Matanuska-Susitna Borough voters will decide on a bond proposition that could provide $58 million to three charter schools for building improvements.
The Mat-Su Borough Assembly unanimously passed an ordinance in August to put the proposition on the November ballot. The measure was sponsored by Assembly member Rob Yundt, who has since resigned from the assembly and is running for a state Senate seat representing Wasilla.
If passed by a majority of Mat-Su voters on Nov. 5, the bond would award $15 million to American Charter Academy, $16 million to Academy Charter School, and $27 million to Birchtree Charter School.
American Charter Academy is run out of a strip mall in Meadow Lakes. The school is limited by space and has dealt with heating issues, traffic headaches, and a shrew infestation. Principal Patti Farren said the school was chartered to provide high school instruction, but currently only offers K-8 classes due to space.
"There's a huge discrepancy between our facility and the kind of school we have," Farren said. "We have 20 acres of property set aside up Church Road and that has been deeded for the school and we also spent money out of our own budget and had a school design made. So we have a plan, we just need the money to be able to build it."
Alaska charter schools are public schools supported by their local school district, but maintain independence over their own budgets, curriculum and hiring. They do not typically receive taxpayer support for buildings, although bonds have passed to fund charter school facilities before.
"I definitely believe that if this was to be approved it would begin a whole new avenue for schools to maybe move forward," Academy Charter Principal Barbara Gerard said.
Principals say finding suitable buildings to house charter schools is a significant hurdle, and many see bond propositions as a viable way to expand access to charter schools in the state.
If the bond passes, American Charter Academy would move to a site that's already been set aside and add about 100 students. Academy Charter School would add 180 students and high school grades to their campus, becoming the only K-12 Mat-Su charter school. The building leased by Birchtree Charter School has been sold, so the school will need to move whether or not the bond passes.
The bond would result in about $31.40 of additional taxes per $100,000 of assessed property value, and would require those schools to use 12.5% of their annual budgets to pay off the bond. Annually, the three schools would contribute over $1 million to debt repayment, reducing the amount paid by citizens.
"It's not going to be all on the taxpayers backs," Gerard said. "It's going to be mostly paid by each of these three charter schools and that's just a whole new way of thinking about how public schools could be funded."