Anchorage School District proposes closing three elementary schools as part of FY27 budget fix; community objects
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Summary
The Anchorage School District administration recommended closing Fire Lake, Lake Otis and Campbell STEM to reduce near‑term costs and align facilities with enrollment; administration cited a projected $90 million shortfall and outlined student reassignments, while parents and students urged the board to preserve special‑education services and neighborhood schools.
The Anchorage School District on Feb. 17 released a budget package that recommends closing Fire Lake Elementary, Lake Otis Elementary and Campbell STEM by the end of the 2025–26 school year as part of a plan to reduce a projected structural deficit.
Superintendent Dr. Bryant told the board the district faces a multi‑year funding gap, saying, "ASD is facing a $90,000,000 structural deficit for next school year," and that consolidating facilities is one source of near‑term savings the administration believes is unavoidable without recurring revenue increases.
Administration presenters laid out where affected students would be rezoned and how programs would move. The plan would repurpose Fire Lake as Eagle Academy and reassign 153 students into Eagle River Elementary (raising its utilization rate from 55% to 88%), move Tudor Montessori into Denali Montessori, and relocate selected Campbell STEM students to Willowcrest and other receiving schools. The administration also extended lottery application deadlines to March 31 to allow families time to apply for programs.
Why it matters: the district said closing under‑utilized buildings will reduce maintenance and ancillary staffing costs and create larger, more flexible classrooms that can support fuller specialist allocation and fewer "holdback" teachers. Administrators estimated roughly $2.6 million in near‑term savings from the three closures and described additional one‑time bond reimbursement dollars tied to Campbell STEM that could be redirected into operating budgets.
Parents and staff pressed the board on the potential impacts to vulnerable students. A Fire Lake student testified that specialized staff helped her move from nonverbal to general education and asked the board to "please reconsider the closing Fire Lake Elementary School" to preserve the SLC program and familiar supports. A parent added that moving the SLC program to a walking neighborhood school would lengthen bus rides and disrupt routines for children who rely on predictable environments.
Board members asked administrators for classroom‑by‑classroom verification and cautioned that deferred maintenance is widespread across the district; presenters said they reviewed gaining schools in detail and called the proposed assignments feasible but acknowledged community concern.
Next steps: the board did not record a formal vote on closures during the Feb. 17 presentation; the administration said the recommendations were responsive to a board resolution asking them to reexamine prior options using updated data. The board will consider the budget and any related motions in subsequent meetings and during the public budget adoption schedule.