001e e e i' like to call this meeting of the anchor School Board to order at 607 on March fourth um ask you we have in the room have Mar member Bellamy online uh superintendent Bryant is online all other board members are physically present for the meeting and I would ask you to join me in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the of the United States for and to the Republic for like to ask member Wilson to read Our Land acknowledgement we acknowledge that we gather here today on Thea traditional lands of the denina people of the upper Cook Inlet for thousands of years the denina people have been and continue to be the stewards of this land ASD is committed to diversity and inclusion and it is with honor and respect that
002we recognize all indigenous people who live and learn in our community thank you we do want to welcome everyone here tonight to our meeting and thank you for attending and supporting the work of the Anchorage School District and this board board thanks students parents teachers staff School business partners and the entire Anchorage Community for your investment in our district with your time your talent and your tax dollars um just prior to the approval of the agenda I would like to add um our email traffic has been exceptionally heavy for some time as president of the board I'm tasked with responding to all of them um I'm about 10 days behind although I have kind of hit a reset and I've answered everyone from March 1st I'm going to keep that current going forward by I
003am going to drop back so if you're someone that has written a letter know that it may have been read it it has been read um but it may not have been responded to yet um I am giving a lot of individual responses it is very timec consuming and I will get there at some point but they are received by all the board and looked at um which is the most critical step would entertain a motion to approve the agenda moved to approve the agenda as listed second moved and seconded to approve the agenda as written um or is presented and uh without objection the agenda is adopted Board conference and committee reports anyone have anything other than written reports or anything from the administration member Jacobs I don't know if you thank you moving
004to section c goal monitoring student achievement uh grades K2 mclass dibles 8 technical report um this is where I turn over to the superintendent thank you Mr President um since I'm uh remote for this meeting I'm going to ask Mr Opitz to Take the Lead um on on Guiding the board through this conversation we have two reports um since we delayed goal monitoring at the last meeting so we'll begin with uh the first presentation that you see before you and then we'll move on to a a second conversation thank you very much please proceed great thank you so much um my name is Chris Opitz the senior director of assessment evaluation uh filling in for Dr Bryant tonight um so this first presentation uh we will briefly go over our outcome monitoring for our reading
005proficiency goal and um just as a reminder our uh overall reading proficiency goal is focused on third grade proficiency on AK star and this particular report has two interim goals 1.1 and 1.2 uh focused on early uh reading and we'll uh go to the next slide and start to take a walk through so as you can see interim goal 1.1 is uh focused on the percentage of K1 students at or above the reading benchmark on interim assessments mclass dibles 8 uh focusing it will increase from 55.8% in the spring of 23 to 80% in the spring of 28 next slide so you can see here um as of the spring of 2324 uh we were above the target and uh you'll also notice that we have fall and winter data uh for the 2425 school
006year and uh waiting of course on the spring and hopefully we can me reach that annual Target of 69.5% at the end of this year next slide so here you'll see the breakdown between kindergarten and first I am just going to share one uh extra tidbit here um there there is something that's important on a technical note um kindergart kindergarten versus first grade when we're looking at mclass um early reading distributions Nationwide there is a an expectation that there would be a large jump just statistically in terms of the design of the assessment from fall to winter and in first grade it that jump is quite minimal um and so you're going to see a fairly large discrepancy on that uh not discrepancy but difference um between K and one and there is some statistical
007methodology behind that next slide here you'll notice the breakdown on Race uh ethnicity gender and special subgroups and of course uh it shows the data from the fall to the winter and we can dig into that more deeply of course during our discussion next slide so this this is the second interim goal 1.2 so it'll be very similar to what you just saw but focused on second grade and you'll notice that our goal was to improve from 60% in the spring to 80% uh in the spring of 23 to 80% in the spring of sign you'll notice um here at the end of the 23 24 school year we were near Target here um at 60.8% and then you'll notice the fall and winter scores for this current school year in 2425 with an annual
008Target at 65.8% at the end of this year next slide please again and very similarly we have uh a breakdown from the fall to the winter for uh ethnicity race gender and special subgroups um uh what yes and that's that that's it next slide please and then to wrap up um we're going to focus on our strategic action steps and you can go uh to the next slide please and the next slide and you'll notice a very similar format where we're we have VAR strategic steps outlined in the areas of curriculum instruction professional learning data discussions and multi-tiered systems of support and so in a couple of weeks uh we'll have an opportunity to dig into this data and answer questions and have a good discussion um please send in any of those questions that
009you might have in the meantime so that completes our uh reading uh technical report and then we will now be transitioning and bringing up a team to have our math this goal discussion um yes member Don is the district measure of proficiency the same as the national testing proficiency measure so I'll answer that uh really briefly because it is a good technical question so on these interim goals these are what are called curriculum based measures these are early foundational measures this is not about standards or grade level it's not comparing to National Norms this is called a Criterion referenced assessment so like in kindergarten our first grade um and I'm just going to be hypothetical here because I don't have the specifics in front of me but for example in the winter there might be
010X number of um prompts that a student would be exposed to and they have to hit Y out of X in order to be considered at Benchmark in other words uh at low risk a projection of low risk so this this is a Criterion assessment it is not a normed assessment where we're comparing students across the nation it is evidence and research based but it is a very different type of assessment I guess I've seen in National reporting stories to the effect that the national standards could be summarized as the student reads three paragraphs and then needs to be able to respond on to questions as basic as what was the main thought in those three paragraphs is our measure of proficiency anything like that not this is a different type of assessment this is
011called a curriculum based measure it's very it's it's for early literacy screener and so we're essentially measuring those building blocks that we would at some point get to that and so when we get into like for example um um map assessments then then there's more comprehension style type questions and AK star which is a grade level assessment and so that those are some of the technical components but that's a different type of assessment this is a foundational early literacy screener it's like the building blocks prior to getting to those type of comprehensive uh comprehension questions there are some small components of comprehension and there is something called oral reading fluency um but I would be happy to get back to that um when we have more time to to jump into that discussion so to
012summarize then these numbers are not compatible with the national scoring numbers the these numbers are compatible with up to three million students who also take mclass Dibbles 8 early literacy screener they are absolutely um research valid and statistically uh valid but the purpose of it is an early literacy reading screener but not compatible to the nap npe oh yeah and in particular I no that is a very different aspirational type of assessment um that is um done with very few grade levels I think there's a fifth fourth fifth and 10 fourth eth and 10th um a very different type of assessment than the early literacy screener yes yeah thank you member Higgins yeah just U when we go into this in Greater detail I hope we cover the different types of of of ways to
013measure it because I know they've changed over time and that makes a difference from my perspective and how we're comparing it so it's getting you know I I don't think we're picking the one that gives us the best results okay but it does come across that you you're comparing apples and oranges uh in regards to goals and outcomes and so if we can have that type of discussion in the future too and talk about whether options or I think that would be real beneficial thank you thank you member wison yeah I wanted to take this opportunity um we will talk in two more weeks just as a reminder to the board and people in the room the mclass at screener is what we have adopted that we're now in our third year we tried it
014out the first time in Spring of whatever two and a half years ago was um to be in compliance with the Alaska reads act and so I think what may also be of interest I presume that the state of Alaska also has fall and winter data and I'm sure that we could uh explore the deed website and understand how um students around Alaska are um demonstrating competency in different areas and skills uh in in these early grade levels um I just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page thanks please proceed great um so if if everybody's good with the technical components we're ready to go into the math discussion at this point um and so prior and really this is a board discussion which I'll hand off uh to to all of
015you in just a moment to ask your questions but I I think just um thinking about the nature of our last conversation I think it might be helpful just to make sure to do a quick um uh touch in if you will on the type of assessment that this is so this is called map growth by nwaa and so this is what we call a norm reference refenced assessment and so the purpose of this assessment is to compare students across the nation that also take this assessment and so scores when they are reported out are in what we call um percentiles and so if you're my age um you may have remembered receiving a uh California achievement test score in the mail and your parents looked at it and said yeah you're at this percentile
016so this particular assessment provides percentiles for achievement and so it Compares how you're doing to the approximately 3 million students that also take this assessment it it does not tell you if you are at grade level standards it it right so that's not the purpose of this it tells you how do you compare to other like students around the nation that take it and so it's really are we competitive with with what's happening in the nation and then so just to kind of um one last technical point is the reason we look at the 40th percentile we ask what percentage of our kids are above the 40 40th why do we use that because 40th is low average so the 40 to 60th percentile is the average range and so that's why we start by
017looking at the 40th and so and on a norm curve you would expect about 60% of students to be above the 40th because it is a normed assessment that's just the statistics and methodology behind it you would never expect 90% of students to be above the 40th for example and so just that technical component and then I'd like to give it back to the board and we're happy to answer any questions that you might have member lessons uh thanks um I did submit a number of questions maybe we won't go into all of them but we were talking about screeners and I sort of begin my time reflecting on this what's not here which is data that we may or may not have about this year's K1 and two students who are technically the students
018that we will be or orienting towards a certain level of achievement in Spring of 2028 right they're here they're with us what do we I mean do we have something that is like an mclass screener for reading for Math and my thought as the parent of somebody who's gone through diagnostic testing is that is that I ready is that something else and what do we know sort of broadly speaking about this year's K1 and two students with respect to math so the great question I appreciate that I'm going to start us off just on the technical side and then I'm going to had hand it to a colleague to go into more of the math um uh data so um you're right in fact your your uh inference there was actually correct so we do
019use I ready as sort of a um a benchmark and it is a diagnostic that happens fall winter and spring of every year um we do still have uh what we call fastbridge if you remember if you were around we used to use that as a reading screener but we maintain a small contract in fastbridge on the math side so if a student um uh through I ready and classroom observations and uh is struggling in receiving interventions then staff can also use uh fast bridge to progress monitor to say you know is what we're doing U making a a positive difference in student growth so so you're right that's kind of the the the the main sort of way that we handle it um number one we didn't you know taking on another assessment system
020to our staff there's a lot of complexity to that not just a professional learning but also cost and so forth and then I'll hand it off to miss bar hi there Amanda bar the math curriculum coordinator um I uh for our district when we when the students take the fall winter and spring Diagnostics in I ready that is um as Mr obit referred to a Criterion reference assessment so it does give us that data that you're looking at in terms of relative to grade level proficiency um so in terms of a screener we have that data for um grades cas through 8 um that is what our students take so we um look at all grade levels um for for the schools that use I ready yes member Jacobs yeah thank you um I'm gonna
021ask a question that I didn't send in advance and so um you always have the option of saying we'll take a look so thank you for for humoring it um looking at the year-over-year growth data um for specific sub groups uh it struck me that um economically disadvantaged students did see um a significant increase but not as much as non-economically disadvantaged students and I'm curious what folks who are looking at the data every day what that tells us and then how we can um provide the same level of catch-up growth to all students um I think I think you had the nail on the head we're talking about looking at the people that are looking at the data on a daily basis and so that is our first level of supporting teachers principes all of
022the school-based building based staff and looking at that data um we've got a lot of initiatives happening for um interventions for students particularly looking at students who are performing below grade level and what uh what we're doing to catch them up we've got intensified plans um that are in in in effect we've also got um professional learning communities that are looking at specific database questions um and we've also got some really specific targeted support um for a few of our middle schools and some of our elementary schools looking at again diving specifically into those data where are the students that are um kind of on that bubble in terms of proficiency and what can we do how can we help track that progress more often than just our interim benchmarks any other questions think none
023coming from the board or on one okay oh sorry member Lon um well I appreciate member Jacob's um sort of naming the elephant in the room which is that we have a large contingent of economically disadvantaged students in ASD and when when I looked at it right you can see the gaps growing um over time um it's it's incremental it's there and it's it's profound so um I think I've spoken about my hope that we can do more to Target students who need catchup growth and I appreciate that that conversation um the other one of the other gaps that I noticed is a gender gap and I wonder if you could talk about that um it sort of presents reasonably early with our our younger students sort of our male students are outperforming our female
024students maybe it closes a little bit as they get older um that might be the inverse in some of our uh reading uh data I don't know what are your Reflections um what can we do to um support Emil students um in early math skills in ways that maybe we're not doing enough of as a community quite frankly right because students come into our schools um I think a lot of the same um responses in terms of the data that the classroom teachers are specifically looking at who uh how is our instruction reading reaching our students how are our students performing um they're teaming together to look at data um and having really robust conversations about moving the needle forward for specific groups of students as well as individual students I think you'll see over
025the years that there's always been a slight gender gap for many years between um female students and male students in the area of mathematics and it's something we're looking further at to try to understand um with our students longitudinally if that changes over time if there is a difference as our students um go through this curriculum I mean I haven't looked at math outcome data but I know that uh at the graduation rate right our female students are graduating at a higher rate than our male students so there's um it seems like kids need supports in different ways at different times and whatever those supports are I would really love for us to have them at our disposal so that we can um so offer what our students need uh to to get across the
026Finish Line um at the end of the day I did have another question um and I think I was I was looking at slide seven but maybe this is a broad enough question um I was I was noticing that this year's cohort of third through fifth graders are showing kind of lower fall and lower winter math MAP scores than in the past couple of years what do we know about students missing skills and competencies you know are they more acute this year than they have been in the past um that's something we um are targeting to look into um what those specific skill what those specific standard level skills are particularly in alignment as we are implementing our high school curriculum like what is that trajectory um that we can be supporting students across that
027progression in the Continuum um in terms of specific skills we don't have a breakdown for that at yet but we that is something that as those instruction as the the instructional leaders in the classrooms and the buildings are looking at their data that we hope to be a next step to dive into um maybe this is an extension sort of thinking about the implementation um I think I had a question about this but I'll just sort of speak to it um so if you are a teacher in grade three four or five and big chunk of your class is one or two years behind where they need to be um and maybe some of your students are flying high and doing where they you know they're at grade level or Beyond how are our teachers
028given space to adapt to those very different needs so I can talk to what we have in place right now so we have um intensified plans for classrooms that have more than 60% of their students that are falling below level uh that have um basically their daily lesson plans have space and time to remediate and then there's time in there for those kids that are within that to accelerate and then they also have the my path which is a digital we've also um at the elementary level gone through the curriculum and looked at the way that we have paced the curriculum and there's certain parts of each lesson that you can look at how the students are performing um so if the the question basically is a formative assessment to say okay these kids understand
029this concept I just taught these other kids don't and then we have it set up almost as a center type activity so for these kids that do understand this concept I just taught I'm going to do this with them and for these kids that are struggling I'm going to do this activity with them and for these kids that maybe a little bit need just a little bit I can do with this this with them and we have all of those guidance documents in um for our teachers what we struggle with as we do with reading is time to show and teach our teachers how to find and use those documents um in a sustainable way and so many of our schools during their plc uh those that are focusing on mathematics are using those documents
030as with their formative assessments to help adjust instruction as they are going along and I think Mr Prince wanted to thank you uh members of the board I just wanted to also bring to your attention that when we talk about the difficult decision that we're we're coming to right now on on clarifying our budget and deciding some very hard issues what's going to affect um the smaller students the younger students we talk about this grade proficiency is that we're going to if we have a combination class where we have kindergarteners and first graders in the same class because of budgetary restrictions or choices that we have to make what we're actually going to see is we're going to see a teacher trying to teach half of their kids that are kindergarten kids and half of
031the kids that are first grade a curriculum where half of their students know double digit addition and subtraction and the younger students the kindergarten students are going to be learning how to identify the number 10 and we're going to be tasking that combination teacher one teacher to do this with their combination K1 classroom at the same time and we need to really think about the budget choices that we make and what things we're willing to live without because the needs of the many are going to definitely outweigh the needs of the few in this regard when we look at this data because systemically we're going to put our teachers and our students in a situation that is very untenable member Higgins yeah that's it's an interesting point it's been annoying me a little bit so
032I'm going to jump into it on this one we've got a lot of kids that are in first grade who are ready for second grade we've got a lot of kids in third thir grade who's reading at fifth or they need the first grade so we have differentiated issues out there I'm going to different schools and I'll tell you I've going to uh three or four different schools where they really focus on that they want to make sure that the education is appropriate based upon where that child is at so yeah it puts pressure on the teacher when you've got kids that are ready for a higher level in first grade and they're ready for second grade do they hold them back and say oh we're just going to focus on first grade cuz it's
033easy I have a real problem with that I'm looking right now at the growth of the of the thing the kids who are further ahead are the least growth of our schools okay that's what that's nationally we see that the top 20 is 80% of his year and blah blah blah and they they're doing wor in the bottom is what we've had presentations in the past so I'm a little bit concerned with somehow or another we want everybody being taught at first grade level second grade level third grade level when they're ready for something higher I listen to um ABC on Lake Otis of um Eagle Academy stream Highland um anccs all of them will focus on that appropriateness of the education to sure that they are advancing so whether we have second and third
034grade together we still have that same problem if we're going to address it don't we we have kids in second grade ready for third grade and we've got kids in second grade ready for fourth I had a grandchild in second grade who was stuck with the fifth grade math class uh up there but how I I'm just a little concerned that we have a cookie cutter type of approach and we have other schools that are getting much better results I looked at the the growth that some analysis done and it was pretty impressive with some of the the charter schools where they're they're may be academically behind but their different their growth in third grade was so much better and because they're really focused on that so I'm I'm just a little bit concerned in
035how you are respond to this or are we focus on a cookie cutter approach to it so that the first grade teacher didn't have to worry about kids who were ready for second grade or above or or we focus on that differentiation so that all kids are academically growing a full year every year so we're focused on differentiation but making sure that our kids have the standards for each grade level so as I said if a kid understands the concept we have the ability for that teacher to continue on and to give them more advanced concepts if we have a student that understands all of second grade material those students are rare and we can deal with those students but we also have a lot of students that need supports we have the mcast which
036is part of I ready all of those abilities are built in it's not a cookie cutter program there is lots of differentiated for students who are both above and below but now we're talking different iation I think Mr Prince was talking about the ability to differentiate not just between a little bit going up one grade but now we've got those kids that are in second grade that are ready for third grade materials and those kids that are in first grade still needing kindergarten and so it's a teacher now having to differentiate for four possible levels which can be done when you have a specialized program say like monor or in a program that has some other unique opportunities like our char schools within our regular schools with kids that are moving and have a high
037degree of Mobility there are other concerns that we need to watch out for as well when we have students that are moving between three four five schools within a year that they still get their grade level standards I look forward to having a when we quit talking about whether we get money or whether we open open scho SCH we get focused on academics I'm interested in that cuz I saw the Congressional study that said kids in and and Head Start come out way ahead attending in PR school and that and and by fourth grade they're at the same level because we're not uh able to adjust for that and yet they've got programs out there like Achieve 3000 that adjust things so easily if we just modify what we're doing so I'm hoping we get
038into that type of discussion and so it won't be such a focus on the fact that it's it's you know uh kids that are ahead or kids that are behind make it up with a 15 45 minute period uh with wind versus dealing with the whole day that's that to me is a real serious concern and I know um like I said some schools are doing much better than others but they're outside of our regular schools some some of them some of them are doing it within our regular schools too but I just I hope that we get into a serious discussion with that and be able to focus on that when we get off the sidetracks of money schools and everything else the weather or whatever else is happening thank you um may I
039may I just just from a data perspective um I just so that we have S sort of grounding in some of the facts um when we're looking at our map assessment data what I can tell you is that students who are in the top two quintiles are staying generally speaking in the top two quintiles and what I mean by that is 60th percentile and above um I can't of course there's outliers in different schools and that sort of thing but generally speaking our students who are performing above average or staying above average according to the data member won um I wanted to Pivot to some of our older students and I think the question that I threw your way was referring to slide 13 sort of again the implementation stages and under curriculum it says
040oh pilot District adopted curriculum for Algebra 1 geometry Algebra 2 that to me is definitely a later um implementation um and I was hoping I could use this opportunity for more clarification on what exactly has happened with math in grades six seven and eth this year I know that there was like a zoom back in October and November um I'm just struggling to really wrap my mind around exactly what's happened and I wanted to take this opportunity to just have a little Clarity on the state of middle school math so to clarify you're talking about the progression of grade six seven and eight yeah where is prealgebra and you know what has happened so what what we uh I'm assuming all of us uh in this room experienced is algebra 1 um is largely what
041is now eth grade math so when we talk about Algebra 1 now we're actually talking about a different Algebra 1 than what we did things like graphing equations solving systems of linear equations those are all bit the part of the standards in math e so the the purpose of the prior pre-algebra course was to PR prepare kids for an algebra 1 that really is currently math 8 right now our Algebra 1 content our geometry our Algebra 2 all of that content is also changed but it's easiest to focus on where Algebra 1 is um so when you're talking about that pre-algebra course when you look at the alignment um it was really a lot some skills that have actually been pushed down to like fourth and fifth grade and are largely in our sixth and
042seventh grade standards aligned curriculum so when we're trying what what we've done with the progression for Middle School currently is to try to figure out how to replace that pre-algebra way to get accelerated without um losing any of the standards that build up to Algebra 1 so our our current Algebra 1 course is a different course than than we've experienced so we need to prepare for it differently so the way that we've done that was the first um pass through was to combine grades six seven and eight instead of three years to look at a 2-year compression model so students do math 6 and part of math s in the sixth grade year finish out the math s and the rest of math 8 in their seventh grade year and then they could take Algebra
0431 in 8th grade the new Algebra 1 if you will um additionally we wanted to keep that track where we have some students that take Algebra 1 in 7eventh grade so we've um we're working currently on creating a version of um an accelerated course for seventh graders that would combine math 8 with algebra 1 um and so that would be implemented next year so that we could have seventh graders that would then be eligible to take geometry in eighth grade so it's really redesigning the things to align to provide those same opportunities but we've got more content to be able to provide those opportunities for students so we've had to make significant adjustments thank you I feel like this requires a lot of arrows in my mind um but I think I'm going to restate
044what I think and you can say yes or no um so because we have a new eth grade algebra one curriculum we have a new Algebra 1 yes eth grade and Algebra 1 are different we have a new Algebra 1 which I think is actually being sort of suggested as a ninth grade class yeah typically typical grader would take algebra one and the intention of the district is to really fortify the skills needed starting in grades 4 and five or building up to that competency all of the K8 standards that are really to start at the beginning yeah they're all sequentially designed to build towards algebra one but so but something was rolled out this a new math six Math seven and math 8 were rolled out this year but maybe there's some ongoing work
045to allow for Algebra 1 as many people know and understand it in seventh grade geometry in eth grade and moving on yes to accommodate what we've historically provided as acceleration we had to make some adjustments to the way that we do that okay so that's what that's what has changed at Middle School we've had to we couldn't do just a one course solution which was offered in the past because there are more standards in sixth seventh and eighth grade now than there used to be um that's really helpful uh as a board member and I mean we got a lot of questions in the fall and um if there is a nice chart with a bunch of arrows that I can stare at for a little bit longer at some point that'll be wonderful um
046I had maybe one other question that's okay okay um I'll ask one more and then get on with it um when I kind of put everything together well I was looking at four slides four and eight specifically my takeaway and we've talked about this before is that we seem you know overall the longer a student has been in ASD it seems like the better they do is I mean we have more and more students testing as at or above Benchmark kind of in every grade I mean I wanted to sort of have a positive reflection and am I am I right on that I mean through a lot of hard work yeah I mean I think when we look at this particular data set I I would just remind you that it's a moment in
047time so it's different groups of kids but as we look at the grades that are higher up there the proficiency level uh is a bit higher as we go up the grades member Higgins my my only reservation on the 678 and I know we're going to I'm going to look at an analys is at the end of the year how sixth graders did middle school but one of the things I hear within the Middle School concerns is having sixth graders in there with six seventh eighth graders and not quite ready for that uh type of energy they have let's put it that way uh and and that mix between the two is one of the reasons why the national studies say don't do it because of the you know um the bottom through it has
048a problem so that's my only reservation about that like the idea of of factoring in some way to improve it but I am concerned a little bit about the impact for those that bottom thir I'm just just a touch base on that and I I don't know if this is um as the sixth grade I think that that I just want to pull your attention to that sixth grade line um what one of the things that uh was very positive was the percentage of students above the 40th in the fall compared to the winter um our sixth graders actually experienced the greatest bump um of almost 5% over that period of time than any of the other grades so I just wanted to point out that celebration I wanted to check M bamy I thought
049your hand was up briefly or briefly do you have a question thank you Mr chair um I did I do have have some questions I sent them in but and I don't recall them exactly because I don't have them here uh in the hospital with me but um I did want to um I think we did address the fiscal our fiscal situation and what the impact would have on these interim goals uh so if we and and I know that uh Mr Prince did share some thoughts regarding curriculum um but I'm still I I still think that has to be top of mind for us so if we could get a if I could just get someone to address that and then the other question I'll just ask them both had to do with struggling
050Learners uh those students who are struggling and the interventions that we um that we provide for them I I think uh if someone can review that I don't have the exact question but I know um I hope you have them in front of you so you can kind of speak to to those two situations our fiscal situation and then how how are we identifying and supporting um our our struggling Learners thank you um as to the interventions um our um first recommendations and probably the most prevalently used one is our um personalized instruction the my path um which is as as the name suggests a personalized uh pathway for students based on their diagnostic performance um it actually um is a little mini mini tutorial for students um and gives students opportunities to demonstrate Proficiency
051in whatever level skill they need um not just grade level skills so either um for intervention it also can be used for acceleration purposes so that's our um first level of support for intervention we also have uh funds right now uh for after school tutoring through our Title One Department uh for struggling uh students within mathematics uh it is I will say uh challenging to find staff members that um have the capacity to add that on to their day uh we are also again the intensified plans for our struggling students and the opportunities working with teachers to modify within their curriculum on when and how they can help students that are struggling in mathematics we are working with our elementary division instructional division uh in their summer learning plans because we know many of our
052students who are struggling in Reading are also struggling in mathematics and so we're adding opportunities for math um within our reading intervention this summer for our summer learning for our kindergarten and first graders hopefully to build up some of those foundational skills and or at least keep them going so that when they enter their next grade level first or second grade next year they'll be uh prepared and then my department is also working with our preschool um Department to see how we can continue to align our reading and math um within the preschool so what can can we add or work within our preschool curriculum to get some of those basic numeracy concepts more solidified then member B me I just want to clarify the the first question that you had asked I just want
053to make sure I understand it can you please restate that for us I'll try because I'm doing it from memory and and and I don't remember as well as I used to but the question has to do with our current um fiscal situation while we are hopeful I did want to know the impact to these specific interim goals uh what does it mean what what happens with our uh staff development what happens with curriculum what happens what impacts do we see to this particular goal uh as we um deal with our fiscal situation I guess that's best I can do I hope that's not too muddy well try to clean that up that muddy water for us as best we can I by understanding your corre your question you're asking what actual impacts if we
054have to go with the budget that we have proposed to the school board to approve what is it going to look like structurally absolutely we're going to end up with combination classes we're going to end up with teachers that um on any given day can achieve the difficult and Only The Impossible by appointment we're going to have situations where we have one teacher with very large classrooms trying to differentiate curriculum between two different grade levels because we have a combination class and we're going to see the effects of that when you think about having one person try to take half of their class and give them one curriculum and then at the same time turn and keep the attention of the other students engaged with a completely separate curriculum and this is not I think
055what member Higgins was referring to like I've seen models like monor and some of the other specialized programs even myself as a teacher taught in the humanities interdisciplinary program which was Socratic seminar for 10th 11th and 12th graders but my largest concern I think the concern of all of us here today is that when we talk about the impact for our young ones uh they don't have those skills right they're not a 10th grader 11th grader a 12th grader that know how to read They're not going to be given a theme that is going to rotate through those grade spans we're trying to teach those kids that know how to do double digit addition and subtraction at the same time teaching kids to recognize numbers and that's one person doing both of those heavy lifts
056at the same time yeah so we have difficult choices to make we've proposed a budget for what it is and we leave to you to make that choice but we in Full full awareness we wanted you to know like it's going to be a dire situation if we're not willing to make some difficult decisions today yeah thank you I I I I appreciate that and I just want to remind uh everyone that we are still uh advocating with our legislators and with the governor so let your voices be heard uh so that we can hopefully um eliminate or avoid a lot of what was just explained so thank you Dr Johnson stord did you have a comment yeah I just wanted to chime in a little bit on the financial impacts um regarding just math
057instruction in general um Sean touched on a number of points that we will probably see It'll be different at every level probably the effects that we see um but when you have a plus4 PTR in the improved budget that we have at hand right now um we are going to see combo classes in some cases we will see large class sizes what is going to be particularly difficult I think at the elementary level is when we look at wi time our intervention time for students when we are reducing um support Personnel in terms of like halftime Librarians and other um support positions that are currently in the approved budget um those intervention times become more and more difficult to differentiate for students because there are just simply as less staff available to address needs for
058kids KS and so what you'll see is um a lot of challenges in in providing those interventions really effectively and really acutely I I know remember lessons you had mentioned like let's really dive down into um what the Crux of the issue is differentiate that support for different schools when we have less staff because of our financial constraints um all of those things are are challenges for us as we we look to um really help students who are coming to us with a lot of needs not just in math but but in other areas as well so I just wanted to chime in globally around that the the other challenge I will switch over to more of a secondary lens when we're looking at Financial impacts um to particularly math instruction in this case um
059the large class sizes will impact the secondary level as well um the other thing that you will see at the secondary level because there are less staff available to provide different courses for students um in the schedule is a number of those intervention courses that are in the schedule now may not be able to be offered because there's just not quite enough students to fill that classroom and so what we will be asking teachers to do is more with less essentially um and so I just wanted to give more of a global picture around those financial impacts for teachers with the current um budget at hand thank you member lessons thanks this the follow follow up to Dr Johnson's comment thank you um when you are talking about the secondary intervention classes is is that
060like the there's like foundations of algebra there's a whole bunch of classes that look like they're building up to algebra and we know the algebra is a graduation requirement so is that what you're talking about so that's some of it um there are other Support classes that may might pair up with another math class as well um and so students May attend like traditional algebra class but then get supports in another class period um those types of options may not be available in the future because we really have to condense our our schedule um was that the ampton algebra ampon algebra geometry in construction so those yes so that that is one version um and and that's really more of a Hands-On version of math so um particularly geometry and construction it's a it's a
061dual uh scheduled class if you will so you have two teachers teaching um both the construction part but then also another teacher teaching the geometry part and it's it's basically Applied Mathematics and so classes like that are are truly in Jeopardy right now um and for a lot of students who have a different learning style um that's how they're successful in in a math curriculum at the secondary level is a different approach to how you learn the math and um and so those are the things that we will start to see go by the wayside and and to member Higgins Point earlier here um when we have constraints in budget and limitations in Staffing then we do actually get more of a cookie cutter approach because it applies to more students rather than being able
062to differentiate um amongst the many different learning styles that kids come with so that is the challenge at hand right now really with our financial constraints and our ability to be nimble with with the student needs that are present any other questions or comments are you complete okay with that uh we will move ahead thank you very much for your time report that brings us to section d the public comment period uh I would like to ask for a sense of the board in this case uh we've done public comment in a couple of different ways over the past few months we do have roughly about 70 people that wish to testify five of them are on non-agenda items uh a number of them are students on an agenda item uh parents with students on
063agenda items and then other people um I would like to go ahead and take all of these in that order at the beginning rather than waiting until we are in the midst of our agenda items to restart public testimony uh part way just to go ahead and and give everyone a chance to speak and also not to keep our students here too late is there any objection from the board and proceeding that way just one comment we've done this several times where we had to do a motion get a second and approval I do like the idea of changing the the meeting in on going that we to the extent that we can U all through the the the public before we start I I like that so uh no objections at all seeing no
064objections we will move to public comment we'd like to say that now is the time that we hear from the public we welcome your comments and they are very important to us the board has set aside an hour but I think we'll be going over that tonight at the beginning of its meeting for those who have signed up to give public comment um please note the following tonight we are limiting all public comments to two minutes so that we can get through everyone there is a timer that you can see when you're seeded at the dis that has a countdown clock and when you have 30 seconds left Miss Sullivan will make a small ringing noise uh speaking time may not be shared with others uh when your name is called please come to the
065podium please state your name for the record and direct your comments to the chair uh please understand this is not a time for dialogue uh we don't get into a question and answer the purpose of this agenda item is for you the public to inform us the school board about your views if you do have handouts that you wish to share please hand them to Miss Sullivan again to my left she will distribute them for you um and finally we do have detailed boardroom decorum guidelines and expectations at the door uh if you have any questions about any of the rules um with that said we'll start with uh folks that are on that wish to be heard on non-action items tonight um and what I will do is call two names uh hopefully you
066can come forward as someone we I'll call another name I'm just trying to cut down on the time we spend waiting for people to walk from their chairs to the to the front desk we start with Sandra Lee and William [Music] Baxter and if you'll state your name for the you have two minutes I'm William Baxter and I volunteer for FFA and 4 and they're all Agri cultural uh for kids and that and uh I just uh you know uh I know a lot of I've talked to a lot of people in Anchorage that's been in 4 in FFA and they've been on big farms and uh I got you know Dale Carter throws out a challenge he says throw out challenge I think we should be have more farms in Anchorage than the valley
067and I think we we got a great potential for farming in Alaska and uh and I think this is where it starts is with the kids and uh education and uh there's uh there is FFA in uh uh East High School is the only one I know of and there's been uh schools that have had FFA chapters here and Anchorage and I think it'd be a good idea to do FFA and also 4 and I have four I got a 4 uh organization in my church and I think 4 would be great in churches too and uh and there's uh there's uh like out in Valley there's there's a junior high and High School uh Rodeo program for kids and for the kids that have horses and stuff like that and that's about all I
068have to say thank you thank you very much uh again Sandra Lee and then we have Sarah Smith and if Sandra Lee is not in the audience Irene bow oh I'm sorry and uh Irene bow would be online uh if you can hit star six to unmute you have two minutes aren B we can't hear you yet we do show you was connected it do still show you is muted so star six to unmute we we still show you as muted if you're able to hit star six and um we will Circle back around in just a few minutes to uh check and see if there's a technical difficulty again for people on non-action items Sandra Lee Sarah Smith Irene bow Naomi wisman who is also online with Irene bow and they appear to still
069be muted um next we have a number of students that wish to testify we like for them to be able to testify kind of early and go home and do homework um okay um Miss B can are you able to speak now we do show you unmuted but we cannot hear you he and it looks like you're muted again y okay okay uh we will start with our students uh the first two are shalam bner or Bonner I apologize if I didn't get that right uh followed by Mary Carol an junti and if you will say your name for the record and then you have two minutes my name is shayon Bonner and I'm currently here I'm currently an eighth grader at anchor stream Academy I've been going here for three years and I'm here
070to request that anchor stream Academy be able to move into thean Valley Elementary School building few points that I'm here to make include that we don't have a proper or the most safe place to go outside for games breaks and early Sports cross country running and skiing when we do our running we have have to go in the same small area not offering much trrain or space we are constantly having to run on sidewalks or in the roads of neighborhoods just to get a decent running distance which hurts our joints afterwards another sports related problem we face is that in order to go skiing we have to have a crazy hustle and use lots of parent drivers just to get over to a place to ski that will not damage our skis if we were
071to have naac Valley as our school we would be able to walk almost straight into Russian Jack Springs parkour activities we' also be able to open up more after school activities like biking on Trails golfing or even baseball within nearby fields one of the biggest problems of playing outside at Wayland is that we are constantly kicking balls or throwing frisbees accidentally into mold Road in our later PE classes of the day we also have to cut them off at least 10 to 15 minutes short due to cars coming to wait for the students early Fe to get a new building we would have a field and a playground for recesses and outside breaks something that I know makes most of the students at stream feel good about themselves so we can go on great adventures
072and field trips like going over to chy Lake for ice skiving our current building is about a 1.4 M walk one to get there only gives us about an hour and a half to skate if you were to get to Nuna it would cut down on the Distance by a mile as it turns from 1.4 miles to 0.4 another issue is that we will is that we will also have to be able to have more kids join this program or that's not an issue a related problem that we also face is that we struggle with constantly having to deal with having too many students in one very small room in which sometimes there isn't even enough space to get here and see the summary of everything that I've talked about here is that sports are
073confined need a place for safer recesses walking field trips will be easier that classrooms are very small thank you for listening thank you very much um next we have Conrad sping we we are very likely to have people want to make a lot of Applause tonight but it does actually slow things down and we do have over two hours of testimony to to try to get through so I am going to ask people please hold your your um Applause that makes noise um if people do this that that sort of gets it across but it doesn't slow us at all uh Miss anuny if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Molly anti junti I'm 14 years old I join angri stream Academy Midway through my sixth grade
074year I remember taking a tour of my school nervous that I was going to be the weird kid and that teachers were going to judge me based off my past but instead of mean looks I was welcomed with open arms and amazing opportunities as a former student at nunaka elementary and as a current student at new stream Academy I know how much this means even though I will not be attending stream Academy next year I know how much this means to the younger grades my teachers and the East Side Community it would mean everything to have the opportunity to be able to have a cafeteria a library room for sports one of the projects I've done this year is called Legacy every eighth grader has done it you paint your legacy on stream at stream
075on a fish with room and walls like nunaka every fish would get its own spot your legacy put up on walls there's over 300 kids Middle School experiences I can show you countless projects we've done over the years but no uh but nothing would compared to hanging up the first fish on our school walls stream is a stream is the school that makes the most sense at Nuna stream alone has made a huge impact on who I will uh who I am today and who I will be in the future our school needs this building thank you for your time and consideration have a good rest of your night that's all thank you very much and Conrad spoing if you will state your name for the record and if Stevie Bonner will come forward go
076ahead hi my name is Conrad and we want a bigger school and a bigger playground and hery calls a room without room and we need to get German need more stuff so they they can move and they want to move because some but one person really wants to take that school and if we speak German we get spice my STS thanks thank you very much for your testimony we do have Miss bow and Miss msman connected again uh Miss B if you'll try to speak okay I think it works this time we can hear you yes awesome thank you so I was calling in to talk tonight about our immer programs and our supports for gifted children um I think that our immersion programs are very important it particularly our programs for languages that are
077very commonly spoken throughout the world Spanish Mandarin languages like that I think are especially important to prepare our children for life in the workforce and possibly in sectors where they'll need to be able to speak some of those languages and then my main topic is about our gifted students um I heard you speak a little bit about our gifted students in this meeting today and um you kind of said that students that are ahead have they have flexibility to be able to work ahead but what I found in my experience with my own daughter that's not true I have I was told in when she entered kindergarten already being able to read chapter books and already being able to add and subtract with double digits that you know there were some things that her teacher
078could do to keep her moving ahead and instead she's now in second grade and she's adding and subtracting double digits and reading at the same level as she was when she entered kindergarten and her class has now caught up with her um she hasn't been moving ahead and she hasn't I don't feel that she's really been G being given the support to move ahead um when I've spoken to her teachers throughout the years I've been told she's a great classroom helper um you know it's also helpful for her that she's helping other students who don't understand the subjects yet and her ability to continue moving forward academically doesn't seem to be your Tong has expired thank you and if Miss wisman is there she has two minutes um Naomi unfortunately will not be able to
079speak until after 8 o'cl sometime between 8 and 8:30 thank you thank you very much moving back um Allison Galt if you can come forward and Mr Bonner if you will state your name for the record you have two minutes thank you all right thank you my name is Stevie Bonner and I am a former student at stream Academy I believe that stream could expand its student base as well as develop more outdoor sports teams for students who do not want to travel to other schools I myself was a student that had to travel to begich middle school for cross country and baseball until stream was able to make their own cross country team I was often times late having to trans support myself from stream to bage for these practices when I was a
080student that went to the program I also I also wished that we had more spaces to be active outside the current field space that stream has has lots of hills so it's hard to do anything like Ultimate Frisbee or soccer and the parking lot often times gets closed early for parent pickups making students PE classes have to end early as a student we also L lost many sports balls and R bees to moldun road with the parking lot being right next to it it'll be a good move for stream to embody the school's philosophy as well for easy access to more public trails and more quality outdoor spaces the money that stream currently spends on rent could be instead spent on better equipment for the sports teams and for the students classes to benefit their
081education in summary stream needs this move to expand its program and teaching improve student life and safety and safe unnecessary spending thank you thank you very much and if Julian gabal can come forward Alison gabal you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Alison I in the fourth grade I feel we need to move to lak hood because we have to pay 20% of our budget on rent at lak Hood we would not have to pay rent and therefore we'd have more money to spend on our student staff and other educational needs moving to lak hood would also give us more space we we have we would have classrooms and classrooms that are bigger right now our music teacher has a room through with all the instruments and
082students it's a little squished also my classroom is in tight space we have around 26 kids in run room and there's barely enough space for us to move around all the desks in addition three of our parent professionals share one intervention room so that means three groups of kids are in one room at the same time we also have the same thing with the special education department teachers they you share one room that means four grps are doing interventioning groups in one small classroom also our German pair professionals don't even have a classroom they do their interventions in the hallways which is not very effective we need a different playground because ours is too small for how many kids are outside in addition our school has a public walking trail so that means strangers can
083walk by your school at any time furthermore at R we share a gym with the lunch room so sometimes we see food on the ground even though our janitor cleans the ground thoroughly it would be nice to have a separate cafeteria that would also mean our gym future would have her own space to be able to put up gym equipment like a volleyball net to not have to take them down before lunch in addition we need a bigger library because ours is so tiny I love to read at rela but we don't have many options to choose from especially because our books are very limited finally with a new school welding we could expand the program and help more children learn German thank you for listening thank you very much and if uh P res
084all and come forward and Mr gabal if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Julian and I'm in seventh grade I want you to know that rosula has given me many opportunities first of all I have been able to learn German which is will help me in my future because it Brens my job opportunities also ruk is the only School recognized by the German government in the United States therefore if we pass a language test in eth grade we can go to college for free in Germany furthermore R offers students travel opportunities to teach them about the world in different cultures like visiting Washington DC to learn about the US capital of traveling to Germany in addition going to Roa gives students and Unity to excel in
085school the class sizes are smaller than most public schools and because you are with the same students from kindergarten to 8ighth grade you make many friends this is especially important as a middle school student however although Roa has so much to offer our program will not have the same opportunities for students if we have to continue to pay 20% of a yearly Pro on rent with a new school building we could save money and use the money to hire more staff therefore contining to provide students with excellent opportunities BR has excelled and math language arts and surpass the ASD Benchmark goals for both math and Ela in addition Ro has successfully completed in battle the books winning state two years in a row furthermore moving to lakehood would give us more room to expand our
086program we would have more classrooms to use for educational purposes including having more intervention rooms to help students learning to read and write in German and English also uh we would have a separate gym and cafeteria this would help with scheduling give our gym teacher a chance to keep their her equipment out for weekly sports lessons finally moving to Lake Hood would give us more room outside and increase the activities we can do on our playground thank you for listening I hope you consider allowing R to move to lakeood thank you very much for your testimony and if Alexi mhak mhak can come forward oh good evening my n is Alexi in the class fore [Music] now in English there two versions good evening my name is Alexi and I'm a first grader at R
087recently I have outgrown my shoes sh my pants on 14 my school has also outgrown its building my mom brought me some new clothes and the two Fair hook me up with some new some coins but who's is going to hook UPA show with a new building I hope somebody will figure it out Dona thank you very much Lilian St Johan in Belle Norwood you can come forward and the point of you will state your name for the record you have two minutes hello members of the school board my name is Lilian and I am an eighth grader in C stream Academy and today I'm here to ask you to L how nauna Elementary is our school building next year some of the reasons that I think that we should have Daka it's cuz it's
088right across from Russian Jack which our cross country ski team uses cuz there's no place near a current building at our building we don't have a cafeteria or an on-site nurse if we move to nunaka we cannot only have a cafeteria where we can eat every day we can also have an onsite nurse as there when someone gets injured or someone needs to take medicine throughout the day at stream we go out on breaks every day we have to use the parking lot for braks which can be highly dangerous because of the cars that come and go at all hours of the day and we often lose balls and frisbee to mun which is a very busy road at our building we don't have a gym which means that we going to have to get
089creative with the PE games that we play and don't get to enjoy games that can only be played inside we have to use the parking lot which for seventh period PE means we get less time to play games because the car is light up for dismissal one of the reasons that I decided to stay at stream is because I started to like school which before I disliked and I found amazing friends and reling entertaining classmates I love going to stream every day I can because of the unique things that we get to do with a bigger building more kids will will be able to experience the things that made me love going to school again so esteemed members of the school board even though I am an eighth grader when moving on from stream I
090do have a little brother is hoping to get in all of this will affect him next year so I implore you to consider voting inor stream Academy to be housed in the naaka Valley building next year onward and make the building the new home for the incor stream Rapids so more kids can be engaged citizens involved Learners and critical thinkers who are inspired by the ACT world thank you for letting me your ear and your consideration thank you very much for your testimony if Eloise spaa will come down and Miss Norwood if you'll Spate your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Bri Norwood I'm an ath gr at anchor stream Academy I've gone to stream all three years I think that anaka Valley would be a perfect fit for Anchorage
091stream Academy because NAA Valley is a bigger School in Wayland Baptist University the kids on the weight list would be able to go to stream Academy stream pays almost a million every 3 years to Wayland this would be a huge cost saving the Naka Valley has a running area that stream needs for our cross country running and cross country skiing team no longer requiring parent to help get students to ski practice the Naka Valley has a gym and would be an opportunity for more Sports if stream were to go to NAA Valley we would have a cafeteria we wouldn't have to eat in our classrooms I know that anchor stream Academy would put naaka Valley to use the reason I came here tonight was to show you how anchor stream Academy can use all of
092Naka Valley's facilities Community parks and a larger school for the kids that are going here now and are on the wait list thank you for your time tonight thank you very much for your testimony if Obby Silvers can come down and Miss smalla if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes uh my name is Eloise B good evening members of the school board I am a sixth grade student at Highland I'm here to support the move of Highland Academy to nun Naka Valley I believe this change would bring a lot of benefits to our school the new location has a lot more outdoor space this would give us more room to play exercise and enjoy fresh air having more outdoor time can help us to stay healthy focus better in class
093and even be more creative Nuna is also right next to a park which is a huge bonus it would be amazing to have a park nearby for field trips classes and our Outdoor Learning intensives the new school has space for a gym having a real gym would allow us to have better PE classes it's important for our physical health and it would give us more opportunities to be active the move would give us more space better Fitness opportunities and a stronger connection to the community I hope the board will consider these reasons and support our move we are counting on you choose Highland thank you very much for your testimony thank you very if uh sawer Olsen can come down and the silvers if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes
094dear members of the Anchorage School Board my name is AI I am a sixth grader at Anchorage stream Academy and I am here today to request that our school takes up residency in the former Nuna building as a fifth grader I decided to come to stream because it because of the amazing opportunity it provided and attending this school was one of the best choices of my life we have dedicated hardworking teachers that provide wonderful education for us we have a caring principal that loves his school and his students we have a great Project based approach to learning that makes almost everything we do fun however there are things we don't have we don't have a PE room we don't have a cafeteria we have a small library with no librarian we don't have a school
095nurse because we don't have space for one because of this I believe stream would grow prosper and thrive in the new Naka building with all the things we don't have while living in a college rented out to us by Wayland Baptist University Additionally the rent is very expensive and I believe this money would be much better spent on hiring teachers or even a nurse or librarian it's also worth mentioning how much we value outdoor education here at stream with the new Naka building we would have an incredibly large trail system right next to us at stream we have our brakes and sometimes PE in the parking lot this can conflict with parents trying to pull in and other vehicles moving around on campus for various reasons however at nunaka we would have a playground so
096that wouldn't be an issue anymore and there'd be more space for us students to have fun the trail systems would also contribute to our ability to have Outdoor Learning opportunities so I respectfully urge the Anri School Board to move stream Academy into the previous nunaka Valley building I believe that with your support angr stream Academy Acy can continue to thrive and provide an even more Dynamic learning environment for us all thank you for your time and consideration thank you for your testimony if Delany Olsen will come forward Mr Olen you have two minutes my name is Sawyer Olsen and I'm in fifth grade at rela schula I am here to list three reasons why rela should move to lakehood number one we have a swamp behind our school and it overflows during spring so that's
097a problem number two we have a lunchroom that is also our gym and right after the third lunch is a PE class number three we are not in an ASD building so we need to rent the building the rent comes out of our budget and it would be better to spend that money on teachers and Equipment please allow Rula to move to lak hood Elementary thank you for listening thank you very much for your testimony if uh oh um a yellow Pippen I'm sorry if I'm mispronouncing that will come forward and Miss Olsson if you'll state your name for the record two minutes my name is Delany Olsen I Am in the third grade at real Kula we need to move to the lakehood building because we are not in an ASD building and our
098lease is up and we can't afford to pay rent we could use the extra money for teacher and staff we have PE and lunch in the same room and it would be nice to have a gym and a separate lunch room don't F say thank you for your time thank you very much for your testimony and Dempsey Godwin or good one will come forward and Miss Pippen if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is ISA Pippen I am a student of Anchorage stream Academy I think that nunaka Valley would would benefit stream students with outdoor education our school is dedicated to outdoor and them work they also help with kids like me who have extreme anxiety and trouble keeping up with others in math I think that
099nunaka Valley would help kids like me and others nunaka has a gym and and a cafeteria my school has none of that we also pay a full rent I don't know how much it costs but last time I checked it was I think $3,000 chm Academy helps students like me and others come out of well their com Zone and express how they feel they also have a no bullying um system thank you for your time thank you very much for your testimony and if Katherine Brown will come forward uh Mr Goodwin if you'll St your name for the record you have two minutes hello I am Dy Goodwin I am a student at anr Academy I've gone to stream from the grades 6th to 8th going here was a good choice because it nurtured my
100love of some of my hobbies and music because I got to connect with other people that enjoyed the same things that I did as a student I heard I've seen and noticed a few issues especially with our sports teams as well as the safety of our students one of those things is our um availability to ski or run cross country because due to our limited area we have to we we have to have parent drivers or we have to run on harder surfaces like concrete which is um on is not the best on the joints especially for people who do other things um on top of that having the access to Russian Jack would be amazing because a lot of the skiers don't have rides so so the car pool is hard because not not
101all the parents can afford on their insurance to sign up for that so having that quick access would make it a lot easier and a lot cheaper and more efficient and even better for the economy um as an outdoor school we would use that green space every day as much as we can whether it's for sports for teaching for breaks for whatever and it would benefit our school and our availability to help the community greatly um I would also like to see other students in this program Thrive like I did and others I know have and it would be amazing for the days it is really cold to have a gym to be in or our programs because we have a a boxing program which is very fun and interesting for a lot of people
102thinking about getting into those kind of things thank you for the time have a good night thank you very much for your testimony uh again Katherine Brown if you're in the room you can come forward Adele Hayes if you're here if you can come forward and if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Katherine Katie and I am in third grade at rosula why I think our school should move to they could is because our building is non ASD building and our is going to the price that our school cannot afford our music teach teer has a room with that room and needs a lot more space for all the music equipment at one point we did not have a gym our gym is also our lunch
103room and our Auditorium right after third lunch there's a be PE class so it is wet and slippery from cleaning we get M when we speak a certain amount of German a Spock Meister is a necklace with a German blog on it I love learning German and I love my school I know others do too we really need they could and need to keep up all our amazing teachers donine thank you for your job thank you very much for your testimony if August cth will come forward and Miss Hayes if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Adele I'm an eighth grader at Anor stream Academy I absolutely love stream and everything it represents it's a small school that not many people have heard of it's all Hands-On
104learning where we learn for life and not just for our grades I've worked hard for the past three years and I know all of my peers have as well we're very self-driven self-directed Learners stream isn't just a school to family it's a closet community and we all know each other's names we me n Naka Valley because it has all the outdoor resources that we need to provide right now we share our campus with a night college and we can't leave any of our stuff out overnight our teachers have to share their workpace with other professors which is sometimes difficult we're always looking to grow our family and moving to Nuna would allow us to expand our community we deserve Nuna because all of our teachers and our principal put their hard work into our school
105we would get a chance to have more exciting projects in outdoor space a lot of our students do cross country running and cross country skiing and being next to Russian Jack would give us the amazing opportunity to utilize the outdoor space I live in East Anchorage and it feels like they're closing all the schools around me that me and my friends grow up and care about moving stream to newco would offer a desirable high quality education and help restore the Gap caused by shutting down the other schools I know that it might seem easier or like you're impacting fewer kids by closing Title One schools but you're taking away education from the kids who need it the most kids and lwi income families don't get the same opportunities like tutoring or private schooling thank you
106for your time in considering relocating stream TOA thank you for your testimony if Liam wood can come forward and Mr C if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is August and I am in kindergarten ATA schula and I wanta to move to L our school is small we need a bigger one thank you thank you very much for your testimony if aana Valentine can come forward and Mr wood if he'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Liam wood I'm currently a 10th grader at Highland I'm currently a student at yeah I'm currently a student at Highland I'm speaking for behalf of Highland and its students I'll go for three reasons why we should move to NAA at Highland we
107have literally no windows in our classrooms and it can feel mostly claustrophobic moving to a space where classrooms have Windows and natural light I think will benefit uh students learning and help them grow out throughout the year reason two Highland has limited to no outdoor space uh we only have a parking lot with a very active car traffic going through so students uh are potentially at risk uh reason three Highland moving TOA will support our school and help to build our community currently we are use a multi-purpose room for cafeteria during lunch as well as it is a PE room which can cause a lot of problems with like unnecessary or unsanitary problems uh which also follows up with more complaints to students about doing like push-ups in a pile of crumbs which is not
108fun um we don't really have enough space for doing PE activities ities and moving to Thea will help students uh and give more opportunities to have more outdoor more outdoor opportunities uh and having a cafeteria as well will help us manage lunchtimes and have a central place for meeting up with students instead of going to separate classrooms thank you that is all I have thank you very much for your testimony yeah I know boy boyn will come forward and Miss Miss Valentine if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is alv Valentine and I'm a seventh grader attending stream Academy I think it would be really good to have stream moved to Nuna Valley elementary school because currently we have to rent out a building from Wayland Baptist
109University and that leads to a lot of problems because we're not able to use some spaces and we're not able to like leave something out and we have to use a parking lot as our playground and the drop off system is really not a good one because you have to drive through and people play in the same spot sometimes at the same time as people are trying to come to pick up their kids or drop their kids off and I think it would be a really good idea to move stream to Valley Elementary because it would have a playground it would be really close to um R Russian Jack park because we do a lot of ski practices there I think it would be good too because currently we're not not able to have as
110many kid students as want as the students want to attend because at Nuna we would be able to have a lot more students attend and we would have actual classrooms that were actually built for kids my age and it would be a really good thing for stream thank you thank you for your testimony if Skyler James will come forward and Miss boand if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Anna Leah and I'm a sixth grader here at Highland Academy although I've only been here for 34s I really enjoy coming to the school and I'm glad I get to stay with all my class through high school graduation since we are a sixth through 12th grade school one of the fun things we do here at Highland
111are lockets that's are organized by student leadership at the at the end of every school quarter it helps strengthens our school Community we also have field days where we get a walk to the NAA Valley for activities together as a whole school it isn't very far from our current location and our students are familiar with the area it would be nice if our school could move to that building so it would be safer we would be in a neighborhood we wouldn't have to cross a busy street and we would have less traffic near our school it's great that the teachers can make work in such small spaces that we have now but imagine what they can do in even bigger space like Nuna I would like our school to move to the nauna location so
112be doesn't have to happen in the same room with Crums and Spills from lunch right now our only outside area as the cage or or the parking lot of of the edge Center the cage is a small Fen in area where we try to play volleyball or basketball but the balls often go over the fence because the space is so small at unaka there is a big basketball court a playground and other and other outside areas so that means more fun and exercise nunaka has more room inside too they have a music room a bigger gym and a separate cafeteria we could have more humity engagements in better schoolwide activities such as Multicultural nights talent shows and performances by students or places like Alaska junior or theater I am really excited about the possibilities to
113smooth would open up for Highland students thank you for listening to my speech thank you very much for your testimony if Amelia Samuel will come forward Miss James if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Skyler James I'm an eighth grader at anchor stream academ and have been going to this school for three years what I really like about inor stre Academy is its model inor St Academy empowers students to be involved liters critical thinkers and engage citizens who are inspired by the natural world during the during these past few weeks the whole eighth grade did community service projects like helping and talking to the elders that have dementia at backer Senior Center helping out at the animal shelter with making treats and fun activities the animals helping
114with helping with a project at the re store and helping with the food bank baging food for people in our community having a bigger school will provide more space for more students after school activities and more more classes when I think about stream I think about new and fun activities Feld trips to new places new projects with new people what I really enjoy about stream Academy is how many new projects are teachers put together and how much new people I meet or learn about with these projects what it really really stands out to me at anchor stream Academy is Project based learning also the eighth graders have been working on red and fish each grade each eighth grader made their own resin fish showing what they learned at INR stream Academy having a bigger School
115have all the different years of resin fish would be wonderful to display as a miror in the hallways of our new school I think newak Valley will be the best fit for English team academy because I feel more students should have the opportunity to experience a creative Hands-On learning environment through the middle school years thank you thank you very much for your testimony if Delila Brown will come forward and Miss Samuel if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Amilia Samuel I'm in eighth grade and I attend school at anchor stream Academy I've been at stream since seventh grade and I'm here to tell you why streams move into naaka Valley Stream is a Hands-On out and outdoor based school that is highly successful our current building is
116whan bathus and does not fit with our program with limited outdoor space and room we don't have the right space for many things our cross country ski team doesn't have the proper trails and we have to get parent drivers to drive the athletes ran Jack if we can move to the Naka Valley element if if we can move to Naka Elementary we could have easy access to Russian Jack by foot another reason is when we have our brakes we mainly only have the parking lot to play on same thing with PE many of our activities are played in the parking lot which is very unsick considering that there are crimes nearby and many of our expensive PE equipment tends to end up in the road when we play games moving to naaka Valley would help
117our outdoor Bas School Thrive and also give us a great environment for our school sports PE and PE stream WS to grow and I would like you all to consider the opportunity Future Kids is could have here thank you for your time thank you for your testimony if Marina and I can't read the last name very well Petra I'm not sure if you can come forward and Miss Brown if you will state your name for the record you have two minutes oh okay um dear members of the ancrage school board I'm Delila K Brown and I go to Anchorage Shem Academy I'm 11 years old and I'm in sixth grade I love the learning style that stream has and I also like the Hands-On learning I think this building would benefit stream in many ways
118we would get things like a lunchroom and an indoor PE room and I started the stream choir and I would love a real music room to practice in stream Academy is a great school and it deserves a permanent home we are a small school but we would love a bigger building to have bigger dreams thank you for listening to my testimony thank you very much for your testimony and Payton Boon if you will come forward and if you will state your name for the record I won't mangle it up again hi I'm Marina pumis I'm an eighth grade student at Rula um our program at Roa it's pretty high achieving I got to say I'm in Geometry this year out of 39 eth grade students nine of them are in Geometry which is 23.1% as
119I learned in Geometry um our reading problem is uh program is also off the charts this year my team my battle of the books team won State for the third year in the row I'm not sure if it's been done before but I think it's pretty great our music room as a couple other kids before me have said is a room without room unfortunately our school had to turn down four tonies because there was no room for the tonies um we also don't have a library our library is more of a converted hallway than an actual Library even with less of a library than other schools we have still managed to excel in the reading I believe that it is as's duty to help us students learn more it's a little bit difficult to learn
120how to read if you don't have books to read so I think having a school with a bigger Library would be a tremendous upgrade judging by the number of Rus students testifying to today you can tell that Roa students are very devoted to their school because they think it's wonderful which it is I believe that our program deserves to thrive just like any other school please consider providing real Kula with the lakehood building thank you for your time thank you for your testimony Miss Boon if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is Payton Boon and I'm in eighth grade at Anchorage stream Academy I feel like getting Nuna would be amazing for our school because we are the only only Charter School in the district with an
121outdoors focus and we want to make our building our own we currently share our school with a religiously based night College we only have a small room for PE and the weather isn't always peachy but our only other PE area is a public Trail also our school is right next to mold Road often we kick balls or throw frisbees into the road by accident it's not safe to get the ball or frisbee because the students could hurt themselves at Nuna we would have a gym which is important I also believe that teachers should be able to make their classrooms their own and we can't do that when we share a building with a night College I want teachers to be able to hang up students work to show that they love them and be able
122to paint their walls with accent colors and murals to leave more house plants up in their classrooms and set up Christmas trees during Christmas if they want to we are respectful to we were we are respectful of the community and communitybased this is important because Nuna is in a neighborhood the teachers work very hard to help us and Excel us in our learning and I believe we deserve this building thank you for your time thank you very much for your testimony that concludes our student testifiers um to the board we have um about 10 parents that have students here I'd like to go ahead and get their testimony and then we will take a short recess at that point um so Steven Bonner and yo Silvers if you could come forward to speak please if
123you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes you can experience how out of on your students hi I'm studen boner and this is my second year as a staff member at anchor stream Academy my 15th year teach for the school district I'm here to advocate for stream to move into the vacant building at Nuna stream is an easts Side school that is chartered specifically for the students on the east side and we are required to be there students in the east side and zip codes get First Choice join stream the new NAA Valley Council has voted for stream to be their number one choice to move into that school and I remember hearing lots of testimony about neighbors saying they want their students they want their neighborhood to have walking ability and
124have a neighborhood school there we would F we would fit that Wayland's an awesome building but stream is out grown it we'd love to grow to 300 students um but it's not possible there for instance my math class is at most to 20 X 30 space and I have 22 kids in there and it' be beneficial to be able to move around monitor students spitter spread out behaviors and have space two projects we also have multip PE teachers that do not have an NPR and at the end of the day our classes are cut short by cars coming through the parking lot um stream is an outdoor school and we would 100% maximize the opportunities there whether it's science or PE using the trails I personally teach PE as well as math so would love
125to have the access to biking I also teach a biking class in ice skating and so being able to just go straight to chiny link or on the trail system would be amazing um uh likewise our cross country ski team and running teams have to transport which eats up a lot of their time or being able to to use it use their use their time um lastly uh we also make our community better we awarded a grant to improve the trails in moldan park and contribute 150 volunteer hours likewise so when wherever we go we make a positive difference on the community there in review new nakas community council voted for stream and would like to have us there we would maximize the outdoor space we would benefit from an NPR larger classroom space and
126the ability to exp thank you very much um Miss Silvers and if Ashley Macky can come forward hi my name is siaro Silvers and I am an East Anchorage resident first of all I would like to thank the school board here tonight for all the work that you are doing and the hard decisions you are making in this difficult environment where some State politicians are pushing to defund our Public Schools I came here tonight to specifically talk about stream Academy and their desire to be able to grow and serve more kids on the east side and across Anchorage my daughter attends stream and she testified earlier about how important the school is to her with its outdoor and project-based learning stream has provided a really great opportunity and atmosphere for my kid and others like
127her who may not thrive in a more traditional learning environment I think it's really important to point out that stream is the only charter school with a neighborhood preference this means that as a charter school located in East anage their Lottery spots go to East Anchorage kids first East Anchorage is a community that has historically been underserved and underinvested in when steam stream formed their Charter a decade ago they decided to make serving East Anchorage students a priority I believe that as the difficult decisions are made to close neighborhood schools in East Anchorage we need to make sure that the harm done is mitigated by making sure that those buildings are being repurposed with programs and schools that will continue to prioritize serving East Anchorage families thank you for allowing me to speak tonight and
128for your consideration of my comments thank you very much for your testimony um Ashley Mackie if you're in the room Molly Hayes and if Danielle kith will come forward also you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes Molly Hayes I am here today to advocate for Anchorage stream Academy to be moved to Nuna Valley as a parent of two stream students and a strong supporter of their mission I believe Nuna Valley is the perfect site for the school when I first T stream my biggest hesitation as a potential parent was the building and location the space seemed less than ideal as an educator I recognize the shortcomings immediately I found that I think that Administration and staff work hard to make it feasible but I can't imagine how challenging it can be
129the students carry all their belongings with them around the school including outdoor gear because there's no storage teachers have minimal control over their classroom environment in order to access outdoor space they often have to cross busy intersections on frigid or icy winter days there's no indoor space for physical education this could all be remedied at Nuna Valley in 2016 while I was teaching at nun Nea Valley my family took part in a special Community project we helped build outdoor classrooms to be used by the students at Nuna Valley the project was spearheaded by one of my fellow teachers to give students the opportunity to explore and learn in Russian Jack Park even though it was right in their backyard some students had never been in the park at the age of three and five my
130students now stream students my children now stream students um help move dirt it was a true true Grassroots effort and our families our family has celebrated birthdays skied coached walked and recreated in the park it would be amazing to see more Eastside students share these opportunities thank you thank you for your testimony if Serene boand can come forward and Miss kth if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes Danielle kth good evening board members my name is Danielle kth I'm a parent of two Rula students in 180 days we no longer have a building for our school the current building is 39,000 Square ft and we have grown out of it a move to Lake Hood would allow our school to grow we have hopes to start a preschool which would
131benefit the lakehood neighborhood RKA is a strong school and outperforms all metrics every single year this is an opportunity to encourage an excellent school to become an outstanding school I urge you to follow the recommendation of Jim Anderson and his team this is the right choice for right sizing this is the right choice for Anchorage School District thank you very much thank you for your testimony Jacqueline Everett can come forward and Miss boand if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes thank you good afternoon my name is serine boand I am the Curr current treasurer for Highland Academy's academic policy as well as a mother to a student who has graduated from Highland Academy with two students who are currently enrolled with one on the way I want to express my
132strong support for the potential relocation of our school to Nuna Valley with a recent decision to close Nuna this presents an opportunity to enhance the educational environment for our uh students Highland Academy has been been an incredible place for our students focusing on not just the fundamentals of learning but being a well-rounded individual learning to take accountability and really giving our students the ability to try new things through intensives with the space they now occupy Highland accomplishes incredible things but as our enrollment continues to grow we're starting to notice how limited our facilities are presently a move to nun Naka Valley would not only alleviate the issue but also provide our students with a host of new new resources the existing facility at nunaka Valley includes a gym cafeteria and an outdoor area which would
133significantly enrich the educational experience for our children these spaces would allow for the expanded programs and activ activities promoting both academic excellence and personal development it's also important to bring to your attention that many of the families have a need to stay on the east side of Anchorage particularly because it has its accessible via public transportation this accessibility is crucial for our students as Highland Academy does not provide transportation while our current location has served us well over the years I believe moving to nunaka Valley would not only benefit our students but could also free up resources for other programs within the Anchorage School District I just want to thank you for the time thank you very much for your testimony uh Katherine Smith will come forward and ett if you will state your name
134for the record you have two minutes yes Jacqueline Everett um dear inor School Board my name is Jacqueline Everett and Anor stent uh stream Academy has been nothing short of a transformative uh transition for my daughter Skyler who's in middle school and throughout her Middle School Journey since joining in sixth grade the school is proven to be a great fit for her Hands-On learning style offering an educational experience that goes far beyond traditional classroom instruction one of the most remarkable aspects of stream Academy is its dedication to outdoor education daily outdoor experiences are not just a novelty but the core part of the school's educational philosophy students aren't confined to traditional classrooms instead they explore learn and grow in Dynamic real world environments moving to naaka Valley would give students more space for outdoor exploring
135sports activities like cross country running and CrossCountry skiing and PE classes um sorry while we were sad that eighth grade marks the end of our time at stream Academy we are profoundly grateful for the incredible education middle middle school experience our daughter has received here throughout the her three years in attendance the school's approach has not just educated her but has inspired a love of learning that would undoubtedly stay with her for years to come we're filled with both gratitude and anticipation that the potential acquisition of nunaka Valley location represents an exciting opportunity for the school's expansion and its avtive innovative educational model for stream Academy the dedicated space will allow more students to experience this unique learning environment opening doors to countless new opportunities for them thank you very much for your testimony I
136want to Circle back to Ashley Macky in case you're in the room um if not Matthew Samuel you'll come forward and Miss Smith if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening Katherine Smith here uh I'm here to let you guys all know here on the board that I will help advocate for the BSA with the the state legislation um I'm also asking you to support Ru in um in their in their growing program uh the German imersion program is fostering our students Futures through the education process we need your vote and your support to relocate to lakehood you've heard the reasons please give us the opportunity to succeed grow and continue to show you how well this program works please Lo yes for the right schule and we are
137ASD and we are raal thank you thank you very much for your testimony and if laen Hughes will come forward and Mr Samuel if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes okay Matthew Samuel I'm here to testify on ASD memorandum 106 uh I wrote this independently but hearing all the great student testimony I might be accused of plagarism uh after the lockdowns of covid homeschooling moving School my daughter uh finally found the perfect setting at stream Academy where she has flourished the success of the program should be noted in the number of applicants wanting to join currently the rented accommodation at Wayland can only support about 180 students moving to nunaka Elementary will allow the program to expand eventually up to 300 students fully utilizing the building space and maximizing Revenue
138to ASD a core value at stream is developing an appreciation for for the outdoors and every class is outside each day at some point currently the parking lot is used for physical education and borders the busy forlane moldun road nunaka will offer a safe dedicated playground basketball courts baseball fields to support a key part of the curriculum it's not just the school grounds of bricks and mortar the geographical location of nunaka is perfect for stream as has been mentioned the cross CUNY team up to 40 students practice multiple times a week uh at the trails at Russian Jack instead of transporting them there each day they can safely walk from the school to the trails using the bonerface parkway underpass the same for cross country runners in the fall Cheney lake also features heavily as
139a location for outdoor projects and skating in the winter the lake 2 can be accessed safely from unaka elementary using the existing trail system moving stream to naaka Valley will allow a thriving school to expand fully utilizing an existing ASD building while supporting Trails parks and the immediate neighborhood are is you to reconsider the current recommendation thank you thank you very much for your testimony I did want to touch back Ken Zena dzal you were on as a speaker in the student area I wasn't sure if you meant to testify I'm not seeing her rise so um yes uh Miss Hughes if you'll state your name for the record I've got Lauren Hughes and I P your Hughes here good [Music] evening we're here to talk about Roa Shula and I just wanted to before
140saying anything um a lot of people have spoken tonight and we just are so grateful for you guys just taking the time to listen to this and all the decisions that you guys have to make I know that they're not easy so thank you very much um I just want to talk briefly just about how um this program has just been so successful Hatcher is our sun he's in first grade and we've been so happy just with the teachers and the principal and just the communication has been awesome um we're just so happy and we just feel like this move is going to be such an efficient use of the district's facilities and just a long-term health for this amazing language immersion program and I'm just going to keep it short and tell you that
141we're so hopeful to be able to move to L Hood and I shared this with you guys last time um our hearts are full of hope I'm going to leave our hope with you guys it's the decision ultimately is yours I know it's not an easy one um but we would just love it we and we just feel like it would be the right fit so many people have explained why and we're just another family hopeful thank you thank you very much for your testimony at this point we will take a 10-minute recess we do have about another hour of test oh pardon me um I'm sorry we still do have a person who's holding whose name was accidentally emitted from the list that is Wayne Pan um I if I can get your attention
142we still do have one um parent who's testifying remotely and then we will take a recess I'm sorry about that but Mr pan if you can hear us and unmute you have two minutes all right can you hear me now yes we can all right um thank you for pronouncing my name correctly my name is Wayne pasan I'm a 50-year resident of Alaska in Anchorage after I retired I devoted much my time assisting schools specifically lakehood Elementary I'm the guy who trims the shrubs and I Foster the garden for the children I also devot devote one hour of my uh time a week reading to first graders this is not about me though it's about your decision tonight regarding the repurposing of lak hood my urging and suggestion tonight is that you vote with your
143hearts and do what is in the best best interest of those children to that end I encourage you to vote to move the Alaskan native cultural Charter School to lakehood versus another alternative why the students are at lakehood are a mixed race and of varied economic backgrounds in my view they would assimilate quite nicely with existing a CCS students and faculty should they show choose on a more serious note though allow me to share my personal experience while attending a reading night at lak Hood I talked with many parents there about the recent closure of the school almost to a person they complained to me that the board followed the money and disregarded their Community well I personally do not believe this I believe repurposing lakehood to an enlarged Title One Enterprise that would go
144far to amarate these Impressions likewise a young student came up to me with very sad eyes she EXT told Mr Wayne they're going to close my school I feel safe here I'm really sad you know out of the mouth of babes and your time has expired thank you very much for your testimony we will now take a 10-minute recess and come back for for the remainder of the testimony e e e uh fall board members will return to their seats okay I'd like to call this meeting back into [Music] order everyone will please take a [Music] chair we will resume public testimony like to call Martha gold Le and Amanda Thompson to the front as our next [Music] speakers uh and after that we will Circle back uh to miss wisman who is connected online
145yes if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Martha Glee I'm an original founder for the Alaskan native cultural charter school and once again I find myself facing the board standing in the gap for anccs and this time it's um concerning the allocation of lakehood Elementary in the last 16 years ancc s has met the native community's demand to serve their children through cultural identity and um cultural experiences this school ancs is very unique in ASD no other school does what we do we started with 150 students and now we've gone to about 34050 right in there in the last 16 years we have moved five times we have never had a permanent facility and you can understand the fatigue that takes not only on parents but on
146our staff we would like a permanent facility and I think we would fit lakehood perfectly we're a title one school they're a title one school and I think you know it's not a want for us it's a need we need this and uh language is a very integral part of anccs is program and while the German language and culture is very important it isn't in danger of becoming extinct while Alaskan native languages and cultures are very much on a dying scale so we would really like you to really consider look deep into your hearts and find the best allocation in my 40 Years of teaching of Education most of it has been in this district and I have seen I am aaska native and like I said to you at the beginning I am here
147standing in that Gap once again asking for this board thank you very much for your testimony I'm going to go to U Miss wisman on wine and I'm gon to mispronounce this name diabo Deo if you're here to testify I'm sorry are you able to hear um you're in line I'm sorry I didn't notice that you were connected I they can hear you can you hear me Miss wisman if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Naomi I am a second grader at Scenic Park I love my school in school I've often felt like like I already known what my teacher was teaching everyone and felt for it a lot I was really excited when my mom said I got into ignite this year she said that I
148would start learning a lot of new things that I'm interested in then a few days later I heard that the ignite program was going away right after I finally got in after years of waiting I'm really upset and feel like my school isn't supporting me moving forward Beyond My class's Level it's stunting me I also feel that language immersion is really important especially major languages like Chinese which is the number one spoken language in the world followed by Spanish and English these major language programs should never be cut in Cut since they prepare Kids for Life life in a global economy I hope that I will be able to get the support I need to continue growing up and open up a good college of good college opportunities for me through night and my Mandarin
149immersion program thank you thank you very much for your testimony uh if Allison goer is here and Miss Thompson if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes thank you my name is Amanda Thompson I'm a Roa parent APC board member and ASD Teacher and I speak on my own behalf all right back to the final chapter of our story we saw we last saw the two Outcast siblings battling the stormy winds beside the lake the lake with the beautiful buildings their stepmother and Godfather had not slowed their schemes to squeeze out all their siblings from their too tiny Cottage we last heard the magpie's words of encouragement to the children to not lose hope and to be brave and asking for the buildings by the lake since the wise advisers had
150advised it what else happened that night despite the force of the Gale the children trudged forward and called out to the lake spirits that would listen the children told of the joy they had in music making they eloquently recited poems and disneying mathematical formulas they showed their beautiful hand Rock clothes covered with intricate art soon more voices joined in Ravens caught about the worthy children mice and man squeaked their support few of the spirits that had been pulled back by the men with swords shook themselves free and came closer to listen cries of solidarity came from Sam and jumping across the lake soon it seemed the whole forest and water was ringing with the same chorus give the worthy children the building you will hear these voices here again tonight as you already have right
151before you I applaud the finance department at ESD for all the excellent work they have done over these many months to arrive at their recommendations please accept them and vot vote for B code to we code this up here thank you very much um I did want to say um Miss deab Deo um if you're here you were signed up for a telephonic testimony but indicated you might be at the meeting and I didn't know if you wanted to testify but if you do please come forward um otherwise Miss Galler if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes is Alison Galler I want to thank you for your commitment to allowing the voices of your community to be heard I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak before you today my name
152is Allison Galler and I am a mother of three students at reua German Immersion School twin daughters in second grade along with a third grade son I'm here to advocate for the reallocation of lakehood Elementary school to rasula German Immersion School it was the robust language immersion education offerings of ASD which solidified our decision to relocate our family to Anchorage from the lower 48 and it is ASDS language immersion program offerings which continue to serve as a major factor in recruiting other families within our professional Community to relocate to Anchorage as well there is no other city in the United States that offers the breadth or quality of comparable publicly subsidized language immersion programming as Anchorage does these programs are something of which you as a school board should be immensely proud and in a
153school district with dwindling enrollment programs which can help to reverse this trend must be protected rula's numbers speak for themselves since 2007 our incredible teachers and staff have led our children to consistently surpass ASD math and Ela goals for Benchmark tests despite half of their learning taking place in the German language Roa currently enrolls for 180 ASD students and employs 42 ASD staff we are the only independently chartered language immersion program in Alaska however with 20% of our school's annual budget spent on facility costs alone our school can no longer afford to remain in its current location while maintaining its essential sport staff and student to teer ratios as you've made clear it is the goal of the school board for every ASD student to be in an ASD building and relocating rasula to lakehood
154Elementary provides the perfect opportunity to fulfill the purpose established by the right sizing initiative our current building occupies 39,000 total square feet Lake Hood would expand our square footage to 61,000 square ft this will not only allow an already imal successful language immersion program program to continue to thrive but it will provide the school with the opportunity to cultivate growth within the Anchorage Community long into the future thank you very much for your testimony Lindsay Wallace and Willie Goodman alright you'll come forward and stating your name for the record you have two minutes my name is Lindsay Wallace um I have two kiddos at rasula Ellie and Quenton Wallace grade three and two and I stand before you as a single mom and passionate advocate for the continued success of our German Immersion program one
155that has enriched the lives of students strengthen our community and positioned our district as a leader in multilingual education today I urge you to secure a dedicated building that is the lakehood building for our program ensuring that it not only survives but thrives for years to come a building we can be proud of and one we can leave as a legacy in my couple of years being a valued substitute and clubs leader at Ruka I have had the opportunity to get to know each and every kid and what they're capable of language emeres immersion is more than just learning vocabulary it's an investment in cognitive development cultural awareness and Global competitiveness research consistently shows that immersion students outperform their peers academically develop greater problem solving skills and have increased career opportunities in a world that
156values bilingualism as you know we are operating on a smaller and smaller budget and I'm here today to urge you to take into consideration that this program might not continue if we do not make a drastic change in secure a building my job as a single mom who recently lost her husband and just trying to provide for her kids would also be in Jeopardy I'm sure you can understand that scary and also stressful our German Immersion program has already proven our immense value parents have chosen this path for their children because they recognize the long-term benefits teachers have de de dedicated themselves to fostering excellence in both language and core subjects our students are excelling and interest in the program continues to grow this is not just about language it's about Equity opportunity and the
157promise we make to our students to provide them with the best education possible by securing a building for our German imersion program you are supporting academic Excellence diversity and the Forward Thinking vision of our shared District District thank you for your time and consideration thank you very much for your testimony if Cameron Vincent lne can come forward and Miss Goodman all right if you'll state your name you have few minutes I'm Lily Goodman all right and you may think that this item I'm holding up is a clipboard but it is actually a desk and I will give you two reasons why the first is that at stream we do much of our learning outside my students will be able to count over 70 different science and stem lessons outside by the time the year is
158over lessons include measuring slope around the building herotic table scavenger hunts analyzing water quality and fire risk engineering boats and much more active outside learning additional time has spent being great stewards of the public spaces we use members of the board you know our youth are in a mental health crisis you also know that one of the best ways to heal and stabilize our youth is to provide exercise and connection to place and it's working over and over again stream parents tell us their child hated school until they came to stream where they are now thriving with Middle School sports on The Chopping Block our model of active outside play Space learning is critical and unaka Valley with its easy access to Russian Jack and chy Lake the ideal facility for this members of the
159board our East Anchorage students now more than ever need stream and they need stream to serve more students which brings me to the second reason that this item here is a desk we simply do not fit in our classrooms come visit and if we're not outside you will find many of our students working in the hallways with their desks you will see our teachers squeezing between tables to get to students for individual help Street stream needs a larger space stream needs access to Green Space and inaka Valley is ideal thank you thank you very much for your testimony if Katherine Kelly can come forward Mr Lang if you state your name for the record you have two minutes Cameron Vincent Lang good evening ASD School Board my name is Cameron Vincent Lang and I'm the
160assistant principal at Rula like to express my gratitude to ASD for their commitment to ensuring the best access to services for all ASD students and listening to the stakeholders within our community I'm here once again to advocate for Roa and the possibility of relocating to lakehood we have never taken for granted that this move would be guaranteed which is why we have consistently advocated for this opportunity rasula remains a strong program and now more than ever we need your support for the past 10 years our students have been in a facility that has served us well compared to our previous facilities and allowed our program to grow however the now outgrown that space relocating to Lake Hood would significantly enhance the student experience by providing much needed space and essential amenities that are currently lacking
161at our existing location our current facility serving 485 students is overcrowded and lacks critical resources that serve students our current building also faces serious infrastructure challenges including HVAC failures in land settlement the 39,000 ft building is inadequate for our growing student population and its location to a creek bed is prone to flooding which further complicates our environment a move to the lakehood facility would resolve these challenges providing a larger more stable space conductive to learning moreover this presents a valuable opportunity to improve access within Charter Schools the lak hood area has seen a decline in enrollment in nearby schools establishing a charter program there could offer families greater educational Choice relocating us would better serve the surrounding Community implementing neighbor preference for kindergarteners providing busing and expanding access to school lunch programs efforts that have
162been difficult in our current facility a truly hope that ASD can look to support all of our Charter programs with their unique facility needs all of the choice and Charter programs are incredible unique and valuable thank you for your time thank you for your testimony if Manda Cur Mandy Curry can come forward and M Kelly if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Katie Kelly and I am a parent to a third and first grader at rasula and the interim chair of the chair of the APC you have heard testimony on our incredible School the numerous benefits um the lakehood school building would provide in our current financial situation we have reached a critical juncture as much as our community is passionate and driven we can
163no longer afford to Bay 20% of our budget on rent moving real Cula into lak Hood will give us the ability to continue offering a highquality education centered on the immersion of the German language and culture the teachers families and students at rosula have shown extraordinary resilience and we know that with the stability of an ASD building we can continue to succeed and expand we have a dedicated staff that works tirelessly to provide an exceptional education and a dynamic learning environment our students surpass ASD Benchmark goals for Math and English language arts while spending half their school day in German we are asking the school board to vote for repurposing lak Hood Elementary for vasula to ensure we can continue to serve our nearly 500 ASD students and provide a stable and Lasting home for
164the future where our children can continue to flourish thank you for your time your consider consideration and your support of rooka thank you for your testimony if Amber Brewer will come forward and Miss Curry if you'll state your name to the record you have two minutes hi my name is Mandy Curry I'm a parent of two rasula students I'd like to thank you all for the hard work that you guys have done over the last months and weeks with the budget's been very difficult and heartbreaking to listen um just while we're on the topic of budget Rea schula is in a a budget situation where our our school will not be able to continue as it is a long time ago before my kids my oldest as a fourth grader um was even at the
165school they moved into this building and it's the budget's not sustainable I think the only thing I could think of is that they were not counting on the flat funding they were assuming that there would be more funds and then it would go the covid onetime money helped us and that's the only reason we were able to live out our lease honestly that's that's why we still have a building that's why we're still here um we are in desperate need and the time is now we're actually fulfilled our lease we this is our last year of our lease the the lease is up were able to move and the buildings available and we have um 485 students the building will actually accommodate a school of our size um you know so the timing is really
166now um we are currently at 39,000 Square ft and we would move to a building of 61,000 sare Ft which is a third larger in size physically um I know a lot of kids talk about the the room without no room but if you actually were to look at it you would you would understand it's it's maybe the size of like three coat closets a half a classroom a quarter of a classroom in your standard school um of that blueprint that we would be moving into um I really thank you for your time and consideration thank you very much for your testimony if elain Squire can come forward and Miss Brewer if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Amber Brewer and I've been a PA
167at rela schula for 10 years I want to talk about repurposing lakehood Elementary for our school when rela moved into our current facility I saw firsthand how our dedicated staff of 42 work together as a team not just as professionals but as friends we serve over 480 students I know almost all of them by name and personality because my job allows me to meet them wherever they are our families and Community are incredibly strong ensuring our kids grow into Global Citizens who respect divers cultures even though our students spend half their day learning in German they surpass ASD benchmarks in math and English I work with both classes and small groups witnessing their impressive growth firsthand the kindness and respectfulness of our students are remarkable after 10 years it's humbling to see that by the
168end of kindergarten they exceed my German skills our current facility is too small hallways are tight interventions happen in hallways and closets and our outdoor space is cramped PE classes often have to be held outside because we only have one shared space our nurse's office is under the stairs which is not ideal for kids who need to rest and recuperate we've been in four different locations since 2007 and our lease expiring this summer we're at a Breaking Point rent is 20% of our budget and we've made cuts for years to make ends meet if we can't move into an ASD facility our students will lose critical services and my job along with others will be at risk that's 500 daily connections that could be lost our students Des deserve stability they've already achieved so much
169with limited resources imagine what they could do with more please don't hinder their success help us ensure these students continue to thrive AS Global Citizens at the lakehood facility thank you thank you very much for your testimony the S himt will come forward and Aspire if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes uh good evening board members and thank you for letting me speak my name is Elaine Squire and I'm speaking on behalf of R Kula for the use of lak hood Elementary School I have spoken before on this issue and I'm here again to advocate for my school I am a special education par professional there as well as the parent of two of its students in fourth and sixth grade it is my opinion as both a staff member
170and a parent within this community that Rula would greatly benefit from being able to move into lak Hood Elementary as it has been mentioned before at prior meetings as well as tonight the financial situation at rosula is dire our release at our current building is expiring this year and the rent accounts for 20% of our annual budget in addition the building suffers from inadequate and failing hbac and free from the burdensome rent we'll be able to retain our amazing staff and provide and properly provide our exemplary education to our students the space at Roa is limited in Lake Hood would provide much-needed space for interventions testing and Specialists as well as provide our students with a much needed playground upgrade right now interventions take place in hallways and closets during recess the upper grades have
171to play football or soccer on a narrow strip of pavement amongst the children playing tag and using the equipment there is one basketball hoop and it doesn't even make up a half a court the playground AB buts a creek that floods every time it warms up forcing us to close a third of the playing space to keep children safe from the ice and Clean from the mud I want to remind you that our students are incredible and consistently meet and exceed educational standards year after year we want to continue that Trend and be able to bring these Exemplar exemplary standards to the lakehood community and and Beyond growth is impossible at our current location and the possibilities with the lake within the lake Hood building are immense as you vote on this initiative tonight please
172consider the testimonies you've heard over the last several weeks and allow us the opportunity to fulfill our potential in the lakehood building thank you again for your time and consideration thank you for your testimony Matt wart andorf if you'll come forward and M timt if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hi my name is stie himt I'm the eighth Ela and social studies teacher at anchor stream Academy I'm here today to advocate for stream finding a home in NAA Valley Stream is not your average school there are a couple things that make it unique we spend a lot of time outside there's a hey heavy EMP emphasis on stem and we take on crazy projects combining all these things we cultivate cross-curricular collaborative Creative Learning just this year we have
173created life-size cardboard boats that students had to paddle civilizations with rules customs and traditions and solves with forensic skills The Disappearance of the Beloved wubbles stream is amazing the impact of stream even more so at stream our students learn to enjoy and how to participate in the outdoors as we go outside every day we have time dedicated to learning in and from the outdoors this grows a lifelong love for Alaska and being a steward of the land at stream our students give back to the community our eighth graders have spent hours serving our community at the food bank Habitat for Humanity the animal shelter and C with folks in the memory care unit at Baxter senior living at stream our students Foster curiosity students are engaged in the learning that they are doing because they
174get to create or solve or experiment if we had a gym for students to use or an art room or a lunchroom or a classroom space to store our projects our mission and vision for our program could be seen through to its fullest potential imagine the things we could create if we had the space to make it happen what's more our program could expand we are always weight listed the community is showing us that they want to be a part of education at string and a program like this should be given the opportunity to expand and reach more students in a place like Nuna Valley thank you for your consideration thank you for your testimony if Caitlyn wolf will come forward Mr wat andorf if you'll state your name for the record you have two
175minutes my name is Matt wattendorf uh I'm a science teacher at stream Academy staff Lea onto our APC uh ski coach frisbee coach and proud resident of East inkage uh when Adam recruited me here from overseas to join stream what sold me was this community it's why I continue to work here our community of East Anchorage has stated through the NECC testimony that if nunaka Valley must close they would like to prioritize two things and nothing would make me more proud as an educator than to be part of uring ASD meets those two needs first the NECC would like to the school to prioritize students in the East Anchorage Community as you know stream does this we give location priority to any student in 99508 or 99504 second they would like whoever moves into the
176building to use the parks and green space in the area and I know you've heard plenty from the kids about sports in the parking lot uh so let's talk about what goes in on goes on in class but outside keep in mind many of these students tell me at the beginning of the year that they've never been on a hike before our sixth graders have bushwacked to complete tree surveys plant identification field guides bark Beetle studies observation journals and maps in our Urban forests Kenzie Steven and I have loaded 65 sixth graders onto people movers just to go learn skate fish and Hike at Chon new park in cheni Lake otherwise we trekk the three miles round trip regardless of weather and as we say in the biz that's type to fun we've received grants
177and volunteered service hours for trail work around the community our eighth graders have studied the salmon and water quality in Campell Creek as well as Wildfire burn areas in the area students have built Community Gardens in Chon new park and we have a whole quarter dedicated Community Resources so the lists go on I'm out of time but our classrooms live outside so I urge the board to consider how by allowing stream to move into naak Elementary we can leverage the awesome green spaces and park in the area to equally to make an equally awesome education for this community and continue to help ASD affirm its commitment to East Anchorage thank you thank you very much for your testimony FN wolf your present Cedar [Music] cousins and Brandon stch if you'll state your name for the
178recor you have two minutes yeah thanks um my name is Cedar cousins and I'm a parent of a student at stream and um it's been a lovely amazing experience I didn't take the time to craft everything so well so I just wanted to hit on some highlights um living as an East Side resident to have the resource of stream there is absolutely amazing a lot of times our schools are less well funded and um they just don't present the education that I would want from my my kids and when I was looking at middle schools one of the things I did is I went over to bage and asked what my student would be doing outside of you know just the classroom how would they get outside how would they be in the outdoors and
179learn to be in Alaskan and the administrator there laughed and said Oh you mean parking lot time and I said what and she's like yeah at lunch they can go outside and sometimes we throw balls out them there for them to play with um most of the kids just sit and play on their cell phones during lunch and whatever free time they have and then I went to stream and I was scared in a way because I was afraid that the religious setting might not match with you know my family's personal spiritual beliefs and it was small and it was really really close to mold down but then I saw all these students being outside all the time and really enjoying Alaska and what it means to be an Alaskan and when I look at
180the parks around nunaka Valley and the safety that they offer and the ability to be next to chimi Lake and Russian Jack there isn't a better fit it's a amazing School for amazing program and I hope that you strongly consider a moving and stream to it so thank you thank you for your testimony Nicole Crosby if you're here and Mr Str if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes yeah I'm Brandon stroke principal of real casula educator real casula and parent real casula students good evening I want to thank you guys for this opportunity to speak and I wanted just to respond to some questions to concerns that popped up during the work session today first and foremost according to our lease agreement and our Tas T tax assessment our building
181is 39,500 Ft that's right we have about 500 students in a building that's 39,500 Square ft they could at 61,000 would add about 20,000 Square ft to our fac to a facility which is roughly a 50% increase increase which would allow for more student uh activities and space to get our work done it was also asked how much funding would be provided if each school did see a, BSA increase or onetime funding Mr Ratliff responded that R Scher receive about $653,000 even with this funding if we stay in the same building we' still be dipping into our savings and still be cutting more jobs next year between this year and next year we are losing 3.4 FTE and our evening custodian which is roughly 10% of our Workforce but this is very minor compared to
182the cuts that are coming if we remain in our current building R Cula is very interested in becoming an asset to the turnig again community in fact I spoke at the turnig again community council meeting last month and while they're reluctant to create a resolution they were very open to reala schula joining that Community with that said rela is open to providing a neighborhood preference so students students can eventually walk to rasula and it is true that we cannot bring students into older grades because our classes are full we have an extremely high retention rate we also did a a family survey to see who would still be willing or still able to attend rasula if we moved we have about a 2third response but we see that 274 responded that they would return and
183only six people said that they would not be able to make that drive across town the ASD immersion program is very well regarded Ed and the ASD budget unfortunately has your time has expired thank you for your testimony if uh Kelly frees will come forward and M um backer you'll state your name for the record oh I'm sorry Crosby if you'll St your name for the record you have two minutes good evening my name is Nicole Crosby and I'm the principal of Highland Academy Charter School as a committed member of the Highland community for over 15 years I believe the decision to relocate Highland to Nuna valy Elementary campus would have significant benefits to our school the surrounding community and other ASD programs Highland is one of the most diverse charter schools in the district
184and we Contin continue to see a steady increase in our enrollment with a projected enrollment of 210 students for next school year relocation to Nea Nuna Valley would allow us to expand our program offering additional learning opportunities to our current students and Opening space for others we provide services to students around the district but the majority of our enrollment are students zoned for East Anchorage transitions between schools can be challenging and as a sixth through 12th grade charter school we offer students one transition after Elementary School seven years at one school students can begin their secondary experience at Highland and then graduate surrounded by students and staffs they have spent years fostering tight-knit relationships with Highland is a small community of learners but that's what we are a community Nuna Valley is located in the
185heart of Northeast Anchorage and I think this is an incredible opportunity for our school to establish a partnership giving back and directly impacting surrounding neighborhoods from volunteer hours to service learning projects aimed at bettering the community students are required to complete various levels of service throughout their time at Highland we currently use the naaka Valley Park for our Field Days a number of intensive classes and field trips right now we spend valuable time walking to and from the building direct access to these spaces would eliminate the walk increase student safety maximizing accessibility and these Hands-On learning experiences our outdoor opportunities could significantly increase with access to nearby parks and trails content exploration electives extracurriculars and community events could all be increased while our current location has served us well over the last 20 years other
186thank you very much for your testimony um if Pamela D pre is in the room if you'll come forward and this preves if you'll state your name for the record probably pronouncing it better than I did you have two minutes good evening my name is Kelly preves I'm a teacher at Highland Academy Charter School throughout the past several weeks you've been hearing testimony from many stakeholder groups as to why Highland Academy Charter School should move into the nunaka valley elementary campus as a teacher at Academy I support this relocation for many reasons and I believe this will benefit the Highland community I could talk about how we don't have a gym an adequate Library enough space in our classrooms or a safe place for students to play outside but instead I'd rather talk about how
187Highland Academy would shine at nunaka Valley we are strong supporters of finding ways to help our community through our service learning students go out into the community to make a positive difference we have an elementary helpers intensive where students volunteer in nearby elementary schools to help teachers with whatever they need in their classroom in our science classes students have identified and removed invasive trees from the woods we have also gone to nunaka park to pick up trash and build Trails so the neighborhood and perhaps even other schools have been able to safely enjoy for their outdoor activities if Highland Academy were housed in newa elementary we would be able to spend more time completing service projects that would benefit our neighborhood additionally nunaka Elementary is designed with a full cafeteria Not only would this feature
188benefit our students at lunch but it would also allow for more in-depth learning opportunities I've been teaching beginning German off and on for about 15 years now and one of my favorite units is the food unit unfortunately I haven't been able to utilize my favorite activity of cooking German Cuisines with my classes because we don't have a cafeteria at Highland if we were in NAA I would be able to do this and the students would be able to utilize new cooking skills their knowledge of mathematics to measure and problem solve and also gain confidence in themselves let's skip to the conclusion I hope that you strongly consider Highland Academy moving into nunaka Elementary and you agree that this will be thank you for your testimony and Barnett if you'll come forward and Miss depra if
189you'll say your name correctly for the record you have two minutes Ang hi I am Pamela dpra AKA Barry in UNAM tunu I want to start with after listening to all the testimony and knowing that there has been much testimony going on that it is not natural for the Alaskan native population to come and advocate for themselves it is not a part of our culture one of our values is accept what life brings you however I cannot stand aside as the STA representative of anccs any longer or as an Alaskan native myself and recognize that in the past five years that I have been an educator at the Alaskan native cultural charter school we have moved three times this is highly disruptive to the population and I have watched students move from the from one
190location to the the next our family who are struggling families move from All We've we've brought our families with us so these changes have been disruptive for the entire school as stability is essential for learning throughout this time we have been and continue to work tirelessly to support and Empower our students while looking for a permanent home we need a permanent home a place where our students can feel secure supported and proud of their education I urge you to consider the importance of providing us with a permanent home our families are already experiencing housing instability in our community and our school is as well please help us provide a permanent home for our school so that we can continue to contribute to the success of our students and our community as a whole I appreciate
191your dedication to the Anchorage educational Community kaga chak thank you thank you very much for your testimony if Savannah lethan can come forward and Miss Barnett if you'll state your name for the record we have two minutes thank you my name is an Barnett and I live on live on the east side of Anchorage I teach at bage middle school I was there when the school opened but I'm here to speak on behalf of Anchorage dream Academy being placed at unak Valley um because although I'm wholly committed to the bagage Middle School community and I can imagine teaching anywhere else um My Two children are students of stream I saw the idea of stream born uh through bagage teachers and watched it and watched as my kids got older and I have a ninth grader
192at East High School um and I'm watching the other students who have come out of stream and it's pretty incredible uh I'm impressed by what the teachers there are doing um my daughter comes home every day and describes what they're doing in their classes and I I continue to say you're going outside in every class um language arts you're outside I'm a language arts teacher uh and I have a hard time imagining what they're doing and it's exciting it's inspiring to me and I think if they were placed at new NAA Valley Elementary School what what the imagination of that school Community PA shed with um the the Creed of their school to be outdoors what happened and honestly when they talk about um going outside my mom imagination is knowing exactly where moldun uh
193is with everybody on their cell phones um I think about the trails that they've paved for the cross country skiers uh to be on um hiking down and over the bridge and over to that Park uh across moldun and I'm thinking about streets and parking lots um and it's it's fun to hear all the kids talk about the balls and the frisbees they've lost but honestly you know when you hear about all the outside time the kids are putting in thank you very much for your testimony Brandy Pennington if you'll come forward and Miss won if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes thank you my name is Savannah leine I'm the proud parent of a current student and a graduate of stream as well as a member of the APC
194thank you for hearing our comments today I know as elected members of the school board you're faced with tough decisions I encourage you to listen with care to your community with that being said I have to be honest stream is the only reason my kids are currently in ASD schools our family took advantage during covid to homeschool and enjoy time with aging family members in sovia almost full-time although it was never my plan to home school it just made sense for us I didn't ever see going back to a Traditional School setting however when our daughter asked if she could go back to school I was surprised our kids are active Hands-On Learners with many hours in the ocean woods and on Trails I expected it to be a hard transition after looking into stream
195it seemed the perfect fit with access to Outdoors every day experiential based Project based learning and a strong math program it sounded different in a good way the day Mr Meli called to say our daughter had gotten the seat we were thrilled when school started her classmates welcomed her to seventh grade she felt at home she loved so she loves school so much in fact that she wanted to be there 30 minutes every day to help her classrooms and teachers carry things from their cars um in closing because I know I'm short um my son now says it's fun Thursday I have my favorite stem in math when children legitimately enjoy school that's a gift I believe with my whole heart the community of an around Nuna Valley needs the gift of stream Academy a
196wonderful school that aligns with what they have asked for nunaka and the East Side needs the gift of stream being alow thank you very much for your testimony Martha aesi if you can come forward Miss Pennington you will state your name for the record you have two minutes W my name is Brandy Pennington I am a mother and board member at the Alaska native Charter cultural school we proudly educate approximately 4% of the state's um indigenous population CH frankly just population we have a deep commitment to upholding Alaskan native cultural Traditions as a title one school we have consistently exceeded all academic and attendance expectations we are not only a place of learning but a Beacon of Hope to our community now you know as our as the world kind of evolves and we learn
197a lot about epigenetics we understand that trauma filters through seven generations the school is where that that trauma ends despite our success um we Face significant challenges our community can't always afford to sit all evening and meetings and um frankly the native way is humble and accepting what life brings you and so they're not it's not in in them to come forward and fight for themselves but I will I will always do what I can um it's not acceptable to well anyway as we know our values we recognize the true success is built on humility gratitude and hard work values deeply ingrained into Alaskan native culture All Above we above all we are taught to be humble and grateful for what we have these principles guide our actions and our school but it's difficult to
198sit back and watch the school become a pillar like effectively get utilized as a pillar of the community but kick to the side consistently having moved five times in 16 years is is hard enccs has patiently waited for well okay I'm just going to tell you like it is um we have the capacity to educate 10% of the Native community in the state of Alaska which is incredible and what it'll do financially for the district is second to none we will bring in more students we're also Title One Lake cod's title one we have that population there they like us we like them let's make it work thank you oh my question for you is why not why not us why not us we meet all that criteria we are that population thank you thank
199you for your testimony and Rebecca covin if you'll come forward M Wiis if you'll state your name for the record you have two minutes hello my name is Martha lojeski and I'm here to request that stream is offered the opportunity to grow in unaka Valley to serve more East inage families Middle School is this cool transitional time sandwiched between learning to read and learning to drive a car they're silly fun energetic kids that need a safe supervised space to try on different personalities to see what fits they need teachers that let them experience both successes and failures they really start to thrive when you get them let them get plenty of fresh air learn through Hands-On experiential products and discover the place within the community that surrounds them stream offers just that kind of place
200our school Fosters a supportive culture that drives success a strong framework paired with the ability to be innovative in the classroom that has attracted the best possible teachers that fully align with our school's mission and vision last week we hosted an open house for families that were interested in putting in for the lottery so many students came in absolutely radiating with excitement because their friend or cousin attends stream and told them how great it was it's finally their turn to enter Middle School they chose stream because of current and past fam's positive word of mouth it's the highest compliment we could ever receive it's not anecdotal either we see it with our lottery numbers and weight list both which have grow longer and longer each year this afternoon there were 215 people waiting for a
201seat at stream more students than we have currently enrolled more students than our four walls can contain in our present facility we're ready to grow and need to grow we've proven our program is successful and serves East Anchorage families but at only 178 students we can do more if we work together help us reach our Charter goal of 300 enrolled students in a larger permanent home in the heart of nunaka Valley thank you for your consideration your vote really does mean the world to us anchored stream Academy empowers in students to become involved Learners critical thinkers and engaged citizens who are inspired by the natural world thank you very much for your testimony Carolyn wisman if you'll come down Miss cin if you'll state your name for the record you have three minutes dear ASD
202board members my name is Rebecca culvin I am a parent of a student at Rula German emergency school I come to ask for your support and vote to accept the administration's recommendation to move Roa into Lake Hood many before me have provided numerous reasons on how this could benefit our program so I'll keep my comments short moving us will meet the right sizing goal to build a to fill ASD buildings to 100% capacity it will keep Public School funds within the school system and not spent on commercial space and it will us to invest more money directly into our students please help us achieve long-term sustainability and vote Yes on rela moving to lak hood thank you thank you very much for your testimony Manuel Akuna Miss wisan if you'll state your name for the
203record you have two minutes Caroline [Music] wisman Carol wisman my name is ulang uh good evening um my English name is Caroline wisman and I am a current substitute for the Anchorage School District I'm a former teacher of the Alaskan na of cultural charter school I am an incoming APC member uh of the of anccs and I just love that school um being atccs there is this Community feeling among our students you can go in the hallway and you could see these middle schoolers and they know the names of these first and second graders that are walking in the hallway uh they thrive in an environment that's surrounded by their culture by their languages and appreciating uh all that their ancestors have laid the groundwork for them to learn how to do traditional measurement to
204practice math to learn how to uh tell stories and to use the land and respect the land to further their not only just academic learning but their traditional learning as well there's a unique it's a unique Community the Alaskan native culture Charter School it has a high Mobility rate for the demographic we have amazing student growth achievement for our Alaskan native students that you don't see in a lot of our public neighborhood schools I love anccs and if you go to anccs You'll you can ask a student what does mean and they will tell you it means it is up to you it is up to you to internalize what you learn it's up to you to make these decisions and I just say that to you thank you very much for your testimony Denise
205worther uh you'll come forward and Mr you have two minutes dear members of the school board my name is Manny aunia and I am a devoted parent and APC board president of the Alaskan native cultural charter school I urge you to award the lakehood elementary facility to our school instead of rosula considering its long-term impact on our children and Community for Generations Alaskan native families have endured the painful Legacy of forced assimilation and colonization leaving deep generational trauma anccs is built on our community's resilience and cultural heritage as the only tile one charter school in our district we support families facing financial and Social Challenges awarding this facility to a school that does not require tital one funding would deprive our community of critical resources Rula serves 480 students in a building designed solely for
206them admitting new students only at kindergarten and first grade in contrast anccs with about 340 students offers a culturally relevant vent education all grades and can better accommodate neighborhood growth our school has repeatedly shown fiscal responsibility even under budget constraints despite roa's budget exceeding hours by nearly $2 million by not choosing anccs you are reinforcing a system in which our voices and needs are marginalized and our history of trauma minimized this is not just a financial or logistical decision it is one of equity cultural preservation and social justice I humbly ask you to recognize that supporting anccs means investing in a school that stands as a safe haven and a symbol of Hope for families who have long been overlooked our students deserve an environment that not only educates them academically but also honors their
207identity resilience and Heritage thank you for your time and for recognizing our need I trust that you will make a decision that uplifts our community and supports the future of our children thank you very much for your testimony um just res if you can come forward and farther if you'll spell your last name for us so we can get it in the record correctly I have bad handwriting it's WTH thank you my name is Denise worth and I'm a parent of three rasula middle school students and also a part-time volunteer in the library there um I'd like to thank board and superintendent Bryant for um your staying power with hearing the public testimony this is my third uh ASD meeting and the first one that I've spoken at because the others went past my bedtime
208so um I'm here to advocate for rosula uh being advocated or being alloted the uh lakehood Elementary School um you've heard from roaa students teachers and parents about how um our school is too small and uh lakehood would meet the need of the school we've also heard that um to remain financially viable um this immersion school that has produced highly capable bilingual students for almost 20 years um depends on alleviating the high cost of rant for the current building the lease expires at the end of the school year and there's an ASD building available so it seems like a win-win situation um rather than go into the details of that which you've already heard I'd like to just leave you with this perspective my father-in-law immigrated from postor War II Germany um first to New
209York and then to Alaska and um he did this because his generation was encouraged to go out into the world and practice their trade and be good citizens so that the world could see that there's more to Germany than World War II um he recently celebrated his 90th birthday here and he also uh recently became a US citizen and I can see a future uh not too far in the future where this could come full circle and we will need bilingual you I'm sorry your time has expired thank you thank you for your testimony uh Justina riski again if you're [Music] here um believe we skip that does conclude our public testimony for this evening um I do want to thank everyone for coming and uh very moving and we now will move okay uh
210I'm ask for a 10minute recess so we will reconvene at 9:35 e e e if board members will return to their chairs and we are back in session at 9:39 um we move to um section e of our consent agenda entertain a motion to move the consent agenda Mr chair absent any member who wishes to pull an item from the consent agenda I move to approve the consent agenda is listed second moved and seconded seeing no one wishing to P an item um I will ask Miss Solan to call the role on this as we do have a member absent M lessons yes member Wilson yes member Higgins member Jacobs yes member Donley yes member Bellamy yes president hman yes and you have approved the consent agenda 70 brings us to section F action items
211uh the first item if I could have a motion Mr chair I move to approve as memorandum number 107 which is a BP 5138 student possession and use of portable electronic devices including cell phone revisions second reading uh the recommended action is to approve the BP 5138 student possession and use of portable electronic devices including cell phone policy revision as recommended by the govern's committee do I have a second second moved and seconded the Flo is open for discussion um thank you uh I wanted to begin discussion tonight by really thanking many people who have uh provided a lot of input time effort and expertise to get us to the place where the board is able to have this vote tonight um briefly conversations about cell phones and electronic communication devices have evolved over time
212in ASD as technology and school-based practices have changed um as a quick refresher the current policy or policy 5138 has existed in its current form since uh March of 2012 according to our board do system um and it really still refers to Portable electronic devices it turns out that a decade and change later we have many portable electronic devices that were not uh invented in 2012 um about five years ago uh the previous superintendent in response to board interest in these devices uh essentially assessed that the need exists to uh increase techn technology access in schools and in consideration of the budgetary limitations in providing devices for all students permitting the use of personal devices to augment curriculum is advantageous but the use of such devices must be monitored to ensure that use is appropriate
213so five years ago prior to covid the one toone advice device initiative um there was support for in a guarded way um allowing students to have uh cell phones with them although at the time there were schools already uh thinking about ways to restrict student access um so I think it's just helpful to know where we've come from speaking personally the conversation about how to think about the place of cell phones in classrooms today uh really began about two years ago when I was in Juno and I was stuck there for about a week when the Russian volcano erupted and disrupted FL and I happened to be um stuck there with an ASD Teacher and at one point we had a conversation about earbuds and what a problem earbuds were in classrooms kids were tucking
214them behind their hair or in hoodies and just it was a destructive uh component of the classroom environment so um that got me thinking that perhaps it was time to consider what is the place of technology and really over the last school year the 23 24 four school year just a number of stakeholder emails trickled into the board encouraging strong action and I just wanted to read a couple of these um for the board uh one one person wrote as a 23e veteran teacher I've watched the changes that have occurred in learning over a period of intense technological change as a parent of a recent graduate I saw the social impacts and pressures that came with cell phones even when parents work to restrict and provide oversight I believe as a parent and teacher that
215we are ignoring the most obvious problem in our schools when we fail to address cell phones the problems they pose are bigger than classroom management challenges and have directly been correlated through research after research study with declining mental health anxiety Focus issues and general engagement in life I hope the ASD will consider systemic ways to address the issue um we've received others and then just throughout that year I was thinking about a growing body of research as that person wrote in um recently a local school librarian sent me a copy of the anxious generation which perhaps many others in the room in the community have also read um by Spring of 2024 uh sort of we were hearing about districts around the country starting to enact cell phone bans some of them were starting to
216rely on these Yonder pouches that are sort of magnetic closures uh they don't come without a cost though and all of this is to say that I began to sit down with this policy at the start of the summer um I sent a an early draft of a revision of this policy to the administration I think in early August and quite frankly at that point in time my proposal uh was that what I was calling portable um personal electronic devices uh I thought should be placed and remain in the students Locker or designated alternative throughout the instructional day that's not what's before us today but that's where my thinking began and my the conversations have evolved in in concert with our engagement with the administration and I really do think um uh the administrative team
217and the principles who were involved in just keeping the board appraised of what was happening at various schools there were common threads but different practices at the different schools and that was really instrumental I think in shaping the policy that's here uh and then by late fall members Bellamy and Wilson joined in workshopping a version of this document which in short would really ban students access to their devices during the day for k through eight students but allow uh and and ban uh student access to the devices during the classroom instruction periods for grades 9 through 12 but allow students to access them at lunch and at passing periods um for a number of reasons I think really encapsulated well by one of our principles who stated well there's more of them than there are
218of us and um quite frankly as I've testified in uh telephonically uh recently uh with the budget cuts the PTR plus4 there will be even fewer um people to police cell phone access in our secondary schools next year uh if we don't see an increase to the base student allocation so this is a very long um you know introduction to the policy revision that is before us I would urge board members to um you know share their thoughts but it has gone through a few rounds of governance a lot of conversation with um Administration input from uh from staff and um I hope you can be supportive of the policy as it has been revised uh to meet the needs of 2025 and hopefully Beyond thank you member Higgins yeah I I first of all
219appreciate uh the administration's support for this policy and their role in doing it uh this is a an issue that's on the state level too there's legislation out there trying to uh require these types of restrictions because the access to these uh various sites is not appropriate in many cases and it undermines what we're trying to do in the classroom so I I appreciate that we're ahead of the legislator's request right now uh but I but I just want to give credit to the administration that the way that they're approaching this the way they want to put enough control so that they maintain control at a high level uh in regards to access and I am familiar with a couple of cases that have come to me where the access was most inappropriate and it
220had to do with undermining some um um the best things for some of the students uh within that so it has my total support but also my appreciation for Kelly I appreciate your bowling this but I and also the administration uh for what they've done in this thank you member check yep thank you Mr chair um wanted to Echo the a appreciation expressed for District administration but um didn't want to specifically um request the board acknowledge and appreciate member lence for taking lead on this um when before this process started and the conversation started I um talked with member lesons and encouraged her to to take this issue on in part because I I knew that um the result was going to be a fantastic outcome for the district um but also because I know
221it aligned with our passions and so sincere thank you for engaging in the work that got us here today um as a therapeutic foster parent I I agree that this is a necessary step that I've taken as a parent individual ually um some of the the best behavior my students exhibit um during a school day is is when I've chosen to restrict um smartphone use from their life for a particular reason that usually has a consequence for maladaptive Behavior but um the benefits that I I see anecdotally for the dozens of Youth that I've served over the last decade um really does address their mental and behavioral health challenges and I'm glad to see that the same conversation is um happening in the halls of Junior that we're recognizing that smartphones um can be both
222a a blessing as well as a real opportunity to inject unnecessary stress and distraction uh from our students lives um with that said I'm going to be happy to support this I did have a question um for member lesson specifically as the lead drafter on this from the board side um one of the I'm hesitant to call it a Miss opportunity but I I think I'm leaning this way um is really from the legislature's end the Pennsylvania State Legislature um implemented a bill which included grant funding for districts to implement things like the Yonder pouches specifically um and in an era where we see folks preaching for targeted funding for interventions that we know work um this seemed to be a natural fit yet when I've had conversations with folks in Juno um there's been
223little to no interest in providing this very targeted um intervention that would potentially take some of the pressure off of our educ ators and I'm curious your thoughts on that um if we aligned with this approach that doesn't utilize a a device um out of necessity and the lack of resources or if we think that our path forward is ultimately a better fit for ASD I think it's a great question so again I've I was invited to provide public testimony on House Bill 57 a couple of times over the last few weeks um one of the other um individuals who was also invited to provide testimony was a iple up in Palmer and a recipient of a grant and that that school has been able to use the grant funds to buy the pouches and
224and that principal had very positive things to say about the Improvement in students grades and behaviors once those cell phones were restricted my very rough guesstimate that we have 40,000 and changed students maybe three4 of them have cell phones you know perhaps down to the you know third fourth grade level for smart watches um so maybe not that many maybe it's 2/3 at $20 a pop you know I think we're probably looking at A5 or $600,000 initial purchase and then things Break um so I think that the Yonder pouches are a remarkable product but I I don't I don't think that we have the money to pay for them so I do think that um if the legislature were were truly serious there would be uh funding to you assist districts of all sizes with
225whatever the local need may be um since you did serve up the the question of what's going on the state and so did member Higgins um there's just a couple of interesting things that I we just maybe need to keep a rest of number one in house pill 57 as it stands districts would either have to adopt a model policy written by deed or craft one prohibiting the quote possession and use of devices during the entire ire day including lunch and passing if that were to pass I think we would need to revisit our policy and adapt it um however in looking at the committee substitute for House Bill uh 69 which is appears to be uh will be read in house rules tomorrow uh the new language looks like each district shall adopt a
226policy that regulates the possession and use of non School issued Wireless Telecom Communications devices during regular school hours including lunch and passing periods and I think should that language move forward actually our policy would hit the mark we would have adopted a policy that regulates the possession as suits our needs in ASD so you know we I think whenever a a piece of legislation crosses the Finish Line in Juno the district has to be cognizant and respond to that so I'm sure that we would um but it's just interesting to understand these multiple possibilities right now but I think what we should I mean I would urge the board to do uh what individual members feel is best for our students and uh I do believe in the package that we have uh crafted um
227together today hope that helps member B yes thank you Mr chair uh just a couple of um Reflections and uh um not just about the policy but uh remember um lessons gave a really good overview of kind of how we got here and uh but you know there there are a couple of schools that were kind of uh on the front lines of all of this uh Windler for example and Eagle River and South uh so we've known for a while that we needed to do something um with with our with our policy we just didn't quite we just didn't we just didn't so um uh it is uh being talked about a lot I absolutely support our policy and I want to also thank the staff or at least the recommended policy um I
228think between the the the administration and our staff the input we got was really uh helpful for me um and I think we are real clear about what a ecd is we've defined it we are real clear on what educational uses are what that means um and under what conditions the S you know the uh the policy um covers or what what's what PE what kids can and cannot do and then what that prohibited conduct piece is an important piece for me because I I really do think that the clearer we can be as to what what's students can and cannot do the better it is but I did have the opportunity last week uh to meet with the group of students over at Windler and we had a conversation about uh about the cell
229phones and um all of them agreed we needed to have a cell phone policy now where the disagreement came about uh um not even a disagreement but where the ideas came up were around you when can we use it so right no total band no um you know want to use it during passing during lunch and we even talked about how that would be monitored and they didn't really know but they also brought up real good ideas like you know we got to have we got to make sure that if a person has a disability they have to they'll be able to um there's a plan for that right and so even our students at least the went the students that I SP spoke to directly you know at Windler um and they've been living
230with a cell policy now much longer I think then um the board has been struggling with this one so I I do thank uh member lesons I thank member Wilson uh all the staff I think even if we have to come back and tweak it once the state gets I mean the legislature gets done if they pass one uh this session um I think it it will be doable and most most importantly I think it gives principles uh and uh some some leeway into how they into the guidelines for their particular building um and I and uh yet still have h a structure in place that would would frame the entire District so that's all I wanted to say and I'll be voting yes on this policy any other comments member Wilson I I was
231actually I had my microphone on um and I was going to speak before member Bellamy and she actually covered everything I was gonna say so I will just stay with thank you to member lesons for being so thorough with this policy thank you to the administration and staff for um also working to make sure that the uh the principles and staff and and boots on the ground were included um in in building this policy and I also wanted to throw out the thank you to the principes um and and the staff that were proactive in working to uh limit students access to cell phones because uh it it is incredibly important to make sure that the that our students mental health is um is part of the conversation um and so anyways thank you member
232Bellamy for covering all of that for me member wson I wanted to just uh briefly add that there was one other group of stakeholders that was involved in this and that was students and uh there was an addition to this policy in governance that was directly responsive to input from our student Advisory Board um they expressed concern what happens to my cell phone if it's taken from me and somebody breaks it or drops it when it's not in my possession I thought that's a really good concern and so that's why there is um the addition of administrative regulations shall be developed to promote the safe storage of conf skated uh devices so um I did have a chance with our student Advisory Board to talk about the policy and this was one of the pieces
233of feedback that they shared and I'm pleased that we were able to take action on and I would add this is a policy that's been a pretty long time in the making um we do have some schools that have had a fairly stringent policy for a period of time and it was important to me that we develop a policy that didn't overrule them I don't think this keeps any school that has a working policy from doing what they're doing but it does demand a couple of things and one is that the administration be involved um I've talked with principles that had policies at their schools and things really were working well with parent support um I've talked with teachers where it was left teachers to have their own policy and it really just creates a
234burden and it's not a policy at all um the teachers responsible for confiscating holding returning uh there are things about it that just become unworkable and it really doesn't change the the atmosphere of the school um one other thing I'll I'll throw in um just from personal experience when I began teaching in a computer lab uh it was at a time before most middle school students had email but it was during that change and that was something we kind of worked our way through we wound up implementing an email system with a lot of oversight actually monitoring of language and redirection of questionable emails but I was also supervising a lab at another school after hours and I I could see students on their personal email over their shoulders and for a certain percentage of
235them the language really was atrocious um they're talking to each other they like they feel like talking to each other which is fine when they're not in school but it was not in any way appropriate for a school environment and yet I knew that students were on computers during the day doing this on the side on one screen but also then turning and talking to students next to them or talking to their teachers and I reminded of the Seinfeld thing where worlds are colliding we really do want to keep those Worlds Apart um there's School appropr Behavior there's appropriate behavior for students when they're out on their own um and in essence unrestricted cell phone use gives students the opportunity to bring their world into the school building and some of them make choices that
236really are not appropriate for that so I I do think to some degree this this helps uh Model Behavior expectations for when they go to work they're they're going to be expected to put their phones away and work and do other things um I think it has more positive benefits even than some of the ones that have been discussed and I'm happy to support this as well there any other comments before we vote I will ask M Solan to call the role M Higgins member Lon yes member Jacobs yes yes member Bellamy yes member Donley yes member Wilson yes president Hollman yes by 7 to zero you have adopted uh memorandum 107 board policy 5138 that brings us to the next item on the action items Mr chair I move to approve ASD memorandum number
237106 ASD repurposing recommendations the recommendation is listed in the memorandum states it is administration's recommendation the school board approve and authorize the superintendent to implement a repurposing plan for the new NAA Valley in Lakewood Elementary School buildings the administration is recommending that Highland Academy Charter School occupy new Naka Valley building and for The Rook German Immersion School to occupy the lak hood building prior to the start in August 2025 and then um if you'd like Mr chair as the maker of the motion I would offer an amendment is there a second second moved and seconded um member JC if You' like is the refrigerator open member belly you're not muted [Laughter] sorry member Jacobs yeah thank you Mr um I want to I want to express appreciation for the um first for the administration in
238navigating this process uh determining an appropriate recommendation and giving it to the board um I want to express appreciation for the significant outpouring of public um comments on this memorandum um it is clear that there um are multiple um programs that within our district occupy space that isn't ideal and will benefit from our rightsizing process both um this current chapter U but also the continued conversation that this board has committed to having and U must have frankly um our footprint is is too large for current enrollment and the state has not not demonstrated um is is not demonstrated capacity or willingness um or being ad depth at reversing our decade long trend of net out migration and so we need to remain flexible and Nimble and not be overallocated resources to um Capital costs when
239we could be allocating those resources to wisely um Distributing them amongst classroom instruction purposes with that said um I think I will ask the board I'm going future amendments before we end our discussion today to prioritize um the programs that aren't selected as part of today's um memorandum for future rightsizing opportunities which will be as soon as this fall um which is in line with the action the board took on 1217 we committed to um further examining and asking Administration to propose additional buildings for consolidation this fall and I think that we have worthy programs that can take advantage of that space once is Right sized with that said I would move to amend ASD memorandum number 106 by replacing Highland Academy Charter School with anchor stream Academy and direct Administration to make any required
240conforming changes to the document is there a second second moved and seconded to amend um memorandum 106 discussion is now open on the amendment Mr member Jacobs would you like to speak to that yeah thank you Mr chair um this is a challenging one as a East Anchorage resident myself I've um had youth who have participated in both of these programs um the testimony that we've heard as a board is 100% accurate both of these programs are valuable to the district both of these programs provide critical services to um ASD schools ASD students um and our valued ASD schools and um both of these programs uh provide um services to a predominant number of East Anchorage students um I I think what I said just a moment ago is is true we need to work
241to uh remedy the fact that both of these programs are in buildings that are not um expressly built and are best situated to provide education in the format that it's currently delivered um I think this amendment comes out of really just an order of operations I I I think the board has heard loud and clear that we need to proceed very carefully as we consider with future rightsizing conversations in East Anchorage um this board had an opportunity to to address excess capacity in South Anchorage Midtown and Eagle River and um chose not to do so um we we need to um ensure that any future conversations regarding rightsizing East Anchorage are done carefully and I don't foresee those conversations happening within the next two years at minimum um with that said um the only Charter
242program that we have that um is expressly written into its in approved Charter that is approved through the Department of Education the State Board of Education as well as through our board um that prioritizes East Anchorage students um is stream Academy we've heard uh the amazing things that happened at that building and to be clear there are just as many amazing things that happened at Highland um and I think it's important we find space for them both um but Highland has a bit more flexibility than stream does and I think that we saw that play out in the testimony that we received from sitting legislators um from calls or contact from our assembly members uh from the community councils that represent the areas that are served by this these programs um the right match for
243this particular building um I feel strongly is a stream Academy um and then we need to Pivot quickly and make sure that we um ideally this fall would be my intention um and I will urge other board members to support that um as we did on 1217 pivot to finding a space that um through a right sizing process and reducing our overall footprint um also makes available um educational opportunities and expanded enrollment for Highland Academy and so would be happy to answer questions would urge support for this amendment and um again I don't think this is a um a desire to to choose one program over another I think this is purely an order of operation situation and who we um assist first in this building given its geographical location provides a unique opportunity that
244we may not have again for future years this this board will look different I think by the time we seriously consider um closing another building in East Anchorage or at least that's my assessment at this time thanks member Higgins well um I had an opportunity to visit both schools recently and had some good discussions and I want to start off by thinking both of them when I discussed the issue of right sizing with both they were both very respectful to the other school they recognized the need of each school to to have a different type facility and um uh it was just such a civil discussion it was really nice I'm going to apply all of them for that sort of approach uh Highland is in a well I consider it an old Payless place
245because it used to be a store there and it really looks like a more of a of a warehouse I mean kind of store thing and it doesn't have Windows it it it's a lot things there and they have to go outside to play uh and that makes it tough uh with within that um my concern is which one is going to best utilize the space uh where Thea Valley is right now um and um I was on the board when stream was adopted with the charter and I remember the enthusiasm of the of the teachers at that point and it was exciting they wanted to be on their own they had a vision they of what they could do for kids and I got to tell it's very impressive but a lot of their
246stuff is not just outside for breaks or PE it's it's built around the program that is outside and I believe that um I believe they will best utilize that space for educational purposes and they also have 100 on a waiting list so that's going to fill it up a lot faster uh within that and it just is what's ever best for the kids it's not a financial decision ever to me I'm I'm pushing back on that there's always ways to deal with that I I'm optimistic we're going to get some money additional from the state so that will address some of the issues that uh the charter schools have but I'm just extremely impressed with how they will utilize that space uh much more so than highing can but I'm also very convinced that we've
247got to find a space for Highland that's appropriate and their current space isn't so um I'm gonna support this change because it's I think it's going to impact more favorably a majority of kids and I'm going to put my vote for the kids every time thank you other discussion Mr chair the refrigerator is closed I'm sorry about that may I speak kind of worried about that yes please go ahead member Bellamy oh I gotta tell you um I I I hate I'm I hate that we're in a spot where where we just have to where our kids are asking us to choose one over the other I I just hate that um but but I do um I do think that uh stream moving into Nuna is a better um I I think it will
248act do all the things that Highland would do if Highland moved into there except except I do think that uh given the choices that we have right now that I I would support I would support the amendment but I also need to I just need to ask the board we have got to do a better job of right sizing um we had seven schools come before us we only managed to close two of them when we really should have been closing four for so that's why we're here we're here because for as hard as it is and I know it's hard it's very hard it's one of the hardest things I've had to do as a board member well next to the budget but it's we've got a right size and we can't we can't
249keep starting and stopping um and I don't know what that's going to mean I don't know what it's going to take um but but and I do hear our community voices because they love their neighborhood schools but we can't we can't keep them all the way they are and and we've got to find a way to get through this uh if Fairbanks can close 12 schools surely we should be able to do at least four if not more because and our challenge is a lot bigger it's it's a lot bigger it's just bigger so I I'll stop there but we got to do better as a board any other comments member Wilson this is um it is incredibly difficult it is incredibly difficult because we have many wonderful programs and needing some additional assistance that
250I think every one of us as board members would love to be able to provide as as we would love to be able to provide that additional assistance for for all of our schools um so this has been a really incredibly difficult year um I'm sure not just for me I'm sure for the rest of us um for this particular Amendment it it is important to me that stream in particular prioritizes our East Side families or east side kids and Nuna is an East Side school and so although I do believe that both stream and Highland um are very unique programs that we we've heard from our students we've heard from their families that that work very well for their families and work very well for those students and they're doing both doing great work
251um I will support this amendment in particular because I I believe that that stream because they are prioritizing our kids on the east side um that that our kids in Nuna in in the Nuna Community should have the opportunity to um take advantage of of a program that prioritizes them in in their community any other comments member Don I'd like to hear from the administration why they're making the recommendation they are original motion here uh through the president um member Donley the short answer is that both facilities are excellent candidates for the nunaka valley facility um one of the considerations was discussed in the work session which would be uh it unlocks an opportunity for some minor cost savings if we were to collocate a program in the future at newa Valley um in addition
252to that um we do still need to um find a location for the ACT program so uh if this amendment were to pass um that will be something that our team will be laser focused on and uh as we shared in the work session um we are um exploring the whin facility but it's unclear if the owner of the facility um will pursue that that that uh that change um Mr Anderson is there anything else that I left out thanks Dr Bryant no I I think those were the main reasons we looked at um you know the fund balance between the two schools that was that was a part of it um but it's really what Dr Bryant said we we looked at it they're both Great Schools they both fit there um there isn't
253a bad the out of those two whoever you choose it's the right school they they both they both could use a new facility um but we did you know for the final recommendation we did look at the ACT program um fund balance for the schools we were unable to confirm if we could get stream but I'm also confident we'll find a place to put the ACT program um regardless of the board's vot member Jain yeah thank you just a question for administration one of the ways that we're in a unique position that we could in theory as a as a board and as an Administration um collaborate to reduce overhead costs for Highland Academy Charter School for at least a year in in which again in my opinion I'm going to urge the board to
254consider um prioritizing this program should this amendment pass um as part of our upcoming right sizing conversation of the second chapter of it this fall um but in the interim we we do control and receive payment for the lease that this program has could the board either before or after receipt of onetime funds from the state reduce that um for one fiscal year by any certain amount to provide some sort of wheel room in that program's budget um yeah through the president of course we that could be done if the board chose to do that if you were going to reduce their leas Le that means we have to take the money from somewhere else of course but um it certainly would be possible I believe could I follow up Mr chair yes from a
255process standpoint would that be easier to do while we're also allocating resources that that a crew or that are received from onetime funds from the state um would it be easier or would would it be preferable to do that before that process begins I know we we just transmitted our budget to the municipality and so I I'm assuming we don't want to make too many revisions um so wondering if just opening it all at once would make sense or if there's any benefit to doing it sooner than later yeah I mean ideal I mean the I guess the competing thing would be one if you're going to open up more money for them which would potentially allow them to uh increase Staffing uh meeting our staffing timeline of course the later you the later you
256go it harder it is to get to hire people um but it is generally easiest to do it in the context of a budget revision if we were to get new state money um do it through there but you could do it anytime I wouldn't say that the um us turning over the budget to the municipality would make any real changes because that's kind of a net zero on our tax request and our upper limit um so it's just kind of whenever you guys would be ready to do it or have a a m go could I pull up Mr chair yes so then my ask of administration I don't know that it would be the best process to figure this out on the fly right now but I I guess my ask and I
257it can start as a request for information is to um make a recommendation um from the administration to the board as to how and by how much and when to um potentially reduce that overhead cost for this program um for the upcoming fiscal year and then um the source for that whether it be something that we reduce an expense elsewhere in our budget or we um wait until onetime funds are received and um choose to utilize those but I I would appreciate a recommendation um that the board can consider thanks member lesson um thank you for the uh Amendment for the conversation um I think it alleviates what I feel has been a growing concern that um of these two wonderful schools the one that makes the you know moving Highland into Nuna immediately alleviates
258the most acute fiscal crisis but may not be the best fit for the model of learning and I think that if we think in a long-term manner uh we really do want to put the facility we want to put the students and the um of approach to learning in the the right space and I think that this is um this is in the best interest of students you know potential to do place-based learning to conduct science and math and language arts outside on the trails in the trees measuring slope and all the other things that are part of the stream approach um I appreciate that it also is responsive to a great deal of um really hyper local community input from the community council from the elected officials who represent the naaka Valley Community um
259responds to some concerns that we heard about the size of the parking lot in relation to potential High School drivers sort of the path that they would have to take into and out of the community on a pretty regular basis um and I just you know I yes I use the data dashboard a lot but one of the things that I was looking at today was attendance at uh stream and um I think it's remarkable that of one of their High needs populations you know they've got a 91 over 91% attendance rate this year for um their many students who are considered economically disadvantaged this is outpacing their peers in grade 6 through eight districtwide in that same category which to me shows that the stream approach is working kids who are going there are
260engaged and they're active Learners and they want to be in the school space and I think that um it just feels like the right decision to me and I I don't mean this to um say that Highland is no less deserving Highland is one of the first schools that I had the privilege of touring when I joined the board um I went to I got to officiate the graduation at Highland uh just this this past spring um and the relationships that the Educators craft with their students at Highland is extraordinary and precious and deserves to continue um so I look forward to finding that plan to support both schools but placing stream in NAA Valley because I do think that it is the best location for that particular school for the foreseeable future for the
261long run thanks any other comments um I'll say personally uh this this should be something to celebrate um but it's difficult in that uh one of the things we heard from both schools is that this the place they're in is inadequate um very true of high and very true of the stream Academy um but also kind of emblematic of what our Charter Schools set out to do which is create something new we kind of force them to do it on a Sho string um and we've got a handful of schools that have located in not really desirable places and thrived and and I think it goes to the Vitality of the programs to the interest in in a particular kind of atmosphere um and so being able to place either of them in a school
262that has a gym and a cafeteria and lockers and all those things that our neighborhood schools do get to take for granted thankfully uh the the difficulty is in choosing one we can't turn to the other and say we're going to fix this for you because the future is very uncertain right moment we aren't doing very well by our neighborhood schools right now and we don't have the ability the hour to fix that either um but I I do have to admit um we do know that that island is in a spot they won't be kicked out of um stream we're not so sure and I guess to some degree my my desire and and this comes from listening to folks from Alaskan native culture um I I would like to only make schools move
263one time but unfortunately that does mean that some schools will be sitting and waiting and uh and that's difficult I think it's difficult to look at what might have been but then have to turn and go back to what is um so I am going to support the amendment and and I'm thrilled for stream Academy and for what they'll do I wish I could say to Highland I know what we're going to do for you within a certain time period um but we don't uh I do think that we should look at an additional closure next year the closures are hard uh when just as you folks have come to us talking about your programs that's what we hear when we try to close a school people that come and say you know if it
264wasn't for this school it wasn't for these people in this atmosphere my kid wouldn't be doing as good as they're doing and and as a retired educator I got to tell you it's a great thing to hear that people have that connection and have that enthusiasm for what we're doing all over Anchorage in all the different places um I wish we had the power to really make things at least reasonable but we are working work with unreasonable unreasonably low resources right now but as member Jacob said I I do hope that the administration can look at prioritizing uh for both of these programs uh not sure what's going to happen with abot Loop in the future and and I guess really I should save that for when we're back on the main Amendment um but
265there is a huge advantage in being in a building that is designed to be a school and we have a bunch of Charter programs that are looking that way this this is the beginning of a number of requests and uh I I think stream Academy will be there for a very long time and make excellent of it if there are no other comments I will ask Miss solivan to call the role member Bellamy yes member Donley yes member Jacobs yes member leson yes member Wilson yes member Higgins president Hollman yes by a vote of 70 you have adopted the amendment and that puts us back to the main question is there discussion on the main question as amended member Higgins I thought people could read lips I apologize for that um uh it's we've got
266the other aspect to this motion and I'm going to make a motion in regards to that and and I'm going to move to amend ASD memorandum 106 by replacing um W schul with the laskan native cultural charter school and director Administration to make any required conforming changes to the document and and I'll speak to it after is there a second second movement seconded member Higgins if you'd like to speak to it this is a motion I wish I wasn't even in even thinking about making we um um for for the last native cultural charter school which has been um a very successful school that compare the last Gren native uh success rate uh performance there compared to the school district in the past we've done studies and they really stand out I saw a recent
267analysis of the ones in third grade that are getting academic growth and they kind of leave the district uh so it's being successful the problem is uh where will they be in a few years they they're at a cliff and for the last couple of years the administration and with the board support has been let's not fix the school let's not make it so that they can maintain it because right now it has a fire code issue uh I don't think it's that expensive to fix but there were other things we could do to it but the general view I think was speculating that we'll close schools so we'll find a place to put them so we closed out the option of being able to address that school so they could be there in which
268case the issue about will Cula and and this would be a different discussion question is how much are we committed to having a truly Alaskan native cultural Charter School um with housing you've heard the past of how much they've had to move they were in one facility it had problems they've moved they were at East High School kids were not treated in the best way it was a very difficult situation for that school we got them into um the Abbot Loop U Elementary School with a lot of support from the abot loop Community Council I know I'm a member of that and they really want to take advantage in fact they even were committed to outside of that school to putting a Park area and working with parks and recks and the community was going
269to do work on it and very supportive of it but the administration and I think the board they're both gambling that we'll close the school we'll do something later well those opportun opportunities are limited even if we close a school will it be adequate in size the NAA Valley doesn't have enough classroom even us a little bit larger to even be able to accommodate the school and then we're going to be right back to where we were where we take uh the only um Title One short of school they have a 100 people on the list waiting to get in so there's a lot of growth that they can't accommodate right now in anyway but they were committed and happy to go ahead and stay within there to at least get support and to make
270that change but they couldn't get the support at that time time from Administration or the board and I was trying to uh push for that just because I didn't want them to be in the same position where we're facing now uh will we close the school next year maybe we've also sent legislation uh communication that said if we get adequate funding and we do something future uh that we would reconsider even the schools we closed well they're working on that right now uh we may get that thousand we I don't know and they're talking about what they want to commit to they don't know where the money money is going to come to from but a commitment to increasing the BSA I think is there the question is where are they going to fund it
271and how much but it's looking positive but in this particular case we don't have a fallback position for them that's where my problem is I appreciate the administration and the work session raised the issue and said um what what if you know putting together a list of changes that we could make to make the school so it's usable in fact they expand it Beyond just the fire code issue um and within it so that they could really be U fixed and they were proposing that and keeping let Rula that did not receive a good response uh in in discussion and so we're asked to gamble again that school might be closed where we may or may not be closing schools and if we do the likelihood is I hope that we won't be picking the
272neighbor School based upon how big it is because I can imagine that Community is going to be filling up this this uh uh meeting room and they will be speaking if we pick a larger School simply because it can accommodate filling a charter school um they should be angry I I think that's not the way we go about selecting it and so there's a high risk here we're running out of time the the fire marshal is not going to I don't believe approve an extension when we don't have a plan to fix it they gave us a 5-year extension but that was it and they haven't approved anything else at this point and so we're running out of time and space because we're not we we've kind of ignored the cliff that we're headed for
273that is not what I was hoping for um and and I think wilker Schuler is to me such a great school I think our our immersion programs is one of the proudest things I have about ASD when you go and you do some reviews you find out the best Creer technology skill you can get is being bilingual uh the best coming out of school that's financially great so um uh within it and and the and the support of the parents and the and the kids and the staff is just something to be extremely proud of for each one of our imersion programs but I can't abandon uh Alaskan native to a charter school when we have no other option out there on the table and we don't have anything looking forward to we can have
274a dream but this is about the last step we have in my opinion to ensure that anccs has a place here in a few years and they're not without they've been with went through that process before um I want all of our charter schools to be in safe facilities I think closing we we we're not if we don't close Lake Hood it doesn't mean we aren't downsizing or right sizing because we're taking somebody from a rental space in there if we keep like abot Loop uh uh open for the Alaskan native chared school as opposed to having them rent someplace that's the same thing I don't see a big difference that way so I'm very upset being in this position because I think it was totally avoidable but I'm not going to abandon the ataska
275native cultural charter school and where the position that they are in and I don't not see a fallback position at this point and so for that reason I've made this motion it's a very difficult one because I do think Wula would strive you know would be fantastic in that facility as well but I am not going to abandon anccs either and I do not see an option here and I think it's wrong for this District not to support uh the only I believe the only Alaskan native uh Char School uh in the state and this is one that's getting a great results and that's why I'm at to this particular point in time thank you member B me thank you Mr chair so I guess um I guess I have a question for the administration
276um so it I was not surprised that um Alaskan native Charter was not in this recommendation I thought we had five years to find them a home so maybe I misunderstood that um so yeah I'm just trying to can somebody help me understand did I misunderstand that the whole timeline for Alaskan native charter school I know the Fire Marshall has to approve uh the fire marshal approve 5 years we've had uh similar discussions about whether or not to put any more extra money into that school but we also have time on our side at least I thought we had time to find a home for between now and 2029 to find a home for Alaska Charter so we are not I I think using words like abandon is a little bit unfair because I don't
277see us abandoning any of our kids uh or uh or our programs I just see us having to make some really difficult decisions so if some I'll be quiet so that somebody can help me understand how I'm Mis understanding this I think Mr Anderson has some information all remember Bellamy you are correct it's a fiveyear extension um so there's there is still time to find another solution whatever that may be for Alaskan native charter school and would that be five years from now or no it's um four school years after this year followup Mr chair yes member B me so I guess my other question is I I so I don't know how I don't know how I I I just don't know how how how we we we got Alaskan native Tarter school so
278concerned that they would come forth now knowing that they had four years on we had four years we had time to address their concern I don't want to see uh them have to move again either but we've got to find a space so what is what is the urgency to move for that program to move like right now I guess can can can anybody help me understand that I I've heard all the testimony I get it [Music] um but but so I'm just trying to figure out how how they H why we have to move why we need to do something like right now member hiin well mentioned that in December I think it was the board voted at a recommendation from Administration to add uh that in three years we will level the school
279we will remove it completely and get it back to the district so that is not an option anymore they had been asking for a couple of years to me to the administration I'm familiar with it that they be afforded the opportunity to make changes to that school so that they can have some level of security of what they're doing because they have been through some rough times and the board took the position and proving a recommendation that we added it to the to the capital plan in a couple years or a few years whatever the time frame was that we would add this to remove the school completely and give the land back to the municipality of Vanquish so we we're closing the door of what they were hoping for at one point in time
280on the last couple of years we've we've only closed 25% of the schools that have been asked for by closure for the administration I I'm strongly supportive of of making sure that all of our schools are fully utilized but that doesn't mean closing a neighborhood school has to be the only solution with that we've got other approaches that are out there and and I remember that but right now on uh the assumption is we're going to have a school large enough within that for their their use they like I said there were 300 something students and they got 100 on waiting list so it's it's in that same category of needing a space big enough and so there time May time may be running out if if the administration which is the legislature what they
281talked about providing some additional money with some inflation proof actually came through we gave messages out there that may not be an option in the future so it's a tough position if they're at this one fits that need it's not wasn't what they were asking for the last couple years but it we've closed the door on one of the sure options and we don't have a sure option after that and if we don't find someplace what are they going to do so I think they're coming forward right now reflects the the the what they have been through in the past because they've talked to me and they have talked to others as well and that level of commitment is what they're hoping to get because they just don't have another place they do not want
282their kids in East High School with older kids with the with the problems they've got I appreciate that and we just don't have a fallback plan member Don well I think the fallback PL contained in the document we've got from the administration where it says the administration plans to include an Abbot Loop renovation in next year CIP ifccs remains in this facility that's pretty strong fallback plan that this board will be able to consider when it's uh put put to us as they're committing to do uh tonight member [Music] Wilson I'm going to reiterate that this is none of this is ideal um none of these decisions are ideal and all of our programs are are definitely worthy of of assistance um but this board agreed to prioritize Alaskan native cultural charter school and I
283feel like there's been an effort to do so but the opportunities available have not been ideal and moving them to Abbot Loop was is um is is I understand it very temporary um when Abbot Loop was closed as I as I continue to hear it there was no intention of repurposing that school um there is still no full consensus of the board that that will that that will happen so even though that is showing as part of the administration's plan I'm not hearing um a consensus of the board for that to move forward I I actually don't support that for this for for abbit Loop um I am concerned that anccs would not have another would would have another not so ideal situation to move into in a couple years because a couple years goes
284by really really quick as most of us know and I also want to consider the lakehood community in in talking to some of their Advocates and and hearing what they have to say in regards to what program they think would be a better fit for their families and their community and what I'm hearing from them isccs would be a better fit for an opt a possible option for for some of their families so obviously not a guarantee but a possible option for some of their families amilies um and it would be a better fit for them and an opportunity for for some of their kids to um possibly join in at at later grades because that Community like every other community uh which school which we have closed is is pretty devastated that we've closed
285their school so I'm considering the lake hood Community as well um but I I am concerned that because I would also uh I know member Jacob stated that whichever programs do not receive the the ability to move into one of these schools um should be prioritized I I would love to see that happen as well but I want to remind the board that the board has already agreed to prioritize anccs and I I do feel like lak hood is the opportunity to to make good on that that priority that promise that we made I like to remind the board that unless we have a motion to extend our meeting ends at 11: PM okay Mr chair I would move to extend our meeting not to exceed 11:59 p.m. is there a second mve and seconded
286without objection I'll consider the motion pass I I can't hear you you have to say it oh okay yeah we will carry on without you somehow um back on discussion of the amendment uh member W hey had a question for the administration um students from Lake Hood have started to be introduced to chigan Elementary I believe there's also a lottery window I mean if the board were to vote to bring um Alaskan native into well actually either school um in either scenario if if I'm a if I'm a family and I live in L hood and maybe I have an entering kindergarten next year so the language barrier wouldn't be there um do I need to make a choice by March 20th to enter the lottery for one of the for the incoming charter school
287yeah so to to your question member um not so member lence um so yes the lottery is currently open um Lottery applications actually close at the end of this week and the lottery will run um later this month um we um also have a a window open in the summer as well um in the July time frame so there is another chance for families to Lotter in at that time as well okay so there's a potential for um a family to take quick action this week or have a second chance um in a couple months time there is um the the challenge for our Lottery based programs um with that July Lottery is that um it's hard to plan their budget particularly in a charter school um Arena um they're looking at Staffing planning their
288budgets um if you don't have an influx of students until July that presents some challenges for them and I presume in the meantime Tate Elementary is proceeding with its Staffing with the understanding that the majority of the lakehood students will be received there that's correct um we we're in the middle of um planning and advertising all of those activities for families right now um there's there's welcoming activities at all of the right sizing receiving schools um and so we will be uh also having student events um towards the end of the school year um alongside those things so um that's well underway um principles are collaborating together and working on those plans right now member Jacobs yeah thank you Mr chair um so two different questions um the first I I've spent the bulk of
289my time in preparation for today um vetting the rec recommendation from Administration and um I have been focused specifically on my concern that the program that gets placed in lakehood elementary U May face challenges with its enrolled student um population um transporting to it location that's drastically different from the uh from the program's current location um Ro staff APC members have been responsive um and surveyed their um community and provided data that they would be willing to um by and large transport to a location that is inconvenient to access and um while we are spinning up some level of Transportation Service which I hope will expand um and I expect additional partnership from the state and uh our assembly potentially um as that proof of concept Bears out I haven't had the the chance to
290hear from um the anccs APC as a body um in the same fashion and the and from the building leadership in the same fashion and so um during the work session I specifically asked if there was any program that was hesitant to engage the district on collaboratively um spinning up a transportation program program utilizing the resources that are made available that students in the charter program earn um in addition to potential um savings that are realized by not having to facilitate a rent payment I think my qu my first question boils down to isccs um do we know that anccs is a willing partner in those conversations and I'm not sure there's anyone that can directly answer thatone well I me m Mr chair with due respect that's not true at all we've got Administration
291here we've got members of the APC here who is your question directed at Administration or members of the APC uh members of the administration said they've connected with program leadership we have members of the APC here I don't expect it'll be a challenge to get some clarity and I I do need an an answer to that question is there anyone in administration that can speak to that specific question we did not talk specifically about that when I met with the APC president and the principal um I would just um point out that they have been putting money aside into the rent account for quite a few years since they left their old building and went to East um I would be surprised if they would be hesitant at providing less than what they've been putting
292back every year but I I think uh you know I certainly cannot speak for Manny um I'm sure he would like to speak if given the opportunity if you'd like to yes please uh man qu ABC Board president for enccs I can't speak on behalf of my board you all know that but knowing our history our families we have an amazing Facebook carpo page and we make it work I know for a fact if this was an option that was brought to our board we would support it I'm sure of it um because our family struggles so if there is a way to make that easier on our families we would totally be in support of that thank you member Jacobs does that answer your question that does answer my question I appreciate you um
293assisting and getting me the information Mr CH I do have a followup um on a different topic if you'd allow it that doesn't exactly sound like followup go ahead I appreciate the creative license um in the same way that I asked if if there is any leeway for this board to assist Highland Academy um given the unique relationship of us facilitating a lease or subase with Highland Academy something that I tracked early on in the process is that um we through a somewhat unique relationship have a repayment plan of sorts with this particular program could you remind me exactly what that is how that came to be what that amount is and is that something that we could utilize and leverage to provide some sort of relief if a majority of the board chose to
294um approve this amendment as drafted uh shortly the president um back in 20145 school year to be effective in the FY 1516 school year uh Rula had borrowed $2 million from the district to be able to uh kind of put a down payment on building that facility that they're in currently um they're about 10 years through that lease repayment um the lease amount is little over $116,000 each year um so in that regard if you were able if you wanted to kind of absolve them of those lease or the repayment of that loan um we just have to find the money somewhere else from whatever other uh thing you want to cut in the from the rest of the budget but again it would be up to the board to be to be able to
295do that could one last followup Mr chair okay thank you um if if the majority of the board approves this amendment I think it's going to be important to um ask for that data point as an RFI and I think I'll phrase it the same way as a recommendation from Administration as to um how to assist with this particular cost item and when to do it whether it be before or after um action from the the state um and so I would ask for that data point from Administration thanks further discussion member belly thank you Mr chair so I went back and I read the December 17th minutes it looks like we did promise to prioritize uh uh so didn't put a time limit somehow I had a time I had five years in my
296mind that we would have to that they would be good for five years uh when really the memo actually states that we would prioritize them in any closure and that certainly that certainly did not happen this round uh um it happened for Abbot Loop but it did not happen this round so I'm still trying to filter through that I appreciate member Jacobs uh I worry about what's going to happen with Ry because if if we had really followed I guess if we followed our they they should have been Vine for both Nuna and lak Hood if if if um if they know if we if they if we had really focused in that we had promised the not promised but the board had prioritized uh uh anccs um so I I do want you know
297whatever options we can we we might we need to look at for I don't know how to help rooky does the administration have any ideas around um how to help should this amendment pass how how do we help Ry Rula you know they're they're about five months or so before their lease runs out um they'll be going into they'll be negotiating with the landlord um you know as I talked about at the work session I I think both schools are amazing schools they all have amazing Peds the reason that that we recommended rasula was was a timeline where we have three years to find a different solution um for anccs and and there's really a small amount of time to find a fix for Ric aula I you know I don't I don't know what
298the solution is I don't know if the board um you know board decisions to close schools impact the administration's ability to help schools with Solutions I I don't know what the appetite will be next year I I think the board probably knows in general I I don't know we haven't had that discussion publicly yeah I um I don't know the solutions to any of this this particular point in time and my problem is that all the charter schools that without the cafeteria without all the different things that the other schools have they're all in a in a position that I'm not real happy with and the reason why I push for Abit Loop to be continued is not because we're not downsizing we're just not renting is what the goal is rather than renting a
299place for w Controla they could be someplace within our school system are we're going to have to rent a place then if we're lucky uh which I don't think we're going to find for anccs because we're going to close the schools CU we got to show that we're downsizing I don't think that's downsizing that that's not even right sizing uh so we're running into that kind of issue u i just U at this particular Point time I we're running out of time for all of them I do believe we're going to get additional funding from the state but I can't promise that either because we don't know what's going to happen I'm sure it's going to be something vetoed and a vote override it they're going to make it dramatic at the end count on
300it uh within that so I'm not happy in the position I'm in but I I just see this as the only opportunity out there that we're being given at this point in time the opportunity of fixing that school recommended by Administration I don't think the support has been there from the from the voices that have spoken out um uh in regards to it and I think that's you know that eliminates that's a win lose situation there's no compromise opportunity and so I the time frame is bad for both of them but I do believe there's going to be additional funding to help through this initial period member Donal thank you Mr President I would think if we can spend $52 million or $50 million for a brand new Inlet buuse school we could spend a
301few million dollars to keep abot Loop open in fact the taxpayers or the voters of this community already voted in a bond package to uh provide money to just to do so Mr Anderson how much money is sitting in that account for Abbot Loop already that was supposed to be used to upgrade this school to comply with the code it's a little bit over two and a half million that was approved by the voters of Anchorage and this board chose not to follow the voter's guidance and to to make the decision that member Higgins is unhappy with and um so there's already money there to accomplish upgrades to Loop and um and this board's already voted to use all of anything that the we might get from the legislature has already been set out so
302it's starting to remind me of a Popeye cartoon C popey cartoon where he says um if you buy me a hamburger today I'll be happy to buy you two hamburgers tomorrow member L um I think this is a question for the administration about um building capacity if this amendment were to go forward and the last native cultural Charter School were to move into lak Hood it would be vacant could it be occupied by Roa show or I mean you would need a number of reloads as well yeah I think rioch Schuler would need to lose about 130 students or so to to be able to occupy that facility um you could fill the playground with relos I guess it would certainly be incredibly suboptimal um you know honestly that you know when we looked at
303at the size of Lake Hood um Ric aula is not counting Frontier Charter School um is the largest of all of the charter schools by far um that certainly went into knowing that you have a school built for 500 what's the school that's close to 500 um ultimately though it it certainly would be good for both it's it's great for vehicle traffic on any school that would go in there um really what played out was their lease ends and and whereas Alaska native charter school is not paying lease costs right now and they still had three more years um and and it really was what we've got a school that's got five or six months to find a solution not that there's not a different solution that could be creatively um produced um but it
304really is we're we are 10 weeks out from delivering boxes to somebody so they can start boxing so we can start prepping the move and um you know it really was we we really went with the school that's the largest of all the schools and the school that has a lease that's running out against a school that isn't paying a lease and we had three years that that really those really were it wasn't uh it wasn't a dart board that a dart happen to land there it it was really just looking at the facts and that's what we recommended member L um thank you I appreciate that um there are a couple of other schools along Lake Otis as I had North in my mind there's Lake Otis Elementary and there's Wendler middle school perhaps
305this is a question for rul leadership you know if abbat Loop were to be available for the elementary component of the brka SHO could the SE the older students be collocated I understand that's not ideal it's just a question that is arising and I thought I would raise it I don't know if the appropriate way to get that answered would be I think if you're asking for their Charter to be modified is probably not something generally done through an amendment would be my guess other discussion I I would like to put some of my perspective on it um I wasn't I don't think I was around when the very first charter school was formed but that was one of the original requirements in in creating a charter school is you had to go find a
306place to be no one expected to be housed in an ASD facility but over time it has started to happen and for a number of reasons I think it's really preferred um one is our buildings are stronger if there's a severe earthquake kids are less likely to die and that's that's a pretty big consideration all by itself um the other thing is it wasn't very long ago that we really weren't thinking too much about downsizing or any of our buildings becoming vacant uh it seemed like we were in a little bit of a wall but if you looked at the predictions from uh business groups and others it was this is going to turn around we're going to start growing again Anchorage had a long period of slow steady growth uh that flattened out and
307then started to decrease um I think it will turn around one day but I kind of like what will come out of the legislature I can't put a number on it and I'm not exactly sure when it's going to happen um but I do think that the the desire of the board has shifted into wanting to bring as many of our schools in as possible it's somewhat ironic to be here having this discussion when the legislature is seemingly quite proud of all of our charter schools and yet is doing nothing to help the ones that are in existence and thriving they would just like to have more of them and at the moment that seems like a really difficult thing to have happen so I I don't think they're watching the meeting tonight I don't
308wonder if they're not but but that is part of the struggle if we wind up creating more charters in more private buildings it will pull kids from our neighborhood schools which will exacerbate the need to close neighborhood schools but going forward there are a couple of things I I was on the board when we voted to close Abbott wo at the time we didn't foresee Alaska native culture and charter school being in there and so it was assumed that we would let it go back to the city as a way of not having to deal with upgrades and repairs um I don't think the board is dead set on that and it could easily be reversed I see it as being on the CIP just in essence as a footnote that if we ever do
309Let It Go back to the city we may have to demolish it first and that comes at a pretty substantial cost what we don't have right at the moment is a number on what makes a building uh usable for the next 20 or 30 years I think we'll see that um anybody that looks at the complexity of a major remodel on a school knows that you can't just walk down the hall and put a number on it it really does take an architect it takes Engineers to look at it and talk about what has to be done and put numbers to that and then try to think about and then put it out the bed and see somebody will do it for that that's a key thing and if Abbot Loop is working well through
310Alaska native cultural that may be the way forward although it was pointed out in the atmosphere of under underc capacity elementary schools um we will have to continue doing some closures on those as well and I I do hope the administration will come back with at least one um and personally I feel like not more than two recommendations next year I think there's value in doing that slowly and carefully um I I do agree with member Higgins that we should not go looking for a neighborhood school to close so that we can move a specific program in I think it's very unfair to the neighborhood School uh and that does make it uncertain but I do think we have some options in time with Alaska native cultural Charter and and we don't have much time
311with realing and so that I see that as a driving force unfortunately because we have no control over our funding from year to year it's very hard to make a three or four or fiveyear plan that makes any sense uh but certainly this is something that I think we could argue in the legislature uh that we need to take care of the thriving Charter Schools we have and uh we have a limited amount of time to do that with brooka we have at least a few years with Alaska native cultural in charter school and so I um won't support the amendment uh I do absolutely support the district taking a new role with Charter Schools which in the past we really didn't concern ourselves with their building at all um times have changed over the
312couple of decades that we've been accumulating them and it's it's too big of a job for an APC or a school although Ry accomplished it uh they had some good help at the time uh but we shouldn't be expecting our charter schools to take that on is there an aging facilities or they are in facilities that are becoming more and more expensive member Higgins well I appreciate some of the comments when I first got on school board when we had uh issues about Charter Schools min ation response was they want to be on their own let them go find their own place it was really it was like you know we're not we we're not owners and and we are we should be owners you're a school just like any other school every one of
313our Charter Schools but that time it was different but we have had schools with different groups in it um um Den alley originally was mono and regular neighborhood school and so many people crowded it in that it became Denali but you've got um that type typ of school you've got a variety of schools out there whether it's you know the advanced schools with Rogers Park or other schools where you've got multiples together and we have identified with u Administration a lot of places in those schools that we can use for those preschool other things trying to help the economy because we don't have enough uh workers and we don't have enough support to to expand the schools and use them for that so it's fully utilized in the schools and so I don't see that
314but when it comes to fixing the school so it's good enough for 20 to 30 years with a billion and5 dollar of deferred maintenance that's an average of $15 million per school so get in line um we're making it sound like this school has to be perfect and others have to be this and it just it doesn't make sense to me uh because none of our schools are very few are perfect at this point and with $15 million per School in average on deferred comp of course it's not all going to be up there uh we got so many roofs should rep place in the school system it isn't funny but I think if this was something other than a chared school filling that school people would say no we we're put in and the
315estimate was $1 million with the presentation of a former coo about six or seven years ago when I was at a community council maybe it's $3 million now or two to three million other changes or advancements beyond that but the commitment here of not doing anything was very strong now an Administration realizes we don't have a whole lot of options I appreciate that and that's why they came back with the at least in their presentations let's fix it up uh and we've got money that is in deferred that may have been used for other bonds that is available or other options out there but that's not on the table right now in the absence of that I I just can't support abandoning and that's really what we're doing that school and knowing we don't have
316any place else to go and worried about the those those students and there uh and what may be and I appreciate um those comments to I realize that as a neighborhood School uh this one's more accessible to the neighborhood than the others simply because you could come in at various grades you can't do that with a with imion programs any of them uh within that and so there's some advantages that way but I'm I'm not happy with being in this position I think it was avoidable and and unfortunately uh I just don't hear the solutions other than the recommendation the uh amendment I made any other discussion see no one raising a hand I will ask Miss olivan to call the role we are voting on the amendment to change um the words uh Roa
317to the Alaskan native culture in Charis amember Higgins yes member lessons yes member Donley no member Jacobs yes member Wilson yes member Bellamy I abstain president H I vote no I'm not sure we have the option of abstaining my my understanding is if that we vote she can't yes I I have to me so Mr ter you saying I can't abstain I can't recall it happening um I can't recall where in our policy it's explicit but say in the other governing boards uh in Alaska it's not an option so I vote no thank you I I gotten word through our ad hoc parliamentarian Katie grant that we are compelled to vote okay you have it I vote now by four Y and three Nays the motion has passed that completes our action items and Mr
318chair we're still in discussion underneath the U amend I have another if you like we still have yeah I I apologize the the amendment has passed we have not moved the main question right back discussion the yeah Mr chair I would um move that um ASD memorandum number 106 that the summary section be amended to include the following language um Highland Academy and rasal German emerence school will be given priority for occupying buildings that become available through future approved consolidation proposals there's a second I'll speak to my motion second moved in second is there a discussion on this amendment yeah Mr chair thank you um the amendment that I drafted had all four programs listed um because I I didn't know how tonight was going to turn out and I didn't anticipate the discussion today
319going the way it did um with that said I think it's important that as we noted at the start of the conversation we have four worthy programs um that are worthy of support and so I think now it is incumbent upon us to move forward and continue the right sizing conversation and prioritize um both Highland Academy Charter School and reala German Immersion School um in the right sizing conversation that will happen this fall um Administration was directed to present a proposal to the board um I join you in asking for um two at minimum proposals um not only because we um need to find candidates um for these two programs but because we have exess capacity across our municipality um and it's the right thing to do uh for students Educators and our families um
320and so um I would ask n support for this amendment I think it's the um the least we can do given the circumstances and the situation we're in tonight discussion member Don chair oh sorry member dony and then member Bing thank you in some ways I I agree with this but I am concerned that adopting this we're going to put ourselves in the position as of whatever school we vote to close obviously going to be ju opposed what this calls for so any neighborhood school that we vote to close is going to know that we closed it to fulfill this motion and I think that's going to put the board in a very awkward position and really send a bad message to our neighborhood schools that may have to be closed in the future because
321we're going to be clearly saying these are more important than neighborhood school so I'd like to reserve my right to do it logically based on what neighborhood School the other folks might want to close at that time um it may be so important such a bad decision to close that school i' reserve the right to do that but with this in place now it's going to be a ju oppose to these other schools I I think these schools deserve priority but at the same time this puts the board in a horrible horrible position to deal with the school closures that we need to address coming up Mr chair could I respond uh member J yeah thank you I appreciate the comments um and to be clear this isn't um an ideal situation and um I
322I think horrible is probably an accurate word for um our service over the last six months there's been nothing but challenging decisions to make and so I I commiserate with my colleague um with that said uh the board has set a precedent for establishing priority for a program we we just did so with um the lekan cultural charter school did so in December um and prioritized them tonight I think it's um within precedence and also um is appropriate to indicate to these communities that we intend to when and where it makes sense prioritize them for placement in a building that's deemed appropriate um and is approved through the right sizing process to be available um this this language does not say that admin a should go hunting for a facility that makes sense for these
323programs um it does say that these programs should be given priority for buildings that make sense uh to their communities and so I think those two things are very different and conflating the two um isn't accurate and doesn't match the intent um but one could certainly try to do that um the goal is simply to do what we engage in the same process we did for anccs and model that process for two additional programs because at minimum we should be considering right sizing two more buildings um likely that that number should be higher as our um enrollment and our Elementary grades continues to be projected to to decline I at least slightly and there has been again a lack of interest from prior boards um in addressing this problem head on so I would urge
324support thanks member Higgins yeah I'm GNA um um I'm not going to support this I support that we've got to find something for wilker we have to do something um for hin Academy the same token if we were closing fire late what would we would we be looking at the that Community what would best serve that Community when we close the school and we need to recognize that and uh under the circumstances so I don't like pre-election when you don't have the facts you don't know what circumstances will come up I don't think there was any question in my mind that there was this is the worst school board meeting I've ever had to be in because of the challenges and the win lose situation I hate it um uh like like no other board
325meeting I got to tell you this is the worst um but I just don't believe that pre-selecting it is going to in any way um mitigate the damage that we've had to do when we had to select between two schools and I just uh I don't think that's beneficial to to make a decision in regards to something that may come up and it will be a different school board at that time and um that we're going to have changes coming up um um we you know people getting off the board because there are times up or other issues before we get to this and trying to select and push forward something for future boards to me doesn't make sense we've got to do it um at the time when it comes up but I I
326want to not look at it tied into schools but um um we've got to have some sort of a winning approach here we got to do something member B thank you Mr chair so I apparently got really confused with the uh December 17th memo and prioritizing and what that meant for prioritizing Alaskan native charter school so this sounds about the same to me uh I'm trying to figure out what what would make it different other than we would have had three years to place Alaskan native Charter and the way this would re would work is that we would whatever school we school or schools we closed uh should we close a school would have those two names on them so I'm I'm I'm just uh while we don't have a timeline with uh the motion
327I I just I'm just a little bit concerned that we're going to end up probably back where we are tonight with this prioritization uh but knowing that we need to do something for R Rula we need to do something for Highland we need to do something for wh we need to do something for ACT we need to do something for a whole lot of schools and [Music] um so I don't know I don't I don't know I don't know how to fix it either I don't know what words might make it better um but if we're going to start prioritizing schools then we are looking at closing schools for two reasons these next this next year one would be for Ry if this passes and the other would be for um um the other school
328so I don't I don't know I I think I get the intent of the motion and I think it's it it's a great effort to try to um fix what we've done tonight but I don't I I just I don't know I I don't know I'm still pondering that so if there's anything uh the maker could help me help me get past the what the prioritization means that that might be that might be a first step for me to to try to figure this out member jackobs thank you Mr chair I appreciate the comments by the former speaker I again I'll reiterate that um this this Builds on passed action by the board on 1217 the board um it might have been unanimous or or close to it I don't recall um adopted language that
329um was drafted again I'm going off of memory and it's past 11 um was drafted by member leson and myself um that um indicated our intent to revisit um and continue the conversation regarding building consolidation this fall that is a fact we've agreed to that the administration is expecting and and will be delivering us a recommendation this fall um this language simply Builds on that in a separate way to say that once um those recommendations are delivered as there are facilities made available through that process that makes sense in our logical match for Highland Academy Charter School and Ru German Immersion School that those two would be given preference based on the recommendation by Administration over other programs um that does not say that Administration and this does not direct Administration to go out and
330find a school that um specifically is is um perfectly fit for either one of these programs it directs them to follow the process that we've established in December and that once there's a fit that those two programs would be prioritized um those two things are very logical um we will be linking the process of um building consolidation and repurposing regardless and so I to me it seems um anything but transparent to pretend that those two things aren't linked and so it to me it also makes sense that we can signal to those communities that we couldn't resolve concerns for four programs tonight with two buildings also need to recognize that we have committed previously to continuing the conversation for building consolidation if there's a board member who disagrees with that now would be a good
331time to say it um or potentially bring up a vote in a future meeting because the majority of the board um spoke with one voice and the majority of the board um has not gone back on that um we might not be unanimous but the majority of the board spoke very clearly and so um absent um any other changes to the direction that we've previously given Administration this just provides a common sense pathway uh for next steps thanks will put myself in the order and then member Higgins and member Donley but um for example if the ACT program loses a lease and we have school or program that's unhoused it seems like this is saying that that these two programs still get priority over that and that seems confusing to me um I mean I
332I like the sentiment but again facing the reality uh could be something quite different um the member Higgins and member the motion even goes to September providing us a school closure you know school one school forclosure was made and I viewed it in many different ways one is let's not wait till the last minute we go ahead and do it we decide what we're going to do but it didn't compel us that we're going to close schools when we saw the finances there's not a lot of savings there we've heard from the chief academic officer that you can have U third fourth grade and get good results but it's difficult it's a resource issue is Administration I appreciate that too but we've also seen that when you do have a school low and you had
333it fully staffed like Bear Valley Administration said that's a uccess so that they backed away from that one so I don't know what we're going to do or not do when we go to school closures other places can do it differently I want to do it because it makes sense not because we're just out there so I haven't been overly I've been UND opposed really to it because it impacts the neighborhood there are other options to fill that school and so yes I the fact is that I'm not abandoning my responsibility Schoolboard member just because I'm not in favor of closing every neighborhood school that you see I am not supportive of that if it makes sense I'll look at it I'll do it I'm not prejudging that we vote it we're going to close
334the school next year that wasn't what I read and we have and we're going to base it upon the recommendations at the time um but um regardless of whether we close schools or not it's got to be the best fit at the time and so for that reason um I'm I appreciate the want to send out the message to Will Kula and to and to um uh Highland that we're not abandoning our goal to help you I appreciate that because that absolutely should be it um but we the commitment to closing in this case Abbott Loop eliminates one school that could have been used with Charter and when and for relatively low cost with about the same cost as it going to cost to level it uh and we'll go forward from there because that's
335a decision to go forward with but I just think that we are being forced into decisions that I think could have been avoided member Don yeah I agree with member Higgins as to being forced into decisions that should have been avoided uh especially if we would have just followed what the voters of Anchorage told us to do and that was to repair Abbott Lop school and they've already approved the bond money to do that um second um I agree that you know I mean we want to send a message of support to um rosula and and the the our other charter schools that we're going to do the best we can for them but I really reject the notion that b because we made a decision several years ago based on the facts at that
336time which were very different than the facts we're faced with now the facts at that time is we were looking at closing six schools and also that of all the schools out there the situation the native charter school was in was incredibly unsatisfactory and unique being housed in East High School and we heard horrific testimony about what was how bad that was for the for the native charter school I think we all knew we had to get them out of East High School so you can't take a set of facts from years ago and a decision that was made and then draw everything from that is that well that's the new rule we're going to follow I don't think that's fair at all we ought to base our decisions on what the facts are at
337this point of time in this remember B me I I do want to thank uh member um Jacobs for his uh the explanation to my last question uh that kind of helps um and and and you know it still gets back to for me you know I mean what what does when we prioritize I I know what that meant to me but I know what it means to me but I I I don't know how to make it how to make this amendment maybe a little bit clearer um but I but I but I I think I do support it only because it shows rooky and Highland that whatever happened here what has happened here tonight uh does not mean that there's not a path forward for this board to try and do um do
338some do what's right by them I guess uh so I I I I I don't know this is a a terrible conversation to have we are pitting our kids against each other we're pitting our programs against each other um and I don't know that we all that that this that and I agree though it didn't have to happened this way I think there were factors that led to this kind of um this kind of situation and I I and I just think as board members we need to just be real careful how we how we how we uh engage and how we incite people um or get them excited about things that that when we're when we're trying to do the best we can for all of our kids so um but I do appreciate
339member Jacob's uh effort I I appreciate appreciate the and I think I appreciate the motion so thank you m Jacobs yeah thank you um I'll just say I appreciate the conversation and in response to your direct question I think it was the only other one I heard um the in a scenario where the ACT program needed urgent assistance um within 12 months adopting this language would um ensure that the education center would be available if we've already prioritized um Highland Academy Charter School um because they're currently in the education center and we know that that makes sense from administration's perspective as a place where that program could be and so um I don't know I me that's that specific examples resolved that way um I agree that it does provide some limited flexibility however um
340these are two programs that we've I think unanimously agreed are worthy of a facility once they become available I don't have a problem making that commitment um if others do I respect that decision just and will respectfully disagree thanks any other discussion member donin I just wanted to raise one final thought and concern here and that's this passes it's I'm concerned that that some of the charter schools will be put in the position of negotiating and advocating against um schools that might get on the list for potential closure that's a terrible position to put our citizens in and our neighborhoods and our our neighbors in um I I desperately hope that doesn't happen but I I can see where it could by this decision if this was the decision of the board and I really
341don't want to see that occur in this community yeah just a final comment since there there seemed to be a question unresolved point in there I I'll say that by us choosing to prioritize two programs that we couldn't address tonight um I think that makes clear our intent to um place these programs and Facilities as they become available in our reasonable match in a way that U makes it clear that we don't need those indivi those individual communities to come and Advocate um and have them be the driving force behind a plan to close any particular particular building um this board saw a charter school Charter School stakeholders advocate for the closure of a particular program as part of this right sizing process we should not pretend that this process that we just engaged in
342was perfect and so um I think this offer is actually an improvement and so that's why again I offer it I I I'm happy to respectfully disagree with my colleagues who feel differently but I would urge support thanks any further discussion seeing none I'll ask Miss suan to call the role we are voting on the amendment um to prioritize Highland Academy and um roua if um buildings become available through future approved consolidations R Jacobs yes member Higgins go on record no remember Bellamy yes remember lessons member Wilson yes member Donley no remember lessons yes president hollan no by voted 43 you have approved the amendment we are now on the main question again as amended is there discussion seeing No One race it to a microphone um I I have to say I we are
343in a bad position and um and we don't actually have the tools to do the job that we're sort of entrusted or empowered to do that said it seems to me that we have put rasula in a position to crash into a wall shortly um and I wish I could turn and say to Alaskan native Charter don't worry we'll think of something in the next couple of years but I'm not sure we can but if I was watching two cars that were headed for crashes I would say leave the car that was going to crash in a couple weeks and then try to figure out something to do about the car that was going to crash in a couple of months I no longer support the motion as amended which is not a solution it's
344it's as close as you can come to an extension that we're allowed to make I I don't support the motion longer is there any other discussion M Donal yeah I Mr President I think we have two very separate decisions here rolled into one motion or one main motion there's the what to do with nunaka and what to do with they could I think it's right for a division so I move to divide the question between the two proposals point of order do we have three amendments to this that is the thing that gives me pause I've never had the motion to divide come up after a motion has been amended only because of the amendment that just pass right there's the new NAA there's lak hood and then the amendment number three I guess I
345don't know how you divide that M Higgins I believe they've already been separated for voting purposes already and so I'm not sure what the what the goal would be since we voted separately on in both placements it it was two different actions in one motion and we have amended both of them um but we've also passed an amendment that sort of bridges across both of them I'm not Mr chair from a point point order so I would argue that we could divide the question um take up the two actions separately and then the administration's already been directed to to adopt conforming language to the document and so if um the board changes its mind on either decision um then that language could be changed um but I think I agree with member Higgins that the
346the votes just occurred and so I don't know that that's realistic member Don well the distinction is that some members didn't vote for one one of them and some all of us voted for the other one I think we have unanimous agreement on one but we have very close division on the other so why force people to vote against something that you know that you support we're we're going to have to Institute a parl imperian that has the book in front of them um and and I used to know Roberts a lot better than I do but I I honestly don't know if you can divide a question that has already been amended that's uh and I'm not saying I wouldn't like to um I'm going to rule the motion out of order and if
347someone wishes to challenge I won't be insulted we're back on the main motion as amended seeing no hands I ask Sol to call the RO amony no remember Higgins on record please yes member Jacobs yes member lens yes member Bellamy yes member Wilson yes president hman no so I Believe by 5-2 you have passed the main motion that completes our action items that brings us to the superintendent update superintendent Bryant uh Mr President I I'll be brief I know we're running against the clock um but I just want to thank the board for your leadership and Direction tonight this was an incredibly difficult um decision um but at the end of the day we're supporting two fantastic programs who will have access to more resources in these facilities than they currently have right now and
348I think that's something to be proud of but there is work to be done and what's at the top of my mind after tonight it is thinking through ways to improve our right sizing process such that we can meet these competing demands but we do have many more viable uh programs than we currently have facilities that are set to be vacant so we do have quite a puzzle to solve um but that's the work that can happen over the next six months or so um I'll I'll end there thank you Schoolboard comments I will start to my left with member Higgins I'll make it short since a few minutes this has been the most frustrating school board meeting I've ever been in um I think things could have turned out a lot differently where we
349weren't in this particular conflict um and I'm I'm just dis disappointed that um uh we reached a point where we did I think we let down Charter Schools somewhat by our approach and I just feel awful about it and I'll leave it at that member Jacobs no comment thank you Mr chair member donway no comment Mr chair member Wilson member won no comments thank you member bellam no thank you we still have nine minutes um all I can say is I I think we have left an important part of our district in a really untenable position uh and we don't have resources to fix it in the short run um I'm I'm I'm styed and it is I think a very unfortunate situation anyone in the administration have anything they would like to say that
350is allowed in the school board meeting seeing No Hands move to Jour have a Move Motion to adjourn moved and seconded we are in adjournment