Borough to offer Su-Valley closure solution

August 30, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - The Mat-Su School Board will hold a special work session Thursday evening to consider a proposal that could keep Susitna Valley Jr./Sr. High School open this year.

During a meeting Friday at Talkeetna Elementary School, Mat-Su School District officials told Su-Valley parents and students that their school would close this year due to the building's improperly designed and constructed 33-year-old roof, which cannot hold heavy snow loads.

The problem was discovered Aug. 18, when the school district received an architectural report from BurkhartCroft Architects.

Due to the risk of structural failure that snow or earthquakes could cause, district officials told area residents that roughly 188 Su-Valley students would be bused to Trapper Creek Elementary for this school year, where eight portable classrooms would augment existing classrooms.

The roughly 20 Trapper Creek students would then attend Talkeetna Elementary for one year. One school bus is also proposed to take a handful of Su-Valley students to Houston High and Houston Middle schools.

Yesterday, however, Borough Mayor Tim Anderson said the borough was working with BurkhartCroft to come up with a safety plan to make Su-Valley usable this year.

"We don't have a snow-load problem until the end of October," Anderson said. "We want a plan to allow school to start on September 6 with no snow load. If it snows, we'll get them out of there, but this will buy us a little time."

The district's insurance company, however, must approve any safety plan if Su-Valley is to remain open. Barring that, the school would close, Anderson said

"The insurance has to agree to cover the risk," he said. "If they don't insure the risk, I don't think anyone would want to put students in there. That wouldn't be good sense."

Even if the snow-load issue were temporarily resolved, the school may still be unsafe due to risk of seismic activity which, according to the architectural report, could also compromise the roof's structure.

If the school does close, a second option - which is popular with Su-Valley residents - is to use the Upper Susitna Senior Center as a temporary school until Su-Valley's roof is repaired.

Jack McCarl, vice president of Upper Susitna Seniors Inc., brought forward this idea at Friday's meeting.

On Monday afternoon, McCarl had planned to walk though the senior center with Su-Valley principal Matt Clark to see if the building could function as a temporary school.

With an functioning kitchen, room enough for two classrooms and 13 acres of land for portable classrooms, McCarl said the idea is popular with parents and area seniors.

"In the spirit of community service to aid the kids, parents and the educational process, seniors have voted to approve such a measure," he said.

School Board President Mike Chmielewski said the school board is open to hearing the borough's proposal to keep Su-Valley open but cautioned that at this point, the only viable option is to bus students to Trapper Creek Elementary.

"That is our default proposal," he said Monday. "We will pause on it but with the consideration that the longer the delay, the longer the delay to starting school."

Chmielewski said the board is not likely to make a final decision at the Thursday presentation.

"We would need time to review it first before taking action," he said, "but if the borough comes through, then we can say 'Yes, we encourage that to happen.'"

Su-Valley parent and alumni Jenny Krepel was one of many people who attended the Friday meeting who strongly favor keeping Su-Valley open this year.

Krepel said she spoke with others who want to implement a safety plan to keep the school open. If the school must close, she said the senior center is the next best option, despite its limitations and lack of a gymnasium.

"We are willing to do without the gym to stay in a central location," she said. "We can bus students to Talkeetna Elementary for sports practices."

The borough will present the safety plan at 6 p.m., Thursday, at Trapper Creek Elementary School.

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266, or joel.davidson@ frontiersman.com.