School looks at options

PALMER -- One roadblock of several has been removed for a fledgling Big Lake alternative school seeking permanent status. The Mat-Su Borough Assembly voted in a special meeting last week to waive part of the process required so Mid Valley High School can look for a more permanent location for next year, but the school's principal is seeking temporary housing, possibly at a local elementary school.

The alternative school was opened last fall at the Faith Bible Fellowship Church in Big Lake with plans to expand their enrollment and seek a permanent location. The school currently has 85 students, many of whom had been on a waiting list at Burchell High School when the new school opened. It needs a minimum of 200 students to be self-supporting in its own facility, according to Chief School Administrator Bob Doyle. The school's current location, however, is not suitable to reach that number of students, and, with construction season already begun, the school district is faced with a very short time to find a home for those students before fall.

To identify a new location for the school and begin construction -- temporary or permanent -- the district must follow a procedure including site selection and procurement of services, Doyle said. In response to the district's request to speed things up, the assembly voted last week to waive the site selection process.

"The assembly removed one hurdle; that was waiving the site selection process," Doyle said Monday. "We can go forward, but we still have to go through the procurement process."

A site selection committee has been formed and is looking at possibilities in the Big Lake area. Doyle said once a site is located the school board would still have to approve approximately $100,000 to prepare the site for use, such as drilling a well, buying portables and laying a gravel pad for placing the portables. At issue as well is the quality of water at the site chosen. An ongoing water problem at the church has meant providing students with bottled water. Last week a new well was being drilled at the church, according to Pastor Ethan Hansen, but the school administration is concerned about finding water at a new site in the Big Lake area that will pass DEC testing. A school's water supply must be Class A certified for consumption, Doyle said. Most schools, by definition, must have a Class A water system, according to Lynn Lowman at Department of Environmental Conservation. A Class A water system is defined as any system that serves 25 or more people for at least six months, Lowman said, and the school district must have approval through the department before they begin drilling for a well on a chosen site.

At this point, Doyle said, the committee is simultaneously looking for a temporary housing solution for the school as well as a permanent one. He said the district will be looking at several options to temporarily house the students, possibly at an existing school. Ultimately, though, a permanent location is wanted in the Big Lake/Houston area to accommodate students in the upper Susitna Valley.

At risk, Doyle said, is the possibility of putting forth the money and not reaching the 200-student requirement.

"If we don't get 200 [students] it's a big loss of revenue, so that's a big risk for [the school board]," Doyle said. "The board will have to identify some money and also be able to tolerate the risk if we only get 190 kids; and that's pretty severe repercussions for us."

Mid Valley High School principal Dave Holmquist presented two temporary options for the school at Wednesday night's school board meeting, each involving the use of existing schools. One option presented was the use of portables at the existing Houston Jr./Sr. High School, which is slated to become Houston Middle School next year. Holmquist said there are two portables in place already, and five would be needed for Mid Valley's students. The alternative students would share lunch and restroom facilities with Houston's students, however, which could be an issue, he told the board. Alternative students represent a different culture than students in a standard school setting, Holmquist said, and he's not sure how the two would blend.

The other option presented -- using Big Lake Elementary's currently uninhabited old wing -- seemed well received by the majority of the school board and the school's principal, Mark Vingoe. The wing currently has three classrooms, an office, restroom and a portable pad outside the door, Holmquist said, and would represent a cost savings since they would have to bring in less portables. Board member Larry DeVilbiss expressed concern about putting high school students in the same building as elementary students, but Holmquist and Vingoe both said they felt confident the wing was separated in a way that would not be disruptive. Also, Holmquist said, the close proximity would give his students opportunities for tutoring the younger students -- a positive addition.

Borough assembly member Jody Simpson previously expressed concerns from her constituents in the area about the school's current location in a neighborhood setting. At Wednesday's meeting she said either of the options presented by Holmquist would be acceptable to the community, since each was within an existing school area with a proper buffer zone.

Either situation, Holmquist said, would still be a temporary one, since moving the school to either of these proposed sites would mean putting a cap on enrollment. He intends to continue his pursuit of reaching out to the students in the Upper Susitna he believes are interested in pursuing their education, and finding a permanent, separate home for the school.

"I don't want to give up on 200 -- those kids are out there," Holmquist told the board.

In the meantime, he said, his concerns are for the students currently enrolled. He expects 75 students to return next year and they will need a school.

"We made a promise to those kids and I'm hoping we can maintain that promise," Holmquist told the board.