Teachers, students and employees rallied in support of Sterling Elementary School on Saturday in Soldotna. The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District passed a budget last month that closes the school to help offset a forecast budget deficit. The community says a closure would be devastating.
There have been a lot of protests at the Soldotna “Y” this year. That’s the busy intersection of the Sterling and Kenai Spur highways. But Saturday’s looked a little different. Side-by-side with adults wearing red and waving signs were children – a lot of them.
“I’m in fourth grade and I’ve been, like, going to this school my entire life,” said Wren Cramer, a student at Sterling Elementary School.
She and her mom were wearing red, and there to protest the school’s proposed closure.
Heading into the current budget cycle, the district faced a $17 million deficit if it wanted to offer the same level of programs and staffing it did for the current school year. So, the budget passed last month closes Sterling Elementary to cut costs.
Cat Cramer, Wren’s mom, says her family already lives somewhat far away from the school. She estimates Wren would spend about an hour on a school bus to Soldotna each way if the school closes. And that’s something she says she won’t do.
“I know the people and the teachers in and out,” she said. “It's a great – it's a great spot. And if we lose our school, I just, it means that we don't really have a reason to be all the way out to Sterling.”
Across the street, student aid and Sterling Elementary parent Taylor Walker agrees. If the school closes, her two daughters would most likely move to a Soldotna school. She says she’s not interested in home-schooling.
“There's just so many good things going on there that I can't provide all in my home that I know that they would be missing out on in the socialization with their friends,” she said.
Taylor’s daughter, second-grader Niko (nee-koh), says she’d miss school
wide get-togethers, like the activity-filled Falcon Fun Night.
“I love that our school feels like a family instead of just a regular school,” she said.
The district estimates it could save $702,113 the first year Sterling Elementary School closes. But, those savings diminish over time. And state law says a district must wait 7 years to reopen a school that’s been closed.
The school also has more than $9.5 million worth of deferred maintenance, including boilers that are scheduled to be replaced in 2026.
Camie Jicha was waving signs with her granddaughter. She says her kids also went to Sterling Elementary, and her grandkids participate in the school’s Native Youth Olympics program. She has concerns about moving the kids to Soldotna.
“For these kids to come into a bigger school – being thrown into, you know, either Redoubt, I think they're talking about Redoubt Elementary, you know, it's – it's a difficult change, because they have been close since kindergarten,” she said.
It’s not clear where Sterling Elementary’s 111 would go if the school closes.
The district’s floated both Soldotna Elementary and Redoubt Elementary. But the future of Soldotna schools is up in the air, too. That’s because peninsula voters approved a bond package that would rebuild Soldotna Elementary. High costs have stalled work on the reconstruction project.
The school board president has said any school closures will be decided with a dedicated board vote. The board is not scheduled to vote on the future of Sterling Elementary at their Monday meeting.
