Su Valley fate hinges on insurance

Mat-Su School District, families, students wait for final word on coverage

Sept. 4, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - The Mat-Su School District expects to receive official word early next week as to whether its insurance provider will cover Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School for the upcoming school year.

On Thursday night, the Mat-Su School Board voted 6-1 to open the school.

The vote came despite the fact that the district's insurance broker, Marsh USA Inc., had issued what seemed to be conflicting letters as to whether the district's insurance provider would cover the 33-year-old school building, which the district recently discovered has a faulty roof design.

On Aug. 17, the district received an architectural report that deemed the roof dangerous and structurally unsound if 18 inches of snow ever accumulated on the roof.

In light of the report, the district decided to close Su Valley and bus approximately 188 students to Trapper Creek Elementary. Trapper Creek students were slated to move to Talkeetna Elementary until the roof could be repaired.

Thursday, however, the school board reversed that decision in the wake of reviewing a snow-removal plan by architectural firm BurkhartCroft, which said the building was safe as long as a vigilant snow-removal program was instituted.

With the snow-removal plan, the school board voted to open the school in hopes that the school district's insurance company will approve the snow-removal option.

As of Friday afternoon, school district information specialist Kim Floyd said the district was moving forward with plans to open Su Valley on Tuesday. In the meantime, the district still awaits final word on insurance.

"We are likely to get official word on that Tuesday," Floyd said Friday. "We will get clarification on the liability piece as soon as possible."

If the insurance provider does not cover the building, district assistant superintendent George Troxel said the Su Valley school would likely have to close.

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