Superintendent to address condition of schools Monday

MAT-SU — Mat-Su Borough School District superintendent Monica Goyette will address the public Monday afternoon regarding the condition of Valley schools following the earthquake that hit Southcentral Alaska Friday morning.

Goyette is scheduled to provide more details following an assessment of the schools Monday at 2 p.m. via Facebook Live.

“This weekend, our facilities staff along with district leadership have been assessing each school site for the extent of the damage,” school district public information officer Jillian Morrissey said in a release issued to parents Sunday afternoon.

District officials had already announced that most of the schools in the district are closed Monday and Tuesday.

All extra-curricular activities through Tuesday were also canceled.

Only Glacier view, Trapper Creek Elementary, Talkeetna Elementary, Susitna Valley High School, Willow Elementary and Beryozova will remain open, according to a post on the district’s Facebook page.

According to district officials, structural engineers were at local schools Friday morning to access any damage.

Mat-Su Borough School District schools remained open initially after the quake hit. But district officials urged parents or guardians to pick up there children as soon as possible Friday.

Alaska Governor-elect Mike Dunleavy and Department of Education and Early Development Commissioner Michael Johnson toured Houston Middle School and Colony Middle School alongside Goyette.

Multiple schools were evacuated following the earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 Friday at 8:29 a.m.

Houston Middle School was evacuated, and students and staff were moved to Houston High School, according to a post on the school district’s Facebook page.

Palmer High School was evacuated after the fire alarm sounded because of the earthquake, but there was no fire in the building, PHS principal Paul Reid said. The students were taken to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, down the road from Palmer High, which is part of school emergency protocol, Reid said. Reid said Palmer High closed early on Friday, and all of the students were out of the building by noon.