U.S. Department of Education pulls grant for Academies of Anchorage; superintendent says classrooms will be covered

At its Sept. 16 meeting, the Anchorage School Board heard that the U.S. Department of Education unexpectedly defunded a grant that had been supporting the Academies of Anchorage, Superintendent Dr. Bridal told the board and public. The district said the shortfall affects roughly $3,300,000 this fiscal year and directly funded six career and technical education (CTE) classroom teachers and eight academy coach positions.

The superintendent said the cut is “a setback” but not an immediate classroom disruption. “If your child is in a CTE class, we're gonna be okay,” he said, adding that he plans to reassign six teacher positions that had been held in reserve (holdback positions) to cover the six CTE classroom roles while the district prepares an appeal to the Department of Education. He also said federal lawmakers have been contacted and that district officials will file a formal appeal within seven days.

Why it matters: district leaders presented the Academies of Anchorage as part of a strategy to expand student access to high-wage, high-demand careers through CTE, dual credit and work-based learning. Superintendent Bridal said the personal finance and college-career exploration course and upcoming Career Expo are funded with general funds and will not be affected by the grant decision.

What the district will do: Bridal said administrators already informed principals and staff earlier the same day and that the district intends to keep the six classroom teachers in place using holdback positions budgeted for the year. The superintendent said he needs more time to address the eight academy coach roles, which “do not directly work with students in the classroom every day, but their work is critical.” He said he would seek ways to match those staffers’ talents to district needs.

Board members pressed for clarity about the holdback positions. Budget staff said the district had roughly 14 holdback FTE positions remaining that could be reallocated; Bridal confirmed he planned to use six of those to avoid immediate schedule or class-size disruptions. Board members also asked about longer-term risk if federal support does not return; Bridal described advocacy steps already underway with members of Alaska’s congressional delegation.

Background: Bridal said the district had been building the Academies program to increase students’ access to health care, construction, transportation and other vocational pathways, and pointed to increases in AP course-taking and improved freshman on-track rates as indicators of broader progress. He described the defunding as an unusual, early termination of a grant and said the district would both appeal and pursue local options to sustain the work.

Next steps: the district will submit an appeal to the Department of Education within the seven-day window, work with congressional offices that have agreed to write in support, and temporarily reassign six holdback teacher positions to maintain the six affected CTE classes. The board took no formal vote at the meeting; the superintendent described the reassignments as an administrative direction.

Public comment at the meeting included a range of topics; several speakers later raised staffing and morale concerns that board members said the administration should continue to monitor.