The bond funds infrastructure projects to make school buildings safe for students – roof repairs, secure entry vestibules, seismic safety, and planning for future projects. The bond does not fund general school operations.

The 2024 bond will benefit over 10,000 Anchorage students, around 25% of all Anchorage students.

ELEMENTARY

Alpenglow (Roof repair and seismic safety repairs)

Baxter (secure entry planning)

Bayshore (roof planning)

Bear Valley (seismic, safety, mechanical, electrical, site circulation planning)

Creekside Park (playground planning)

Inlet View (matching fund for building replacement)

Kasuun (secure entry vestibule)

Klatt (secure entry vestibule)

Lake Hood (secure entry vestibule)

Orion (secure entry planning)

Ravenwood (secure entry planning)

Scenic Park (roof, secure entry vestibule planning)

Spring Hill (structural safety, circulation, mechanical improvement planning)

Tyson (planning)

MIDDLE

Central (roof and structural safety repair)

Romig (renovation design)

HIGH

Bartlett (renovation planning)

Chugiak (roof replacement and other renovations)

West (utilidor, IT building demo planning)

ALTERNATIVE

Steller (planning)

NOTE: if the bond does not pass, these projects do not advance, and the cost of addressing the deferred maintenance increases.

Bartlett High School

Baxter Elementary

Bear Valley Elementary

Orion Elementary

Ravenwood Elementary

Scenic Park Elementary

Spring Hill Elementary

West High School

Projects undergo a rigorous vetting process, and placed in priority order based on urgency and need. Top priority projects make it onto the bond. The process takes into account "facility condition indices” (FCIs), which focus on the physical condition of the building and its components, and Educational Adequacy Assessments (EAs), which diagnose deficiencies in classrooms and other teaching spaces. That data is kept in the 6-year Capital Improvement Plans, which are publicly available and updated as needs change (for example, if snow loading caused a roof collapse).

The bond will result in a maximum of an additional $7.14 per $100,000 of assessed property. Over the last five years, ASD has retired more debt than we have incurred, keeping costs as low as possible while maintaining our schools.

Anchorage is spending less and less on school building maintenance, and the amount for repair needs keep growing. Over the past decade, school bond debt has decreased while deferred maintenance backlog has increased.

This bond takes advantage of an opportunity to bring in $26 million from the State to fund the Inlet View project. Failing to pass the bond will mean forgoing the opportunity to use state money to offset the cost of replacing a school that no longer meets education specifications and requires inordinately large maintenance costs, and mean that Anchorage taxpayers will be on the hook for that amount when the project moves forward.

Inlet View is a high performing, diverse elementary school that is enrolled over capacity. It’s one of the oldest schools in Anchorage and in serious disrepair – including sewage that has flowed into the playground, an inadequate security system, no sprinkler system, and a leaky roof. Financial analysis has shown that rebuilding the school is cheaper than repairing and maintaining the existing building.