Our view: Rebuilding schools

The district is thinking of asking voters for a total of nearly $99 million.

Of that, $23.4 million would be for districtwide repairs and upgrades. The rest, $75.2 million, would almost all go to additions and renovations of Service High School. It would include a little money for designing improvements to Girdwood's school and buying an elementary school site in Eagle River too.

The $99 million could all be put into one bond proposition or divided into two.

A decision on a small bond proposition for $23.4 million is easy: Do it. The city needs to keep schools in good repair, and voters usually support these electrical, mechanical, structural upgrades.

Is a second $75.2 million proposition a good idea? Probably so, but the city needs to proceed cautiously and evaluate conditions in February, when the Anchorage Assembly has to decide what issues to place on the ballot.

The $75.2 million will make sense:

• If the economy picks up, or at least if Alaska continues to avoid the worst of the national recession.

• If the Legislature makes clear it will fund the state program that pays at least half of any school bond debt voters agree to. That lessens the bite on property-tax payers.

• If the Assembly holds down the number of other bond propositions for such things as roads, parks and city building repairs. That way, voters won't be overwhelmed with requests to raise their taxes.

The Anchorage mayor's race will complicate matters. Some candidates will gripe about property taxes, which would not help any proposition to pass. But as long as voters get the message that state money takes care of a big portion of school construction, they'll realize school bonds are a bargain.

BOTTOM LINE: If Anchorage's economy stays healthy, the city should ask voters to approve the full school bond package.

Service High

It's part of a solid, larger plan

Plans for renovating Service High are part of a larger effort to update the older Anchorage high schools. Early on, the district's plan was to renovate each high school in small phases over a number of years. But since the effort began nearly a decade ago, voters have balked at approving money for the same schools again and again, said district facilities director Ray Amsden.

So now the district is proposing to finish off the three high schools in line for major improvements -- East, Bartlett and Service -- one by one. Service this year. East in 2011. Bartlett in 2013.

(Chugiak High's renovation is close to done. Dimond, South and Eagle River are almost brand new schools. West High was partially renovated in the 1990s and the district is now creating a master plan for more improvements.)

Service High renovations were the most expensive of those for the three high schools that are ready to go. They were estimated last year at $79 million. With construction costs rising at a fast pace, the district decided to scale back the project to $68 million.

Instead of demolishing the school library and replacing it with a new auditorium, the district now proposes to place a new 700-seat auditorium in front of the school and keep the existing library. A proposed track and sports field stadium with bleachers has been eliminated. The revised plan is to be completed within four years instead of five, which also would save money.

Because the Service High renovations are part of a well-thought-out, long-term plan, we would lean toward asking voters for the money this year -- unless the bottom falls out of the Alaska economy.

BOTTOM LINE: School District plans for Service High renovations make sense.