elementary School to facilitate discussion of this matter. >> Motion was made by member Donley, seconded by member Higgins. Is there discussion? Member Donley, you would have the floor first as the maker of the
158motion. >> Thank you, Mr. President. We've heard from dozens and dozens of community members about the significant impact of the board's decision um in to close Campbell STEM. I think there was new information that I wasn't aware of tonight regarding an outstanding significant grant from the private sector to Campbell STEM. Um, sorry if I ever missed that before in a prior discussion, but that was I think a very significant fact that lends to the s reconsideration of the eventual decision here. Um, I do believe it's appropriate to consider at this time alternatives to it. uh that that might be reasonable things for the board to state at this time as what we intend to do if additional money came in uh whether through the uh proposed levy or through other sources. The proposed levy would
159generate $11 million and the board has voted uh to designate 80% of that to teachers. That leaves 20% for a fairly unidentified costs. Um I'm sorry if I'm I'm getting my facts wrong. member lessons. I apologize, but my impression was that there was another couple million dollars there that wasn't really clearly designated. And we could decide tonight to have Campbell Sten be included as as a source of uh that being a source of funding for restoring Campbell Sim is what I was hoping to have a discussion to identify. So, I apologize if I've got any of my numbers wrong there, but I would like that's another good reason to have a discussion to clarify that. Uh, member Higgins. >> Thank you. Um, I'm supporting this motion for a number of reasons. I heard information I
160went to Campbell and visited the school and I learned information tonight that I didn't know that I think the administration should have provided us anyway. And so, um, th this is additional data that it's just we got to get a balanced review of the pros and cons for these various decisions. And this one to me bothers me a lot. Uh, we we talk about this being right sizing, but we never talk about options for right sizing. The legislature this Saturday talked about the need for child care and other issues. We don't bring that up in the presentation at all with the administration and that's completely ignored. So, it's it's a sales job from my standpoint, and it's a big disappointment. We've rushed through this thing so quickly. We didn't have much time. It reminds me
161of the the Bear Valley and Campbell is real similar. If everybody knew what was going on, maybe you wouldn't have picked it. Uh but we didn't get that information. So, just simply having a chance to review this process. We're jeopardizing the public's trust of what we're doing. The process used to speed this thing through is not going to die tonight. No matter what, I think I can assure you of that we have heard this and they are going to be loud and and we can do something constructive tonight to at least acknowledge that this process was not open for the public at all. This was a decision well in advance and it just it doesn't come across that way as something we want to do. There's more issues here I can bring up uh within
162it. You know, the the board ends up approving a STEM high school. We've got STEM middle school, but we're eliminating the only elementary. And you can't just simply create these elementaryaries. That middle school came from teachers that wanted to do it. It was not we want one and just teachers that are there. They went after this hoten and the teachers that are at this town, you can't just create another one like it. So, it just it doesn't make sense to me. We didn't have all the information. And we're asking for is to have that reconsideration. I think it's important. I think if you want the public trust and I got to tell you it's been since the 1990s that I've heard that the that the board has been viewed as having a majority and a
163minority and that is going to undermine public trust as well and the roles of that creation that minor majority minority for administration and the board is going to be something that was going to carry over after tonight. It's going to be an issue. This is something that I'm not really proud of and it is not going to be silent. I hope that we reconsider this and look at it from a standpoint that we are jeopardizing all our all confidence with the public and it's going to impact a lot of us. >> Member Hullman. >> Um I'm I'm willing to vote yes on this to stall things. Um, and I'm going to say it's an unfortunate situation all the way around. I do understand for a lot of people that are watching what the board is
164doing and feeling like it's rushed. Um, it's not understandable. And that leads people to think there must be some hidden motives and ulterior motives. Honestly, I don't think there are. I think where this really started is quite some time ago the state of Alaska ceased funding education at an inflationadjusted rate and people either didn't watch it or didn't care enough. And over the years, we have grown into a a situation where the public at large looks at us as coming back for more and more and more money every year when in fact there's a bit of a shell game going on in funding and we're sort of at that point where the shells are pulled back and the deficit is huge. The these cuts are terrible. that is a menu of bad choices and I
165hate I hate all the things that we're doing. Um I do think I I can believe the attorneys that have spoken to us to say that if our decision was challenged on the basis of whether or not there was public process, we could possibly prevail in court, probably prevail in court. and that matters, but it does not establish that we did it in the right way. Clearly, the way that the process was handled with Campbell uh was different than what we had done with other schools. That in and of itself is enough to where we should take a step back, I think, and look at it again. I do feel fairly confident from talking with legislators that there is more money to come and I would also say that none of the people I've talked
166to have any idea how much it might be. It might be 20 bucks or it might be a few million bucks, but I don't know anyone that feels like they have a handle on it that can guarantee anything. It absolutely is an unknown place to be right now. Um, the idea of the school closures came as a way to avoid what we saw as damage to a much larger number of students across the district in terms of the athletics, in terms of class sizes and other things. These are the things we're choosing between. There's there's nothing here that's anybody's pet project. There's nothing here that anyone benefits in any great way from. is simply a way to try to find a way to do the least damage to the least number of students. It's a
167sad sad place to be for everybody involved on this side of the tables and on your side of the tables as well. I the other part that I think a lot of people don't realize is how much of the planning and preparation for fall usually starts in January. And usually you have a pretty good idea that funding is going to be somewhere close, but this year it wasn't. We used up all of our fund balance to keep it from being catastrophic. But we simply delayed the catastrophe. Possibly, possibly we can avoid it again, but it is going to take a while to find out. And in all honesty, I don't know that the legislature can get done in enough time to where we still have the lead time to be ready to go for fall.
168Even if they do come through with more funding, it is um it's a mess in all honesty. And it makes me sad for the state I chose to live in. I've been here for about 40 years. This is actually the worst I've seen public education attack. And it is a deliberate attack. It's not negligence. It is not uh an accident. It's not even I think that other people have certain priorities. There are people that want to redirect the money that goes into public education and put it in other places and they've worked at it for years and they're winning. And this is what it feels like when you don't win for anybody that ever competes. So, I I would hope uh that we can stall and I apologize to the administration for doing that. It
169makes their job incredibly more difficult. But if there's a way that we possibly can avoid dismantling a program, I'll be honest, the the Campbell building, while I know it's a great location for everybody, doesn't mean as much to me as the STEM program does because that is something that people put together. If we break that up, it will not reconstitute itself. And I say that from being in schools and watching things that people took years to put together get washed away by bigger events. Almost almost never uh what I would call bad intentions, but simply bigger events that just wash over what has happened in individual buildings. So I I think it's worth trying to preserve that. The possibility is out there, but not the certainty by any means. Um, so if we buy a
170few weeks or a month, I am willing to vote for that. Sorry, Dr. Bryant. >> Thank you. >> Uh, member lessons. >> Um, thank you. I I did make a quiet aside with member Donley and clarified uh with him, but just wanted to share for the record that um the amendment uh the finance committee amendment number one that the board passed uh to ASD memorandum 131 at our February 24th meeting um directed the administration to use all available revenue from the levy should voters pass that levy to reduce the projected increase in our PTR ratio. ratio from a plus4 to plus2. So there is no additional um 20% available to redirect towards unclear projects. So 100% of the levy will go towards classroom teachers. So I did want to make that clear. I think um
171since we're discussing um the renewed motion, I guess I would ask the administration with the budget in the assembly's hands at this point in time, what would a re what would a successful reconsideration do to the budget? My understanding is that a vote by this board to um reinstate Campbell STEM would make us about $3 million over budget. Can you help me understand the consequences of a vote in that direction this evening? >> Right. I mean, we would want to identify the $3 million that you would want to cut in somewhere else because we can't just make up the new revenue at this point. Um the assembly's duty is to approve the upper limit spending authority and the tax request and that that's it. Not necessarily what goes into the budget. Um but yeah, if
172you do make that change and we are $3 million short, we need to have that rectified as well. >> I guess my question would be to the maker of the motion. Have you identified $3 million in cuts so that we can have a balanced budget? Okay, >> this is Yep. Thank you, Mr. President. Member Donley. >> Yeah, this is a motion to reconsider, not a motion to resend. So, if reconsider was granted, we could discuss how what alternatives might be available to us to proceed. >> Well, member Donley, I think it it might be wise to consider it a motion to rescend as Robert's rules considers a motion to reconsider a fundamental limitation within its um governing rules. um a motion to rescend is does not have the same time limitations. Um the other way
173to go about is to amend something previously adopted, but that's if um we chose to go down that road. I also question whether or not um it's in the the board's um if it's appropriate to do so without all board members present. Recognizing that member Wilson isn't with us tonight, I have a a point of order, I think, or member question. >> Um, the part that included closing Campbell STEM was part of a broader package that amended a balanced budget to try to avoid some of the damaging things we saw in that balance in that budget, specifically cuts to sports, nursing positions, and other items. So, I would assume if it was rescended, we would be back at the rather horrendous budget that we passed to begin with and then amended. I think I'm I'm
174not asserting that in a real strong way, but I think in terms of rules of order, that's where we would be at. And and I do want to say I think that leaves the administration with an incredibly confusing mess in front of them. Um that's that's why I offered my apology. I you know as a board we're supposed to say present a pathway policy and budget. This is what we want. This is your resources. Go do it. By stepping back we're in essence saying we're not sure what we want to do. We know we don't want to. We know we don't want to do any of this. But I think it would take us back to the horrendous balance budget that we passed before we amended that budget to close schools and save other programs.
175>> Yeah, member Hollowman, I appreciate the the comments. Um, I'm trying to keep us or at least get us back to some semblance of Robert's rules so that we can have a path to proceed on. Right now, we're suspending our rules to discuss this. Um, there is no automated path to get us back to order. um we'd have to resume our agenda and get back to order um after sus after um adhering back to our rules. Um so I'll say that we can discuss this and then there can be a vote and then we can u I can try to figure out what that means next procedurally. Um again with that said I'm considering this a motion to resend as I don't believe a motion to reconsider is in order. Um, and that's according to
176a motion to reconsider being a foundational or fundamental limitation within Robert's rules, and that's how we govern our meetings. So, >> Mr. Chair, um, motions to suspend the rules to do a reconsideration. So, to cite the rules, why you can't suspend the rules? So, a governing body, the research I'm finding is that a governing body that utilizes Robert's rules to run meetings indicates you can't suspend the rule to reconsider something that hasn't isn't able to be reconsidered. You would have to resend action or amend something previously adopted specifically because there's a a specific limitation, a fundamental limitation Robert's rules regarding the time limitations and who can raise. you are not eligible to raise a motion to reconsider because you were not on the prevailing side. If we're going to use Robert's rules to run our
177meeting, um, we can't wave that rule and then re-engage the rules afterwards. >> Could we have a brief ease so I could look at that particular rule? >> Sure. How long would you like? >> Five minutes. >> Sure. We'll recess for five minutes. What do you got? >> I think a motion to resend requires two. I think you're right. motion way motion. Okay, we'll call ourselves back to order at 9:06 p.m. again. Member Donley, um we're discussing a motion to rescend, which requires twothirds u majority of our governing body. Um and a motion to reconsider um cannot be brought forward as an underneath a motion to suspend the rules. Um, is there other discussion under the suspension of the rules and the current request to um resend action and we'll go to Pat, then we'll
178go to um our student representative. I'll just say that some of the information that's was missing when we made this decision was information from the legislature that talked about the fact that we've got money coming in with the feds that we could access to be able to rightsize our schools for daycare. We can't do that in the future. This is a limited time, but if we do it now, we can take advantage of that and use part of the school for other purposes, which is what the superintendent talked about over a year ago, saying we're going to focus on right sizing and use the issue and brought in people that talked about the 8,000 people that needed daycare, and that's what the legislature talked about on Saturday. So there is information now that we have
179funds available for that that will allow us to do right sizing without downsizing. I'd see I've seen no presentational recommendations on how to do uh right sizing at all in spite of the superintendent's comments. It's all been downsizing. We're reducing schools. We're reducing opportunities for that and we're hearing that we need that from the community for the for the economy. So I I think reconsidering this based on that kind of information makes sense to me and and that's an issue and this is not this this year we started off actually shortly after superintendent came in it was discussion of political then it was money which after five years it really dried up a lot uh ease of administration I've always looked at kids not ease of administration combo classes are more difficult but they can
180work but it is difficult we don't have the resources then it goes back to money. I've seen nothing with right sizing, but we have the funding potentially available to actually do the right sizing that we didn't know about a month ago. At least I didn't. Um, when I went to when I went to Juno, I I found that information and shared it with others. So, we have options now that have not been discussed that's going to allow us to help the economy, help out parents, help out kids, and do things that will achieve the right sizing that the superintendent said he wanted to achieve. But we haven't discussed it. We haven't had a review of that. We have no information here about money coming in things or we've got so much information we have not
181been provided. We're going to pay a price if we don't listen to that. So an accelerated process. I just beg you to go ahead and consider the fact that the public expects us to hear from them. We don't report to the administration. We we're we're the voice of the public. Um and uh that's important. Thank you. >> Thank you, Member Higgins. Student Representative Madison. >> Thank you. So, I just want to offer a few words um to exchange and obviously do part of my job to provide a student perspective from things I've observed in this discussion. I do really of course want to first prioritize the amount of civil and discourse that we have here and make sure that there's mutual understandings on both sides of this conversation. But especially from a student perspective, I
182want to share some things that I've observed and why I do feel that it would be very useful for this board to reconsider the closure of St. Campbellstead. I will definitely say that over time many opinions have changed and there's been many diverse perspectives provided in testimony in many of these different nights. I want to also note that personally for me, I've kept an open mind over time to understand these different issues and I've had much change and understanding over the span of just a couple months. But I do believe that overall the closing of Cample STEM is inappropriate. Not only were the families and schools not given credible or an equitable amount of time of notice specifically being given no business hours as mentioned in testimony tonight. And while I do see that right
183sizing can definitely be necessary for efficiency in many different ways, I do also want to note how important it is to have an equitable amount of resources for the most amount of students and families across the district. And I want to acknowledge that this specific closure because of the fact that it didn't have an equitable process, I feel it's therefore it's not fair to close down Campbell STEM. Families should be given transparent information about the why behind closing down a school. And I feel though is that there should also be an equitable equitable amount of time to return feedback, which I did learn in testimony tonight that accordingly that feedback for Cample STEM and its closure was not provided as transparent as it could have been about the school on the topics of right sizing.
184And on top of that, we also have to understand that I've seen that the board wants to prioritize long-term profits and savings. But when we really look at this action, specifically closing cample stem, it's more of a short short-term pro profit, which much of our community members have agreed to and have shared facts about it. So overall, taking away from this, I see that there's an issue here being that we're prioritizing short-term profit versus long-term profit. There's an issue with credibility. There's inconsistent feedback being given and untimely notice. And the reason I hope the board considers the reconsideration of clothing cample stem is because I want us to remember about our mission and our goals and specifically our goals and missions for right sizing and overall how this contributes to our budget and what we
185want for the next school year and that's a more timely process and the reconsideration of managing this action of closing Scample STEM instead of just a sudden or inappropriate closure that doesn't meet the goals of our original intentions to rightsize which was to long-term save and to include transparency. And on the topic of transparency, the reason why it's so important is and why we must encourage the ASD community to understand that is especially like people have mentioned, it's the tax levies going on the ballot. We have to understand that school funding, it's been flatfunded for many years and the legislature is not giving us enough. We do not have enough at the moment and we don't know if we're going to have enough in the future. But to prioritize public education, we need to engage
186the community to support it as well because it's not just the board doing that. It's also the people who vote for it. And in order to encourage people to vote for it, we need to build trust with them. And so I feel like it's very important to move to that stage that we need to handle old business like this and reconsider to rebuild a fair process that's more legal and it's more fair and just for people. And that just includes putting a pause right now on the closure so we can respect tax dollars, facts, and all the different perspectives of ASD families that we were told we could fairly support. Thank you. >> Thank you, Madison. Seeing no other discussion, the underlying motion is a motion to resend action to suspend the rules and rescend
187action. um requires a 2/3 majority which with six members present is a total of four. Um Miss Sullivan, we're going to have you conduct a voice vote. A yes is a motion to resend action specifically regarding the closure of Campbell STEM Elementary. A no vote uh would result in sustaining the previously adopted action. Member Higgins, >> yes. >> Member Bellamy, >> no. >> Member Lessons, >> no. >> Member Hollowman, >> yes. >> Member Donley, >> yes. >> President Jacobs, >> no. The motion to resend is failed to be adopted by a vote of three to three. We will resume our agenda and I'll ask if there's a board member who wishes to pull an item from our consent agenda. Seeing no board member who wishes to pull an item from our consent agenda. Is there
188a motion to approve our consent agenda as drafted? >> I move to approve the consent agenda as presented. >> Second. Can we have a seeing no discussion, can we have a voice vote uh to approve our consent agenda tonight? >> Member Higgins. >> Consent agenda. >> Yes. >> Member Donley. >> Yes. >> Member Lessons. >> Yes. >> Member Bellamy. >> Yes. >> Member Hollowman. >> Yes. >> Represent Jacobs. >> Yes. Our consent agenda is adopted. unanimously. We'll move to action items. First up is ASD memorandum number 143, adoption of tenative agreement teamsters local 959 bus drivers and attendant employees. Uh once we have a motion to approve and a second, we'll hear from the one public uh public member of the community who wants to testify. Is there a motion to approve? I move to
189approve memorandum number 143, the adoption of the tentative agreement for Teamsters Local 959, bus driver, bus drivers and attendant employees. >> Second. >> Made by member Bellamy, seconded by member Hollowman. Um, we have one testifier, Derek Musto. Please come forward. You will have two minutes and can begin when you're ready. Welcome. >> Good morning. We are >> uh good evening, President Jacobs, Dr. Bryant, board members, and those in attendance, both in person, online. Uh my name is Derek Mustoto. I'm the organizer and business agent for Teamsters Local 959. I am the chief spokesperson for the school district bus driver and attendant bargaining unit negotiation team. Uh on behalf of our members, I respectfully ask that the board accept and approve this agreement. Uh the district drivers and attendants are professionals that carefully transport our most
190precious cargo every day and play a vital role. The agreement before you was negotiated in good faith by the district and the union and was voted on and ratified by the union's membership. Our respective negotiation teams on both sides worked hard to reach a reasonable agreement that addresses in part the recent changes to Alaska's minimum wage rates. I encourage you to support the agreement and vote to accept it. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. That completes public testimony on this item. Is there board member discussion? Member Les. >> I just wanted to say thank you for the testimony. I'm appreciative that we have the contract in front of us. Um was driving around today and saw buses in action. They are the first things that our kids see when they go to school and
191they are the last bit of ASD before they get home. Our drivers navigate roads in sometimes very challenging conditions. and um I'm just appreciative of all of their work on a daily basis and the work of all the teams uh that got us to this point. >> Member Higgins. Yeah, I just want to I' I've sat in negotiations too often and I've got to tell you it's never an easy process, but for both parties uh to reach agreement and what they go through for it is a great appreciation uh that I have the what they've achieved and my app appreciation for both the administration and the union uh for what they've achieved. Thank you. >> Seeing no other discussion, Miss Sullivan, a voice vote, please. Student Representative Madison. >> Yes. >> Member Higgins. >> Yes.
192>> Member Hollowman. >> Yes. >> Member Bellamy. >> Yes. >> Member Lessons. >> Yes. >> Member Donley? >> Yes. >> President Jacobs? >> Yes. >> AC Memorandum 143 adoption of tenative agreement team search local 959 bus drivers and attendant employees has been adopted by a unanimous vote. Um, next up is ASD memorandum number 142, approval of transfer for right sizing moving costs. Is there a motion to approve? >> I move to approve memorandum number 142, approval of transfer for right sizing moving costs. >> Second. Is there discussion? >> Member Halman. >> Um, I appreciate this is a reasonable thing that needs to be brought before us. I am going to vote against it. Um, again, for the same reason that I'm trying to stall what we're doing, um, without actually doing damage to the district.
193I hope this doesn't. I I do hope that there is a sense that we need to move as slowly as possible on the decisions we've made while we still wait to find out what our overall revenue is going to be for the coming year. Member Les, >> I do not have a crystal ball about what revenue we might see from this legislature. I can tell you that if HB374 were to pass, it would generate about 44.5 million for us, which is um not enough to close our $90 million gap. There's a bill that Senate Finance has put together. It's 277. It would increase the BSA by $126.54 and that would generate maybe a little shy of $9 million. As part of a really big bill, I would watch that bill carefully. That's not a lot
194of money to go on. That's my crystal ball. Uh, a question for district administration. Um, could we discuss the timeliness of this? Um, what happens if we don't address this tonight, move this to our next meeting? >> Um, if we move this to the next meeting, I mean, it's just another two weeks of the planning getting pushed back. We normally when we're closing the schools, we have a you know three more months and it takes a while and we're on a very expedited timeline to actually get the schools um ready to move if we do move those schools. Um including the schools that are moving plus the schools that are receiving plus the schools that we're changing boundaries on um and all those different moves. So this money was the money that we would need
195mostly agenda um but many things for like open houses so that the schools could have celebrations and welcomecomings and that kind of stuff. So if it means waiting two more weeks that that would would not be a big deal. Um, member Higgins, >> quiet makes it sound better. My my question is timing. What additional cost? I mean, this has to do with with the whole process of right sizing. I hate to use that term. It's downsizing, but uh the cost associated and how much money we're going to save and now we need money for this. How much other first of all the timing of it? And then the question is what other do we see anticipate the administration is going to come forward with more of these because as you look at the different schools
196and different changes you've got all the issues with the special education accommodations. Does this represent the full cost or and and when did you know about this particular issue because it didn't come up what the right sizing? >> Every year we have costs of moving every year. Last year we had two schools. It was under the $200,000 line item before it had to come to the board. So, we didn't have to come and get approval to make a budget transfer for it. This year, there's three schools. There's other um programs that are moving, so it's costing more money. Most of it is around the actual moves, packing up. We don't expect teachers to do that on their own time. Um we as we've closed different schools, we've made sure we support those kids um as
197they're leaving and as they're coming into the new schools. And if we're closing schools, we need to do it right. This is a bare bones budget for closing all everything that we have done on the right sizing. We have cut lots out of what we've done in the past. And you know, as far as construction goes and all that, we've looked at all of those facilities and we do not anticipate coming and asking for construction money because of a special education program or any of the sort. And I would um seed to Mr. Anderson about that. But we as we did these plans, we do not anticipate construction happening in anything with the sped program because the sped programs when we've looked at where they were going, there's facilities for those specific programs. So this
198to to be fair, we just worked this out last week. Um after all the decisions were made and we knew what was actually going to happen, then we started meeting on um finalizing a cost estimate. Obviously, uh this this does include pallets, it does include boxes, it includes moving, it includes overtime, a lot of agenda, um for staff both at the end of this school year and the beginning of next year. Um, we went through program by program, building by building, and we do not anticipate any construction requirements barring um something that happens during high windstorms that changes an exigent need at a building. Um, but purely for the purpose of relocating and and and this this impacts 25 different schools. So, I I feel pretty comfortable that that we're going to be pretty close
199on target on this. >> Um going to enter the queue because I don't see any other board members. I would um entertain a motion to postpone this item till our next regularly scheduled meeting so that all board members can vote on this and if there's a second I can speak to that. >> So moved. >> Thank you. Um, so I believe postponing this to our next regularly scheduled meeting um would be the best possible opportunity for all board members to weigh in on these costs. Um I hear that um board members who board board members may not choose to um support this transfer um out of their personal um choice and and perspective on um right sizing in general and using this transfer as a as a proxy to indicate support or lack of support.
200um member Wilson can't be with us tonight and um voted uh affirmative in regarding to the right sizing proposal and um I in lie of asking board members to change their perspective on this particular item. I think postponing to the next potential meeting uh for consideration would be um the most reasonable path forward um so we can review and then discuss adopting this potential memorandum. With that said, member Bellamy, >> thank you. Uh, so >> we're on the motion to postpone this item till to our next meeting. >> Okay. And I get it and I I I will accept it because I do think the full board need to weigh in. These costs are I mean, if you've ever packed up a school, it's a huge job and you can't leave it until summer when
201people are trying to are vacationing. A lot of the work has to be very strategic and uh we don't want to wait too long, but I think a two-eek window based on uh Mr. Gustafson's uh uh uh comments is reasonable. Thank you. >> See no other discussion. Uh Miss Sullivan, a voice vote on the motion to postpone this memorandum till our next regularly scheduled meeting for a time certain. Student Representative Madison, >> no. >> Member Bellamy, >> yes. >> Member Lessons, >> yes. >> Member Hollowman, >> yes. >> Member Higgins, >> no. >> Member Donley, >> yes. >> President Jacobs, >> yes. That motion is adopted. We go to 5 to one. That completes our action agenda tonight. Uh we have non-action items in front of us. G 1 through six. Is there a board
202member who wish to discuss those? Seeing none, we'll move on to section I. Having completed public testimony, superintendent update, Dr. Bryant, the floor is yours, >> Mr. President. I don't have a further update tonight. Thank you. >> Thank you. We'll move on to school board administration comments. We'll start with >> Can I just ask Dr. Brian a question? >> Uh certainly, Member Donley. >> Thank you. Appreciate it, Mr. President. Dr. Bryant, uh, we know that the Tunnley case says that 5 days is not sufficient time. Quote, right from it, the Supreme Court of Alaska said, "Five days is not sufficient time for appropriate preparation of opposition concerning an issue of this complexity and importance in overruling the Anchorage School Board in closing down a school back in 1980." Um so we had three days notice
203to the families for the very first time uh of Campbell STEM. Um and the actual vote was 11 days later. So why it just seems to me that just the sta well the standard actually adopted by the court was the requirement of reasonable notice and given that it was a three-day holiday weekend and there was kind of a mixed message about how to even when you had to sign up to testify. We're not I'm not clear about what the actual email that went out was, but it was only to members of the parents and and staff. So, there was no communication with the community council or the general community. Why is it that the administration believes that 11 days was reasonable notice in this particular circumstance? Member Donley, I will I would be happy to
204walk us through the timeline as I understand it. The board directed the administration to produce a school closure proposal on February 9th. The deadline given to me and my team to provide that proposal to the board was February 14th. At that time, the administration presented a school closure proposal to the board as directed on February 13th, so one day ahead of schedule. That gave a total notice period of 11 days. The end result was that 148 individuals signed up to testify and 300 written comments were submitted prior to the board ultimately approving the proposal. Only the school board can speak to why the administration was directed to close schools on that timeline. And to be clear, school closures were not in the original FY27 budget proposal that was submitted to the board by the administration.
205That concludes my comments. >> Thank you, Dr. Bryant. Uh member Hollerman, you have a question for the superintendent. Um just a further comment on this topic. I I think it's important for us to own that the board took this action. The administration made a proposal. We we voted on the motions and we imposed a deadline uh prior to the meeting for any amendments. So we were we limited ourselves in what we could do. It's an incredibly complex thing and watching people try to work out things on a napkin during a meeting is almost always uh a map to disaster. But I do think it's important that the school board own it. We we passed this. We asked for a recommendation. We got it, but nobody made us do it. we were just caught between timelines
206where we had a a limit on when we had to give something to the city and it I I I don't think there's one villain here. I don't think there are any villains here. I think we were just caught in a really bad situation and we did what we thought we we thought was best at the time. >> Member, >> thank you. Um, I guess I would like to take this opportunity, although most people have left the building, to ask the administration to review perhaps one more time um the two different bond funds that have been attached to the Campbell STEM process. I think what I heard this evening was um were a few commentaries and questions to the effect of what what did voters approve a year ago when they passed um a bond
207measure which included structural changes to Campbell STEM and separately there was a line of questioning about school bond debt reimbursement and I just I see the value even at this late hour of the administr ation clarifying for everyone present and online those two different um bodies of funds for lack of better word. Thank you through the chair to member lessons. I can talk that. So we have two different types of money. One was the state bond debt reimbursement that we received um in July August of 2022. We went to the board. We talked through all the different uh ways we could use it. That state bond reimbursement by and large went to projects many of which are still occurring. Um some of it went for um fund balance as as as I think the board
208require or not fund balance. We had to pay back the general fund with the original state bond debt reimbursement for money that Andy had used the year prior to make up for a deficit. Um so it really dropped it down to like 87.5 million from the original 90. Um and and so you know several years after that couple years after that um we did apply 2.2 2 million towards uh Campbell STEM. That money from the outset when the legislature passed it was funible um by design when in 2017 through 2021 as the legislature andor the governors um of which there was two different governors had vetoed state bond debt reimbursement. Sometimes it was 50% sometimes 100%. Um through those years, the other bureaus that had tax bases chose many different ways to make up for
209that state bond debt reimbursement. Some of them didn't do roads or other projects within the community, but instead use existing dollars to cover it. And when they realized the the uh enormity of of how you would give very specific guidance as to how it could be used, they realized they they couldn't. So from the outset, that was funible. It was known by all. Um we briefed it in um August twice. I can't recall the dates of 2022, but obviously we can put all this in board docs. Um and then we briefed it one more time I think in September. Um but we have all the all the briefings. We briefed the board. Then we have um the bond funds. So 2024 proposition was was the one that that has right now the the 9 plus
210million that's in um bond authority. We haven't sold that bond authority yet. If we had sold that bond authority, we would have three years to expense all of those funds. Um or or of course we would have to pay uh an arbitrage uh penalty fee. So we only cash once we're actually starting to get ready to do a project. So it is authority. Um Andy, me, a couple others talked with our new bond council because the MUN switched from KL that they used for decades to a different firm um on one January. We met with them today. We went through the um verbiage in bond proposition 2024 um like every other bond with the exception of April 2019 which had a lot of earthquake verbiage in it. Um there is verbiage that makes it very
211clear that u once this bond is approved by voters um you you do in fact need to use it for the completion of that product or that project. um any leftovers would first have to go to other projects on the bond and make sure that they're fully funded before it could get reallocated. There is a clause and it has been in every bond since I I think I don't know whenever I became the CFO years ago. Um and it and it says that um basically you got to do the job or the completion is found to be impractical. that was put in because things happen, earthquakes happen. Well, not tornadoes up here, fires, other things that happen that now make that project not doable. And and so it has always had a completion found to
212be impractical. When we talked through that with bond council, clearly if you were going to close a school and not repurpose it and instead um you know the board chose to give it back to the municipality since they are the property owners, then it would be impractical to continue using the bond funds for a building that is no longer in our inventory. that would authorize the board to reallocate um or or refocus that funds once the district determined that all the other projects on that proposition had the funding to be complete which will be quite some time from now. Um but at some point some future board um either the next or or once we can figure this out would be able to reallocate that authorization. But we certainly couldn't do it right now. Um
213it was a 2024 bond. It's going to be a couple years before we can we can validate and confirm that um all other projects on the bond before this were to be reortioned would we had the funding to complete. I I hope that's clear. >> That is excellent. Thank you. >> Okay. Seeing no other discussion, we'll move on to >> Mr. Chair. I'm sorry. Bam. >> Uh, I'd like to move to just adjourn. We've heard everybody all night tonight. Um, I I just think for I don't know what else is left to be said. Thank you. >> Objection. >> Well, you >> I would Yeah, I mean, >> I'll second for discussion and then is there um any discussion on the motion to adjurnn? I'm not even sure if that's debatable. Give me just a
214second. It's not debatable. Okay. Um, member Bellamy asked for a motion to adjurnn. Um, I've seconded is uh we'll conduct a voice vote. Me um, Miss Sullivan, the voice. >> We're going to have discussion. >> We uh, we don't have a discussion on a motion to adjourn. It's not debatable. Member Higgins. >> No. >> Member Bellamy. >> Yes. >> Member Lessons. >> Yes. >> Member Hollowman? >> No. >> Member Donley? >> No. >> President Jacobs? >> Yes. Motion to adjurnn fails 3 to three. Um we'll conduct board member administration comments starting on my left. Member Higgins. >> This has been a rough month. I'm going to tell you right now, and it is not getting any better. I think tonight we heard from the public that there's a serious gap in trust with this board
215and the public, and I agree. Okay, that's puts me in a real difficult spot, but I agree with it. Um, we we've rushed through some quote right sizing. I have never seen any right sizing proposals at all. uh where it starts off when the superintendent first arrives about doing it for political reasons, then it's money, then it's ease of administration, then it's because of combo right sizing classes, then it because of money. Um it's all over the place. Every possible reason to do it. We don't talk about kids. We don't talk about options. I think the best presentation tonight was talking about the administrative processing before we make a decision. I think that is so right on on what this issue is about. We got to start saying this is what our goal is. These
216are options, pros and cons, and then make a decision. We are getting decisions from the administration and being asked to vote on it. I don't have all the information being given to me by the administration, and I am more than frustrated now. I'm way past it. I have been blocked by talking to staff in the past by the superintendent. I think it's the first one ever for the school board. I have not. We do not have the oversight for it for operational audits that we used to have. That's not good for the public. I'm sorry. I'm way past my tolerance level on this issue. Um, so we are really in a crisis mode here. Do I think we're going to save money off the off the school closures? I think what you heard tonight was
217that we're going to lose 11 plus million dollars uh because if that doesn't get approved because of a lack of trust in the board, where where are we saving money? I don't know. And we gave a presentation within the administration that said with all the number of kids, a 100 kids going to switch for Eagle Academy with an expanded school, that's a million dollars that will go to the charter school that's operating here, it's going to it's not going to increase our ability to do things. When we give a b when we give a something to the administration to the to the assembly for approval, they're approving the bottom line. They do not get to move things around. We do. So what that is isn't a time frame here of a crisis that's being presented.
218I don't buy it ballot at all. I think what's going to end up happening now is that with the time frame here, how do we go from a 61 vote not to close Lake Otis Elementary to a 43 vote to close it? I think that is going to be a discussion. How did we come up with this timeline? Who participated? How was it done? I guarantee that's going to come out. It's going to be reviewed and it's not something I'm proud of. We have a majority minority the public perception and I think the public's right. I think that this has really changed things and it's a serious issue. STEM we got a high school that we're adding in a year got a middle school but we're cutting the only elementary and that elementary school is
219not something you can just create someplace else. Those schools like the STEM program came out of baggage. I was on the board at the time and it was staff that was so dedicated to the STEM program. They created it and they made it a success. You're not going to be able to just simply say here you're a STEM school. It doesn't work that way. You got staff that make this work. They're committed to it and how they do it. So that's a serious issue to me. The the process that was used this time is going to become an issue to the public. The process that we're not having oversight for audits is a serious problem. The opportunity for some savings in administration that I have begged for, it's got going to go away. I am
220more than than upset. I am so frustrated that we have a board right now that's so fractured. And how that came about is something that the board needs to be held accountable for. I am going to from my standpoint, I want it to be public. I want the public to understand what has happened and why so we don't continue this majority minority type of division and having things with an appearance of predetermination before it even comes forward. This rush system out there the board meeting before superintendent said he wanted this before he came forward. Everybody participating in that process needs to be held uh subject to a review and and I'm and I guarantee it's going to happen. So I am um so apologetic to the public that we have not we did not want
221to hear what they have to say. They raise issues that we are not even considering. We're not looking at what they're telling us and that impacts their kids. It impacts the school district and it impacts the reputation of the Anchorage School Board and that's a serious issue to me. We are we are back for a time that I have never seen I have never personally seen but I've seen it in the public but where we have a majority minority. I've never seen it before. Um so we postpone a vote tonight till we get the majority back. I am so disappointed in where we are and and how we it's been marginalized and the public's perception and the public trust has been damaged. We heard them say that tonight. I believe they mean it and I
222don't think this is something that's good for anybody. The long-term issues are there. Um I am uh say to say frustrated is an understatement, but there has to be some accountability, some review. We need to look at what took place, find out why it was and why this thing went forward in the manner that it did because I am so disappointed that we are not getting the pros and cons on right sizing. We're not talking about right sizing at all. We don't look at I haven't heard anything with child care. Well, we're going to do something in a couple years. What? When the money's dried up from the grant, we're going to ask the public to approve a bond maybe. Yeah, sure. When when we could have used this money, that's not my idea of
223of good management. U but I I don't I'm not against clo closures and I'm not in favor. I'm saying the process is one we talk about this is why we're trying to do it. what are the options, pros and cons, and reach a decision. And if we can't defend that decision with the public, maybe we're wrong. But we needed to follow some process. We haven't done it. We haven't earned the public's trust. We are just We are It It's so disappointing. I can't I won't go further than that. But I guarantee it is not going to die tonight. If you think it is, I guarantee it will not. member less. >> Uh, thank you. Um, I appreciate the passion that you feel and have always felt for kids. I appreciate the process that is at
224the forefront of member Bellamy's mind. I appreciate that people are at the forefront of member Hollowman's mind. I appreciate that partnerships are at the forefront of member Wilson's mind. I appreciate the logistics and holistic thinking that um Dr. Bryant and his team bring to the table. I I deeply appreciate member J President Jacob's navigation of complex board meetings and Robert's rules of order and commitment to good governance. Um, I deeply value uh the work that Miss Sullivan does in keeping us on task. I am grateful to our student representative for her authentic voice, sharp input, and excellent questions. I value member Donley's long experience in leadership and commitment to uh student outcomes. And um I don't see our body as divided and dysfunctional as um perhaps was just shared. We are a collection of seven
225individuals. We bring our passions, our talents, our insights, and sometimes our differences. And I think that's what makes the board as a body stronger. And I've reflected that I've just had the hardest month on my only almost 5 years of service. Member Hollowman has said it's been the hardest time in 40 years of being an educator and leader in the community. We are fighting over scraps. Systems can devolve when we allow ourselves to be consumed by the fact that we're fighting over scraps. But we have to be better than that. I was one of the board members who changed my votes from a November right sizing vote to a budget focused right sizing vote. Could I do I wish I could have waved a magic wand and kept all of our schools open? Yes. But
226I was reflecting on public input that we received through the balancing act survey. I was reflecting on reading and thinking that I did on my own over the holiday break in December. I really reflected on insights from educators suggesting that with a PTR of plus four, there are schools for whom providing basic graduation requirements might be a challenge. And we're considering putting 80 kids together in a cafeteria to give them access to a government class. That's not an education system, guys. That's the kind of input that I had at the front of my mind when our budget was released. And then at the February 3rd board meeting, we began to hear community members talk about how a $90 million deficit was going to devastate their students educational journeys. So all of those things prompted me
227to put my perspective on the the things that I believed schools should be right sized by to the wayside because I did believe I do believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And um I valued each and every one of the schools that we that this board has voted to close. I wish this was not happening, but our reality is systematic starvation by the state of Alaska. There's new research out of the Georgetown Edenomics lab uh that a community member shared with certainly me and maybe other board members showing that Alaska is dead last dead last among 50 states in investing in education since 2013. You want to talk about losing our kids have lost. And so here we are, the seven of us working together the very best I
228know that we can to do right by our children as we gut 10% of our workforce, close three schools, and stare down a $42 million deficit next year and a $30 million deficit the year after that. I don't have any more comments. Member Diamond. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Um, I just want to go over a little my voting history here. I voted against closing Lake Otis and um, Fire Lake um, on the merits. I didn't think that was the best thing for the district or the students there. um voted against revisiting the decision not to close those schools because I was very concerned with the timing of it uh what was going to happen. I voted against closing Lotus and Campbell STEM because I think they were the wrong schools to close and also
229because of the lack of reasonable notice. I I believe um this was not reasonable notice and I find it hard to believe any court will agree that it was reasonable notice. Also, um I think it screams out for a legislative fix that there ought to be something in law that sets out a minimum time for closing a school. I mean, if we can feel so strongly locally that it takes 21 days written notice to do some sort of a activity in an area that impacts a public school, it ought to at least take a a minimum amount of time to uh actually close a school. Um, I offered amendments during the budget process that could have restored most of sports without closing schools. Um, you know, an opinion I I believe was offered at our
230last meeting that closing these schools showed leadership. I disagree. I don't think leadership is 11 days of notice and closing an amazing successful school that after 5 years will only save about $150,000 a year when we're up against a $90 million deficit. Um, Campbell STEM was the wrong school to close at the wrong time. and we're going to pay a price for losing that wonderful school if something doesn't happen uh in the next couple months here to turn this decision around. Um just very very concerned about the loss to the entire district of losing that the only certified STEM school in Alaska and the impact upon that neighborhood and that community um was with so little notice. Um, on an entirely different subject, the members might remember that last year I offered a resolution to
231amend our policy uh to strengthen to promote sportsmanship in sports in our district. That was following a particular heinous event that occurred. You might remember at a basketball game a couple weeks ago, I got an email and it had a video of another basketball game where there was a equally and horrible event occurred in. And initially I thought, well, this was a year ago and then it turned out it was it was a new event apparently. Um, so I really do wish the board would reconsider, go back and take another look at the uh the strengthening of the sportsmanship uh policies that I offered a year ago that didn't move forward from the governance committee and reconsider them because I do believe that there's a problem and I think the two incidents now in the
232past year really indicate that there's a a legitimate concern that could be addressed by improving board policy uh improving it and in enhancing the the um importance of sportsmanship in our schools. Thank you. >> Member Bellamy, >> member Hullman. >> Um especially after listening to member Higgins, I'm going to say welcome to Anchorage School Board Lord of the Flies edition. Um, I I do think that when we're faced with these kind of decisions and changes, it is easy to begin to look for ulterior motives, to look for bad faith. I don't think that's actually what we have here. I think we're under duress. Um, and I won't say we're doing everything perfectly by any means, but the change in votes I think happened from a change in situation. We knew more in November than we
233did in September when we were faced with the real I'll be honest when we're facing a $90 million shortfall it's a bit of an abstraction. You can you know it's huge. you know, it won't be good, but you don't really know what it means until the administration has done their work and comes back and tells us, "This is how many teachers we're going to have in this building, and this is how many teachers we're going to have in this building, and these are programs that we think you should consider cutting in order to fit under this number." That's what drove it, and and that's what made the votes change. Um I I don't think it's just that people are switching what they want or what they think is good. The these it is a menu
234of poor choices and none of them are good for kids. We are in the case of trying to choose the least harm to the least number of students, but there's no way to distribute that evenly and it falls on some students much more harshly than others. Um, so any decision we make that cuts $90 million out of our budget, I think you can look at somebody and go, "That's crazy. You shouldn't be doing it." And there we go. I I do see some value in consolidating schools to keep student body numbers about the same. Um, we could perhaps ask for a volunteer school that would like to close and redistribute their students and see how that goes. don't think it will happen. But I I would like for us to avoid falling into the same
235trap that a lot of the general public sees because the process is incomprehensible to logical people that don't study the process closely. We're making these decisions like we know what our revenue is going to be. And all we have right now is a reasonable guess. We can't guess too high because that means we wind up having to close school in March next year. And we've never made that mistake. We've watched some other districts in the state do it almost or come to that point. ASD has always managed to be on budget. They've always made payroll in the 30 years I've known them. Um, and that's not a trivial thing by any means. have worked for a lot of people that didn't with much smaller situations and more predictable situations than we have. So, I don't
236want to throw a rock at anybody. Um, I don't want to make your job harder, although I'll admit I feel like I have and I'm sorry about that. It is uh I I think the easiest explanation. In 1994, when I was finishing my education degree, I swung by the Alaska State Teachers Fair that filled the entire ballroom, every section of the ballroom of the Captain Cook. I wasn't ready to apply for a job yet, so I was just an observer. But what I saw was thousands of people that flew themselves to Anchorage at their own expense to stand in line and be turned down for jobs over and over and over again hoping they would land one. And I realized at the time the Anchorage School District didn't even have a table there because they
237did not see the need. If you wanted to apply to Anchorage, you had to get a cab over to Dar Road and apply there because there was no point in sending a staff member over there to sit when they had thousands of people they had already vetted waiting in line to take jobs, really qualified people. So, compare that to today. If you if you want something really meaningful about the situation we're dealing with where now we have to send people out of state and if we're lucky they get to talk to a couple of dozen people that might be interested and they might sign a few. Are we keeping up with the rest of the country? Not by a long shot. And that's really the ultimate source of our misery right now is the changes
238that have driven us to this point. It's certainly not Dr. Bryant's fault. It's not the administration's fault. It's not our fault. But we do have to try to make decisions within that. And we're all going to feel differently about it during during the course of it. And at various times, each of us will make mistakes in it. But I don't think that's really the source of the issue that people are trying to be underhanded or people are trying to push a pet project or people are trying to to win one over. There's no value to anybody on this board in closing Campbell or closing Lake Otis or closing Fire Lake or any of the others. It's just at moments through the window darkly and foggily that seems like a possible solution that doesn't hurt as
239many kids as the alternatives. And that's until parents in the state and other me community members rise up forcefully enough to make it clear to the legislature that they want education kept steady and um adjusted for inflation each year. That's what we will continue to suffer at until it collapses or grows, one or the other. So, I I do understand what you're saying. We are affecting public trust. I don't think it's because we're being untrustworthy. I think we're just forced into a a time frame and shifting set of information, optimism, pessimism, outlook that's causing our decisions to be erratic and they are. Um I I don't know that we'll be in better place in two weeks. It'd be wonderful if we were. >> All right. I have the privilege of going last and so I
240want to say I appreciate much of the comments were made. Specifically, I want to note um appreciate the kind words from member lessons for all members in the dis and then member Hollowman um for acknowledging the problem and the challenges we're facing originate from outside this boardroom. Um in November when I was the only board member to support both of the closures proposed by administration, I at some point during potentially closing comments if memory serves mentioned that I understood why board members chose to vote the way they did regarding uh consolidation. um that there were very valid um reasons to pursue uh either path um but that I was ultimately comfortable with my my vote. Um as much as I hated to cast it and as much as it was one of the most difficult
241things I've had to do on this governing body um I I think I also expressed appreciation for the variety of views, perspectives and skill sets that we have in the DAS. Um tonight I just want to reiterate those um those comments. We have a um a group that provides a variety of perspectives and challenges each other when it's appropriate and I think the district has been better off for it. Um for the first time in five years um change is coming to our board and I think that um we'll have to to navigate that in the weeks and months ahead. Um, but I I won't I won't take my personal focus off the fact that the reason why um the district is having much of these fiscal challenges resides in the fact that our state
242leaders in Juno have failed to adopt a sustainable long-term fiscal plan that would fund core government services. um that public education was one of the first things to show signs of stress and um is now breaking in our state, but um divisions and departments across state government are now doing the same. And so until we look to diversify revenue and get serious in Juno about um a plan that will fund core services that government needs and citizens can depend on. Um I feel like ultimately school boards across Alaska will have to have these tough conversations, but I refuse to allow it to divide um and take the focus off of Juno. Um I think that's where it should remain. With that said, I would entertain a motion to adjurnn. Second >> made by Holman.