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Campbell STEM parents press board to undo closure as members debate feasibility and costs
Summary
Multiple public speakers urged the Anchorage School District board to reverse the closure of Campbell STEM Elementary, citing academic performance and alleged miscalculation of savings; a board motion to restore the school failed 3–4 during a broader budget discussion that ultimately reallocated funds for teachers, nurses and a limited curriculum pilot.
Several parents and community members addressed the Anchorage School District board during public comment on July 7, urging the board to restore Campbell STEM Elementary after the school was selected for closure earlier this year.
Brad Kelp told the board, "Campbell STEM is not just a line item on a spreadsheet...Campbell is a specialized science immersion program that is doing exactly what this district should strive to do, close the achievement gap." Kelp and other speakers argued Campbell outperforms its peers on multiple measures and said the administration’s financial justification overlooked moving and transportation costs that they claimed could erase projected savings.
Mike Neals, another public commenter, emphasized academic outcomes and community trust, saying, "We've been telling you, why you lost your bond money. You've lost trust since February." Katrina Wolkoff, a parent and ASD teacher, asked for clearer public‑facing budget language and questioned items such as a requested $120,000 for "school board membership" and increases under fuel and transportation.
During board deliberations, Member McDonough introduced an amendment that would have replaced the proposed reallocation of ELA funds with funding to restore Campbell. He argued that newly available state funds under recent legislation changed the financial calculus and said, "If our will has not budged, we need to be able to make that commitment now." The amendment was debated at length amid concerns about staffing, timing and statutory limits on reopening closed schools.
Administration and legal staff cautioned that restoring a closed school is operationally complex. A district administrator said staff formerly assigned to Campbell had been reassigned across the district, and legal counsel noted the statute governing school consolidation closures recently changed; the district must consult the state education agency before concluding whether an earlier closure is reversible without procedural or fiscal consequences. "When we turn in the verification report this fall, DEED accepts it — technically it's officially closed," one administrative official said, urging legal review before any reopening plan.
The board voted on a motion to strike the amendment and replace it with restoration language; that motion failed 3–4. The underlying lessons amendment that reallocated $2.7 million into teacher positions, nurses and a limited ELA pilot was adopted unanimously and later incorporated into the final memorandum the board approved 6–1. Member McDonough subsequently moved to remove the Alaska Middle College School appropriation for separate consideration; that removal and referral to the finance committee carried 5–2.
Parents said they will continue to press the board for transparency and an explanation of why Campbell was selected for closure. Board members who opposed immediate restoration said they favored building a defensible plan for replicating Campbell’s instructional success across additional schools rather than reversing consolidation without a scalable strategy.
The meeting adjourned at 10:17 p.m.
