The lone conservative on the Anchorage School Board, former State Sen. Dave Donley, has done site visits to two schools and found that, in defiance of School District policy, the Pledge of Allegiance is no longer being recited at the start of the school day.
Donley hopes to bring up this matter to light during the work session that precedes the Monday meeting of the Anchorage School Board. The work session may be attended by the public, and is held at the ASD Education Center, Boardroom, 5530 E. Northern Lights Blvd.
The work session starts at 4 pm, with the regular board meeting beginning at 6 pm. The regular board meeting will begin with an executive session, to which the public is not invited.
The school board is limiting the number of people who may attend the meetings due to Covid-19 mitigation protocols, but the meeting may be watched online at https://www.youtube.com/user/AnchorageSD
During the regular meeting that begins after the executive session, a capital bond that will be presented to voters next year will be reviewed. In the six-year plan the board will consider is construction for new schools to replace two aging elementary schools.
The board is looking at a two-year bond propositions for April 2022, April 2024, and April 2026. Two-year bonds enable better planning, the superintendent noted, which leads to increased efficiencies and reduced costs to the district given that contractors will have greater certainty of fund availability.
East High School Academic Area Safety Improvements project is scheduled in year one, the design of which was previously funded in the April 2018 ballot proposition.
Years two through six include replacement of two elementary schools, including tearing down and replacing Inlet View Elementary, and renovations for two secondary schools. Allocations are also included for deferred maintenance and security projects to address current backlog and growing facility sustainment.
The total cost of projects over the six-year period included in the proposed plan is about $278.3 million. Superintendent Deena Bishop Administration anticipates retiring nearly $236 million over this period for a projected net debt increase of $42.5 million.
