[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",5972830,"mediaKeyId","5862987-ec5bfa59446b2f786c69285724d08403","parentId",5862987,"title","School‑based health centers expand in Anchorage; providers ask for sustained municipal support","audioSeconds",1301,"startMs",4468000,"endMs",5769000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5862987-ec5bfa59446b2f786c69285724d08403&start=4468&end=5769","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5862987-ec5bfa59446b2f786c69285724d08403/thumbnail_4468000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/5972830/Anchorage-Municipality/Alaska/Schoolbased-health-centers-expand-in-Anchorage-providers-ask-for-sustained-municipal-support","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5972830-ca86a6e97148d4e68c07d35e570c0c47/orig.mp4?Expires=1773597915&Signature=Blmwde4GNn61CmlXhXbWco4cXv-1obIoRq6csYFY9CD2dVgRZ0XULyMRQWsii5JXw6wE~yQFl9uwS0QAwh4Rn9FsbuI0SxMP7FZ7hH8cipMhnhfgmbZQAtNpbWZJp~JIqbPsCyDWzbRlAjPKfWYaiS~4Cjt~64guwJi0sRZkTMdHX32yPCQz09IECK3Ehu4R-q-07fTKv~DFgIJ5dYkGnuvD-Mk7R6E6g751f304UFVCppcWjNswP~WFkhz9-IziSWMzl4UyvevsWcI2pAwKTtBOUNl334kgf7JBIfWoJ1mdRhJcY3Hkec9u~szNhFf~vYUQWr63-GLldye1VRbqDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Municipality of Anchorage","date","2025-09-26T20:05:52Z","article","Anchorage — Leaders of Anchorage School‑Based Health Centers and district student‑support staff told the joint Anchorage Assembly and School Board meeting on Sept. 26 that on‑site clinics and integrated mental‑health clinicians are reducing barriers to care for students but rely on a mix of municipal grant funding, billing revenue and private grants to operate.

Lisonbee Cecil, director of student support for the Anchorage School District, and Heather Ireland, executive director of Anchorage School‑Based Health Centers, described the program footprint, payer mix and service model: clinics at Clark (opened 2010), Begich (2014), Bartlett (2017), East (2018) and a new site at West High this year, plus periodic pop‑up clinics for sports physicals and urgent needs. The centers provide comprehensive wellness exams, urgent care and referrals to specialists and coordinate with school nurses and integrated mental‑health clinicians placed in about 22 schools through partners such as BOA Alaska, Providence and Alaska Behavioral.

“It’s reducing that barrier and can increase their outcomes,” Lisonbee Cecil said, describing how on‑site care keeps students in school and helps them qualify for sports and activities. Ireland said roughly half of visits are covered by Denali KidCare, and that about a quarter of children served were uninsured in the most recent school year — an increase from about 20 percent the prior year.

Ireland and Cecil said municipal grant funding has been a key growth driver: the Muni grant the program received in recent years helped expand staffing and access, Ireland said. When asked about revenue and sustainability, Ireland said the centers bill Medicaid and private insurers, but grant funding remains essential to serve uninsured students and to cover overhead. “Our budget is, like, between $200,000 and $250,000,” Ireland said when asked about the program’s operating budget, and she noted that billing revenue was growing but still limited.

Staff described parental‑consent processes for mental‑health services and noted consent can be a barrier for some students. The district’s integrated mental‑health clinicians operate under consent and provide tier‑3 individual and group supports; staff said some students seek services but do not obtain parent permission, and the district is monitoring legislative proposals that could change age‑of‑consent rules. A bill was mentioned in the meeting that would lower some mental‑health consent thresholds from age 18 to 16 for certain non‑medication services; staff said that measure was in the Senate for the upcoming session.

District and center leaders asked the assembly and municipal partners to continue supporting the Muni grant and other local funding sources because uninsured counts are rising and greater need coincides with budget uncertainty for the district. “As there’s less insured students, it’s less money for us to operate our program, but more and more need to do so,” Ireland said.

Assembly members and school board representatives praised the centers’ work and asked for a clearer budget‑to‑actuals briefing in the future; one assembly member asked for a more detailed cost‑breakdown and longer‑term trajectory for sustainability. Staff agreed to follow up with more detailed financials and to host site tours for elected officials.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint School Board/Assembly Meeting Sep 27, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","District officials and the Anchorage School‑Based Health Centers told the joint meeting that on‑site medical clinics and integrated mental‑health clinicians have grown since 2010; the centers cited increasing shares of uninsured students, reliance on a municipal grant and other small funders, and the need for ongoing local support.","taxTitle","Anchorage Municipality, Alaska","taxId",2653,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5972833,"ASD previews rightsizing, plans to offer repurposed school space for commercial childcare",1145,3188000,4333000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5862987-ec5bfa59446b2f786c69285724d08403&start=3188&end=4333","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5862987-ec5bfa59446b2f786c69285724d08403/thumbnail_3188000.jpg","/articles/5972833/Anchorage-Municipality/Alaska/ASD-previews-rightsizing-plans-to-offer-repurposed-school-space-for-commercial-childcare","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5972833-1d8e313c05407b367f32666eaa4bb7a7/orig.mp4?Expires=1773597915&Signature=M1~zWzCSt4dOmFL2ikdAX8horFM-JtyxdvQCZik1ijvq5y6E-OwpMXx0C6M-0CCBXcs6KYUTs7deMQcb6rXY7ccFjTG0rXPflvV1h1USJSXYUiaBDpJw3U2wxcZC7o48NnDuUFVv1uNazeT06KHept0m3o6tZChusWbeWVBviypDCIeZeC-V6xjKCHIRUd8k93KdrpjVlYlI6aiFG9q3Z~-oKyaYhT8QRy4rcGMcnaBqOaOCLZoHmNTEImQfS-lEZQUtr~DV5kea8ueTKvMdRKkDBqbOsm3zKOkoEvo7oMC~o~qS1KBzX9T-uNznYGIzvgzZE7GwTxf0tgqcelE44A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Anchorage — Anchorage School District leaders said Sept. 26 they will publish recommended school consolidation and repurposing proposals on Oct. 7 and that part of the district’s “rightsizing” work will prioritize converting underused elementary schools into commercial child‑care sites and more space for choice programs.

The district described a multi‑year approach to repurposing school buildings, offering one‑time capital renovations for operators and a preference structure for slots. “We started with Kids’ Corps International and Head Start,” the district’s rightsizing presenter said, adding the district plans to pilot a lease and request‑for‑bids process that would reserve portions of repurposed facilities for employees and critical personnel. Under the model described at the meeting, the district would reserve roughly 25 percent of available slots for Anchorage School District employees, 25 percent for municipal employees or first responders, and the remaining 50 percent for the community.

District staff described recent consolidations as part of the same effort. Staff said Baxter Elementary absorbed Nunaka Valley Elementary and that the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School (ANCCS) moved into the Lake Hood Elementary facility, increasing enrollment and freeing some lease dollars for charter programs such as Rokashullah (named in staff remarks) to redirect funds toward instruction. Abbott Loop Elementary, closed in an earlier phase of rightsizing, is being tracked to measure outcomes for students who attended closed schools; district staff told the joint meeting they are seeing comparable growth for those students relative to peers.

The district described an ITB (invitation to bid) model similar to a prior project with KCI: operators would bid to run commercial child‑care in district space, and capital funding from grants or the municipality could defray renovation costs. The district plans to begin issuing ITBs in the spring following a winter renovation cycle for identified sites; staff said some early renovations are planned this winter for Fairview Elementary to house Head Start and related classrooms. That project, the district said, was supported by an ACE‑type grant and will guarantee classroom space to an early‑childhood operator while reserving point‑based admission preferences for economically disadvantaged families and ASD employees.

District officials said part of the rightsizing and repurposing strategy is to reduce underutilization in large elementary facilities and to provide more space for high‑quality choice programs that have long wait lists; Rokashullah was mentioned as an example of a charter program that reduced rent costs by relocating into district space. Staff also said rightsizing will involve boundary adjustments intended to balance enrollment where neighboring schools are unevenly filled. The district plans to bring staff recommendations to the school board and public in early October and noted that commercial child‑care conversions will be multi‑year efforts given lease terms and renovation timelines.

Questions from assembly members focused on transportation and local access: Member Brawley and others asked whether repurposed choice programs would increase traffic and whether neighborhood preference models would be used. Staff said they were locating more choice programs into neighborhood facilities and exploring transportation logistics but had not committed to a new lottery or neighborhood‑preference model; principals and operators would still need to balance immersion program constraints and charter requirements.

The district asked municipal partners to coordinate on child‑care site selection, including the potential for a municipal interest in offering workforce‑driven slots (the district mentioned 24‑hour child care for first responders as an item the municipality had requested be included in solicitations). ITBs for commercial child‑care will depend on the number of available classrooms and renovation needs; staff estimated ITBs would be issued in the spring following board approvals and renovation planning.

No formal board action was taken at the joint meeting; the district said it will publish its recommended list of closures, repurposings and boundary adjustments on Oct. 7 and will post additional materials on the FY27 budget development page.","Anchorage School District officials said they will release a recommended list for school consolidations on Oct. 7 and are planning to repurpose some underused elementary facilities for commercial childcare, Head Start and choice programs; the district described proposed ITB timing and a framework for prioritizing slots for district and municipal",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5972837,"Anchorage School District warns of $75M shortfall, asks assembly to press state on proposed local contribution rule",6496,824000,7320000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5862987-ec5bfa59446b2f786c69285724d08403&start=824&end=7320","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5862987-ec5bfa59446b2f786c69285724d08403/thumbnail_824000.jpg","/articles/5972837/Anchorage-Municipality/Alaska/Anchorage-School-District-warns-of-75M-shortfall-asks-assembly-to-press-state-on-proposed-local-contribution-rule","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5972837-3feaece8cdf3a71abe09e56bd96bacbf/orig.mp4?Expires=1773597915&Signature=NxJ1qLzxCZWC6agjGTytrcHw-IYChni1UvAnZU5uBYIm7O~S8gUaQkOptvDOYTQPIGWiCXIHgM6rNIVVKpydEDKO0AV2adOUjMGSF-HXEjddEdxzaF4-g2xPd8pvE2y7LtAP2zydclHCcU481INrx~WkIH-Lnh~zohbv~TZRI~77JFJIYBVKGjiWc5AKQsYitrbPOVxp5GXMjYdfnhlIdXTyoY3T7gT6DkM51hdg5nJ41No1CFCCmZDwq4A47Hlygh633nPrYLMx9noFC5ijUWljZBfxXc3TQdmo50ckoOzQ1L54B-OqndrueYoVYNo~TvBR4Aco8l~i-qeMRdmBGw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Anchorage — Anchorage School District officials told a joint meeting of the Anchorage Assembly and the Anchorage School Board on Sept. 26 that the district closed FY26 with a $700 base student allocation (BSA) increase but remains dependent on reserves and faces a roughly $75 million projected shortfall for FY27. Andy Ratliff, the district’s chief financial officer, outlined last year’s budget changes, the effects of HB 57, and an uncertain regulatory change at the state level that could reduce up to an estimated $15 million in local support for transportation and other programs.

The district emphasized the scale of the problem and asked the assembly to press the State Board of Education to delay implementation of the new regulation. “We are requesting the assembly’s help in advocating for a sensible way forward, which is to postpone discussing this until further notice,” Dr. Bryant, the district superintendent, said during the meeting.

The BSA increase in HB 57 provided a one‑time $700 per student lift for FY26 and a $48 per‑pupil increase in transportation funding, Ratliff said. The school board allocated the $700 in stages: earlier memos used about $560 per student to restore some position reductions and the remainder was allocated after the veto was overridden in August. That funding allowed the district to add back holdback positions — unhired budgeted positions that principals can fill as enrollment or class‑size pressures require — and to restore some nurses, counselors, librarians and other staff that had been cut earlier in the year. “For the record, I’m Andy Ratliff, the CFO,” Ratliff said when presenting the FY26 close‑out and FY27 outlook.

Even with those add backs, Ratliff said the district cut about 136 permanent and contracted positions during FY26 and trimmed millions from services, supplies and maintenance to balance the budget. Of those cuts, 87 were school‑based — including classroom teachers, principals, librarians and nurses — with about 31 removed from administrative functions such as finance, HR and IT. The budget documents Ratliff referenced show a FY26 budget of about $644 million, of which “almost $50 million” came from reserves.

Enrollment fell to just under 42,000 students — roughly 850 fewer than a year earlier and about 650 fewer than projected — which the district estimates could translate to roughly $4 million to $6 million in lost revenue depending on the October OASIS count. Ratliff said the district currently had several waves of holdback teachers added back across schools and that, as a budgeting matter, “we still currently have 8 that are unfilled or un unallocated at this point that are unhired.” Board members pressed staff for counts of persistently large classrooms; School Board Member Silvers asked whether any elementary classes still exceed 35 students, and staff said they did not have that exact school‑by‑school count available and would provide it later.

District leaders warned of an additional, separate risk from a proposed State Board of Education regulation that would change how “local contribution” is defined for school operating funds. The proposed guidance would treat transportation, student nutrition and certain grant funds as operating funds subject to the state’s local contribution limits, Ratliff said, and could mean Anchorage could not accept about $15 million of local support the municipality currently provides to transportation and pre‑K. The regulation would also remove a definition limiting appropriations to funds provided by the city or borough and would make in‑kind services harder to classify, the district said, creating ambiguity about whether items such as school resource officers or donated services would count against local contribution caps.

“We could very well be” forced to cut bus service and other programs if the rule goes into effect immediately, Dr. Bryant said, asking the assembly for help reaching the State Board to request more time and clarity. Assembly members said they would consider drafting a resolution and requested the district share a written advocacy strategy. Chair Constant and other assembly members said they were prepared to work with the district on messaging and to ask the State Board for delay.

Ratliff also flagged other FY27 uncertainties: contract negotiations with teachers and other bargaining units, possible changes to federal titles and grants, and an H‑1B visa proposal under federal consideration that could increase costs for a small number of district teachers if it were to impose new fees. “If it’s a 100,000 a person per year, then that gets really, really pricey,” Ratliff said, and staff said they had seven H‑1B teachers currently in the district.

The conversation closed with no formal vote on a budget resolution. The only formal procedural actions during the joint meeting were the unanimous approvals of minutes and of the amended meeting agenda earlier in the session. Dr. Bryant and Ratliff asked the assembly for prompt advocacy with the State Board if members share the district’s concern; assembly members suggested preparing written materials and a resolution option to consider at the assembly’s next meeting.

The district plans to publish a fuller FY27 pro forma and to release an online balancing tool this fall that will let the public view levers the district is considering to manage the projected shortfall.

About the reporting: Ratliff presented the FY26 close‑out and FY27 outlook and provided the figures above; Dr. Bryant and board members described the operational impacts and requested assembly assistance with the state rulemaking process. The district said the October State Board meeting is the near‑term point at which regulatory change could be adopted.

For follow‑up: the district said it will provide an itemized school‑level count of large classrooms and the number of schools still above 35 students where requested.","ASD officials told the Anchorage Assembly and school board that a $700 per‑student increase this year still left the district using reserves and facing a projected $75 million gap for FY27; proposed State Board rules that would limit what localities can contribute to operating funds could force cuts to transportation, pre‑K and other services, the ","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

School‑based health centers expand in Anchorage; providers ask for sustained municipal support

ASD previews rightsizing, plans to offer repurposed school space for commercial childcare

Anchorage School District warns of $75M shortfall, asks assembly to press state on proposed local contribution rule