Borough, school district break ground on new Mat-Su Central School location

On Tuesday morning, the Matanuska Susitna Borough (MSB) and the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MBSBD) officially broke ground on the new home of the Mat-Su Central School.

“Today, we are going to recognize the start of this great project,” said MSB Manager Mike Brown as the ceremony opened

“The real guests of honor today are the Mat-Su Central parents and children and students. That’s why we do this and that’s why this is so great.”

Brown reflected on the momentous occasion as the new building will be the 9th newest school that the MSB has constructed over the past decade.

“That is an amazing accomplishment that we would have that much growth. I think that really speaks to our community’s dedication to finding facilities that support education,” said Brown.

He also stopped to thank the MSB Mayor Edna Devries and the Assembly, along with the MSBSD school board for supporting and financing of the project.

“This school is going to be constructed without taking on any new debts for the Borough, and I think that says a lot,” he told the crowd, which was met with applause.

Mat-Su Central School began in 1972 as a way to serve students livingin remote locations in the school district, and is now the largest school in the district, serving over 2300 students.

It is a unique homeschool hybrid that is made up of traditional homeschoolers who learn exclusively “at home,” while also hosting a wide range of on-site clubs, classes, or workshops for students to participate in, adapting to the specific needs and desires of the students and families it serves.

As the population in the Borough has grown, the school, which serves approximately 12% of the students in the school district, has outgrown its current home, a leased building off of Knik Goose Bay in Wasilla.

“This new building will be 45,000 square feet and should be able to accommodate 500 students for classes in the building,” said Cole Branham, Project Management Division Manager of the MSB Public Works. He added that the crews working on the building have already cleared the trees, excavated the new site and have begun laying the foundation, and will continue with their work until the snow comes this winter before getting back into the work in the spring.

According to the proposed timeline, the new Mat-Su Central School is planned to open in the winter of 2024, and the projected total is just over $24,000,000.

Branham also said that the MSB was able to reduce some costs by combining the school with a road construction project, the Trunk Road Connector project, which was part of the 2021 Transportation Infrastructure Road project, helping to defray some of the costs for the building, while also ensuring that the school has two access points.

“This is going to impact generations of Mat-Su students,” said MSBSD Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani before the groundbreaking.

“We are blending state-of-the-art home education with school education for a one-of-a-kind model in our state, and I think it’s going to be a model across the country. I truly believe this innovative model represents the future of education.”

He also thanked the Mat-Su Central School community that served on the design advisory process.

“These are individuals that took time out of their busy schedules to provide critical input not only into how this building will look, but also the learning environment and programs within the facility.”

“I am thrilled to be standing on the home of our first-ever permanent building. This has been 50 years in the making,” said Stacey McIntosh, principal of Mat-Su Central, who thanked the students, faculty, and parents for endless hours advocating for the project.

“Our students deserve so much. And I am thrilled that I will no longer have to worry about a dangerous parking lot, an awkwardly narrow staircase, or tell a student they can no longer take a class with us because we don’t have enough space.”

Mayor DeVries invited students to come up with her and wave to the camera as the groundbreaking was streamed on social media.

“This is the future, and this is what we’re doing this for. Let’s get this project done!”