School board finds more spacious digs

MAT-SU - Regardless of election results, this autumn will bring change to the Mat-Su school board.

After years of having two meetings a month in the Mat-Su Borough Assembly chambers, the board will meet at a new place and on a new schedule beginning this October.

A split board narrowly voted Wednesday evening to change the schedule to one meeting and one work session per month. Those in favor said the new schedule will allow the administration to consolidate reports and other paperwork for the one business meeting each month and allow school board members one meeting a month to have more in-depth discussions.

Were trying to streamline our administrative process, member John Fairfield explained before voting in favor of the change.

Member Helene Antel Brooks said she supports the new schedule because she is frustrated with the boards inability to schedule work sessions, which she said enable board members to become more educated on subjects and do more long-term planning.

Others on the board, however, were concerned about limiting business to once a month and possibly threatening open-meeting laws. During a work session, the board cannot legally vote. Although a work session could be re-advertised as a special meeting, some members said this might make the public feel as if items are being pushed through without proper notice.

The majority of the board was not swayed, however, and the new plan passed with Rob Wells, Bob Johnson and Dan Contini in opposition.

The decision to move the boards meetings from the assembly chambers to Palmer High School was not as controversial, however. Although no vote was taken on the subject, the board appeared to be unanimously in favor of the move. An upstairs portion of the schools library will become the boards new home.

It will be our own room, Superintendent Pat Chesbro told the board earlier this month.

The new location allows for 100 chairs, a larger audience than the room in the borough headquarters building. And the superintendent said the Palmer High space will be available for work sessions, meetings and all other school board functions. Currently, regular meetings are held in the borough building while work sessions and other events have to be held elsewhere because of scheduling conflicts.

This way well always be in the same place, Chesbro said.

The board will continue to occasionally schedule meetings in other areas of the borough in order to meet with parents, teachers and students in the more distant communities. On Sept. 20, the board will have a regular meeting at Talkeetna Elementary School in order to see the buildings renovation and addition.