Borough school district taps senior center

June 19, 2007

By Russell Stigall/Frontiersman

Mat-Su - Old meets new as Su Valley elders are asked to share their senior center with students displaced by the Su Valley school fire.

At an emergency meeting Monday, Mat-Su Borough School District board members voted unanimously to accept a Su Valley Parent Teacher Student Association plan to locate an interim junior high and senior high school at the senior center. The plan uses the kitchen, auditorium and office spaces of the Upper Susitna Senior Center in conjunction with 20 to 22 portable buildings to house classes for the 185 students and 25 staff expected this fall.

Su Valley PTSA had met earlier and voted 88 to seven to accept the plan.

Though new portables may be purchased and built to fill this need, time is tight between now and the start of the next school term and the district has identified 10 used portables already stationed at schools around the Valley. Wasilla High School, Pioneer Peak Elementary, Pathways and Finger Lake have all agreed to relinquish several of their vital portable classrooms, board member Jack Sherman said.

&#8220It is going to disrupt them quite a bit, but that is just the price right now,” Sherman said. &#8220The clock is ticking.”

There is also the issue of cost, new portables cost about $95,000 each.

The emergency plan is in response to a June 5 fire that destroyed the Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School. Officials are still investigating to determine exactly what caused the blaze.

Books, supplies and furniture needed to fill the portables are being purchased out of the district's fund balance left over from the 2006/2007 school year, Sherman said.

&#8220Were well on the way to get this started,” Sherman said.

With the first day of school fast approaching the Mat-Su Borough Assembly has called an emergency meeting for 4 p.m. today to allocate funds to get the interim school operational in time. The 2007-2008 school year begins Aug. 20. There is even less time, 56 days, until teachers report to prepare.

The emergency meeting of the school board had time set aside for public comment.

Steve Hicks, Su Valley High School staff member, said Su Valley must be the school district's highest priority.

&#8220If you really believe in No Child Left Behind, you can't leave a school behind,” Hicks said.

Several parents expressed concern that their children would be split up and bussed to Houston schools or Talkeetna Elementary if the Su Valley PTSA plan did not pan out.

&#8220It is an extremely close-knit school, it is important we keep in close knit space and not be split up,” said Michelle Kelly, Su Valley parent.

The old Su Valley School was the center of the community, parent Jessica Stevens said.

&#8220The impact is enormous,” Stevens said. &#8220It has sort of taken out the heart of our community.”

Stevens said her neighbors have talked about taking their kids out of the community if a new school isn't built.

Borough Manager John Duffy signed a disaster statement Friday to pursue funds similar to those that rebuilt Hooper Bay's school after it was consumed by fire last August, according to a borough press release. These funds could be used to set up the interim school site or help rebuild the Su Valley junior senior high school.

Bob Stewart, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management program manager for Disaster Assistance, said he received Duffy's statement and his team would put together a report for Gov. Sarah Palin's Disaster Policy Cabinet.

The next step is for the borough to determine what is and is not covered by the borough's insurance, Stewart said.

&#8220That will help them to determine the gap in what is and is not insured,” Stewart said. &#8220We will be focusing on that gap.”

Homeland Security will also take into account any regular appropriations the borough may have that can serve as contingency funds for the fire, Stewart said. It is important to gauge how severe is the gap between what the borough can cover and how much an interim school and a new school might cost.

&#8220And if it is imposed on the borough how big of an impact will this gap have on the borough,” Stewart said.

The governor's disaster policy cabinet will give a recommendation to Gov. Palin.

John Duffy said he expects a statement of what the insurance company will pay for, including replacement of the school and possibly its contents, by early next week.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, according to Borough spokesperson Patty Sullivan. However, mechanical, electrical, natural and intentional causes have been ruled out..