Anchorage School District advances plan to repurpose Lake Hood and Nenaka Valley; board sets February decision timeline

The Anchorage School District on Tuesday moved forward with a plan to repurpose two schools the board previously approved for closure, asking the board to allow administrators to prepare a non‑action memorandum in early February and return for a decision at the board’s second meeting in February.

District administrators told the School Board that the discussion concerns Lake Hood and Nenaka Valley and that staff will present a formal recommendation as a non‑action item at the first February meeting and seek a decision at the second February meeting. "We plan on sending letters to all the families by the end of this week, letting them know where their child is slated to go," said Mr. Anderson, an Anchorage School District administrator, summarizing an operational timeline the administration intends to follow.

The timeline matters because the student lottery opens Feb. 1 and because several charters and programs occupy leased facilities whose leases expire this summer and fall. Administration recommended moving Rokashule (a charter school identified in the briefing as the district’s largest in‑person charter) into Lake Hood and offered two options for Nenaka Valley: Highland Academy or Anchorage Stream Academy. The administration said minimal renovations would likely be required to house Rokashule at Lake Hood, while Nenaka Valley could…