School users shut out

May 14, 2006

By JOEL DAVIDSON

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - By mid-June, the Mat-Su School District will begin boarding windows, locking doors and closing more than 30 school facilities throughout the Borough.

Due to a district-wide &#8220July shutdown,” thousands of community members who normally use schools during the summer months - including church goers and visually impaired children - will have to find alternatives.

&#8220We will put plywood up, shut off the water where we can and turn off the boilers,” said Scott Schwald, the district's head of facility operations.Earlier this week, the school district sent layoff notices to all full-time classified employee in an effort to balance next year's education budget. Many of the employees will be hired back after July but some will not.

District officials claim they will save $450,000 dollars by closing school facilities for a month.

Chief school administrator Bob Doyle maintains the shutdowns are necessary to help bridge a budget deficit he said will be at least $9.8 million next year.

Rising costs of retirement, employee health insurance, nearly 600 new students, and increased special-education costs are partly responsible for the added expenses next year. In addition, the district is opening a new Wasilla-area elementary school.

Classified employees won't know whether they have a job next year until later this

summer.

&#8220The earliest recall will be July 31, but not all employees will return to work at that time,” Doyle said in a recent memo to school district supervisors. &#8220Recalls will be made on a priority basis, and some positions will be eliminated entirely.”

Schools will be closed to all teachers, principals, coaches and community members throughout July. In some cases, the shutdowns may last longer, depending on when the district decides to hire employees to maintain the buildings.

Excluding those who lost their jobs, at least 3,000 people will be affected by the closures, including local churches, sports camps and community service organizations.

&#8220These people will have to find another place for the month of July,” said Sue Tichner, program facilitator for the school district.

Crossroads Community Church and Wasilla Bible Church each have roughly 1,000 members who use two local middle schools for Sunday services. In July, both churches plan to hold multiple small, home-based gatherings.

Crossroads staffer Scott Wick said his church plans to use July as an outreach opportunity to host Sunday events at Iditapark in Wasilla. The church will provide live music and free food and games for the general public. As for regular Sunday gatherings, the church is subdividing for a month.

&#8220We're pushing the smaller home-groups, but we'll have one large meeting at the Wasilla Sports Complex in July,” he said.

July is traditionally an important month for local high school football programs, affording players the chance to hone skills and lift weights in preparations for the fall season. This year, programs must make adjustments.

Colony High School was set to host a Team Alaska wrestling camp in July, but will have to find an alternate venue - possibly a school in the Anchorage School District, and players from all high schools will need to find alternative weight rooms to stay in shape.

While outdoor facilities are available for use, the district notified schools this week that they will not maintain fields or mow grass during July.

Other July users impacted by the closure include tennis camps, basketball camps and programs for visually impaired youth. Schwald said he will get the schools open as soon as the administration hires back employees.

&#8220We will open as soon as we have the personnel on board,” he said.

&#8220The earliest callbacks are not until at least July 3, but that's not even decided yet.”

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@ frontiersman.com.