Mat-Su School District plans three school closures amid funding shortfall

What you need to know:

• The Mat-Su School District plans to close three schools to help address a projected $23 million budget shortfall. The schools are Glacier View School, Larson Elementary School and a third facility that has not yet been publicly identified.
• Students would be reassigned to other schools, with Glacier View elementary students bused more than 40 miles to Sutton and secondary students sent to Palmer. Most teachers and staff may be reassigned, though some positions could be eliminated.
• Officials said the schools were chosen because of declining enrollment. The closures could save up to $4.5 million next year. The district is expected to announce additional program cuts this week.

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PALMER — Mat-Su School District officials plan to close three schools as part of an effort to cut costs amid a projected $23 million budget shortfall next year.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District administrators will propose closing Larson Elementary School near Wasilla and Glacier View School at the end of the current school year. 

District officials declined to confirm the location of the third school targeted for closure because its staff and teachers have not yet been notified, they said. A meeting at that school regarding the planned closure is scheduled for Tuesday, district spokesman John Notestine said in an interview.

The proposed closures must be approved by the Mat-Su School Board.

Teachers at Glacier View and Larson were notified of the plans in a meeting Monday, and an email update was sent to school families, he said.

About 650 students will be affected across the three schools, he said. 

If the closures are approved, the district will redraw its boundary maps, and affected students will be assigned to new schools depending on current enrollment at each facility, he said. 

Students who attend Larson will be sent to Tanaina, Shaw and Finger Lake elementary schools. About 10 elementary students currently at Glacier View will be bused more than 40 miles to Sutton Elementary School, and any secondary students will be brought to Palmer, Notestine said.

Teachers and most school staff may be reassigned, while some staff, such as custodians, may be let go, officials said. 

The schools were selected for closure based on declining enrollment, Notestine said. About 430 students were enrolled at Larson Elementary School in 2019, with 53 at Glacier View, according to state data. Today, those numbers are 304 and 19, respectively, Notestine said.

The district plans to announce additional program cuts later this week ahead of a budget briefing scheduled for the March 4 school board meeting, Notestine said. The board is expected to vote on the plan during a regular meeting March 18.

If approved by the Mat-Su School Board, the closures are expected to save as much as $4.5 million next year, or $1.5 million per school, district spokesman John Notestine said in an interview Monday.

While operating each school costs substantially more than the expected savings — Larson’s 2025-26 budget is about $4.3 million, for example — closing a school does not recoup its full price tag because students and staff must still be relocated, district officials said during a budget presentation last year.

“If you disperse those students to neighboring schools, those neighboring schools are going to need additional teachers to support those students, additional special education assistance, a special education teacher, those kinds of things,” Assistant Mat-Su Superintendent Katie Gardner said during a Dec. 17 school budget working session. “You’re not able to save the full cost of that elementary school that you might close.”

Officials with a union that represents about 1,000 non-certified district employees said they expect to work with the district on any employee changes triggered by the closures.

"Any staffing changes must follow the negotiated agreement, including seniority and reassignment rights, and we will be directly involved in every step of that process," Classified Employees' Association President Rick Morgan said in a statement.

If approved, the buildings will be handed over to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and the district will no longer be responsible for utilities or upkeep, Gardner said during the December meeting.

Glacier View’s 20,000-square-foot facility was built in 1975 and remodeled in 1995, according to state data. Larson Elementary’s 54,000-square-foot building was constructed in 2001.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com

This story was updated Feb. 23 to include a statement from Classified Employees' Association President Rick Morgan.