Kenai Peninsula school board members will get the chance to review a proposed Soldotna elementary charter school. That’s after the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District group tasked with charter school oversight voted Monday to send the draft charter to the full board.
The charter group got its first look at the draft charter earlier this month and members were quick to point out concerns. Monday’s meeting was an opportunity for the proposers to present how they’ve updated the charter to address those concerns, which pertained to the planned facility, budget structure and staffing plan.
Ben Cheah heads up the group proposing the charter. He summarized the changes made since the last meeting, which include clarifying the proposed enrollment process, the lottery process for families outside the attendance area and the facility proposal.
“Our goal does remain the same: to preserve neighborhood access and the school community while giving the staff and the families a stronger voice in how we support student learning,” he said.
The committee reacted positively to the effort the group has put into its charter at both meetings. But members have also poked holes in some key components. For example, some committee members say the budget erroneously assumes the school will receive the district’s curriculum discount and it’s unclear how many employees the school will need.
Kyle Darbonne is the principal of Fireweed Academy, an elementary charter school in Homer, and sits on the committee. He also worries the Soldotna proposal could set a new precedent for other district schools.
“Many schools in our district would just develop this model and everybody would just become a charter school,” he said.
Kenai Peninsula school board members have approved three new charter programs over the last two-ish years. One of those was in the Russian Old Believer community of Nikolaevsk. After the district closed the K-12 school there to save money, the community successfully opened a charter school in the empty building.
The Kenaitze Indian Tribe also opened Tułen Charter School last year. And the board OK’d a high school program for its Aurora Borealis Charter School.
The existing Soldotna Elementary School building could soon be empty, too.
That’s because the Kenai Peninsula Borough is still working to carry out a school maintenance bond passed by peninsula voters in 2022. Among other things, the bond proposed reconstructing Soldotna Elementary School. But now, the borough plans to move Soldotna Elementary students to other schools and demolish part of the existing school building.
John DeVolld is principal of Soldotna Montessori Charter School, which operates in the Soldotna Elementary building. He says there are 283 kids on his school’s waitlist, and they get first dibs on the building over a new charter.
“We would absolutely make use of the space if it were available,” he said.
School district leadership Monday recommended the committee advance the charter to a work session with the full school board. But they were also clear that doing so doesn’t constitute approval or endorsement of the charter.
The school board will convene next week to review and discuss the proposed charter, which is subject to approval by the board and state education officials.
