Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

Approval from the Alaska Board of Education came roughly two months after Kenai Peninsula school board members also signed off.

Early estimates put the district about $8.5 million in the red if it maintained the same staffing and programs next school year.

Aurora Borealis Charter School pitched two new grades – ninth and tenth – to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s charter school committee Monday in Soldotna.

The district attributes the anticipated shortfall to a decrease in state and local funding next year caused in part by a forecast net drop in student enrollment and a rise in the taxable value of borough property.

School board members generally supported the plan, but said they want more information about each scenario before signing off.

On today’s episode of the Kenai Conversation, we’re joined by Zen Kelly and Virginia Morgan, both of whom are former members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District board of education.

For charter organizers, the vote is a long-awaited victory, but the approval came despite concerns from district officials about the charter’s viability.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” opens at Kenai Central High School on, Nov. 14 and runs through Nov. 23. Catch 7 p.m. performances on Fridays and Saturdays, or matinee performances at 2 p.m. Sundays.

The district says the student increase is the smallest change it can make while remaining compliant with federal law.

The field trip was meant to teach students about how their local government works.