Ask 7-year-old Kristopher Nance what he thinks of living in an RV on the edge of the playground at Rogers Park Elementary for the summer and he will tell you it is perfect.
"You get to play and you don't have to play indoors," he explained recently, standing outside his family's summer retreat, a 27-foot, Class C Coachmen motor home.
Kristopher, or Kris, as he likes to be called, just arrived here from Barrow, where for much of the year it is too cold to play outside for very long. His parents, a schoolteacher dad and a stay-at-home mom, are about to move the family to Anaktuvuk Pass. But first they're taking a break, visiting friends and relatives on the road system, as they do most summers.
But this year they're doing it differently -- by taking part, like a growing number of people, in the Anchorage School District's Camper Host Program.
The program, now in its fourth year, matches selected campers to schools for the summer to help deter vandalism and other mischief. In return, the campers get free sewage disposal, electrical and water hookups, and more privacy than they would likely find at an RV park.
Some 50 schools or district buildings currently have camper hosts, according to Mark Mew, the district's director of emergency preparedness and support services.
Some of the people are from the Lower 48, here to take in the sights or visit family, he said. Others are seasonal construction workers or tour bus operators. All of them have agreed to stay at least a few weeks at their location. Many stay for the whole summer, he said.
The district spends about $300,000 a year fixing vandalized property, district spokesman Roger Fiedler said.
When officials decided to launch the Camper Host program four years ago, they initially placed advertisements in national magazines that catered to RVers. Now the program runs largely by word of mouth, he and Mew said.
"We've got some that are back with us for their third year," Mew said.
Most important from the School District's point of view, the program seems to work, though administrators say they have no hard numbers to prove it conclusively.
Kris' mom, Heidi Nance, said she hopes to participate again next year.
"It's such a win-win thing," she said. Not having to pay camping fees means more money for shopping, steak dinners or a trip to the water park for the kids, she said. "It makes the budget go a lot further."
Nance, whose husband was gone fishing Saturday, said that for the most part the school has been quiet since her family moved in behind it in mid-June. Occasionally, someone needs to be reminded to put their dog on a leash or told it's too late at night to use the playground, but other than that, there haven't been any real problems, she said.
"My dad is the one who kicks everyone out," Kris explained.
Kris and his brother, Ethan, 4, pass their time riding bikes around the school, playing Four Square on the pavement, or watching the soccer games in the field nearby. Neighborhood kids come play with them on the swings and jungle gym.
The sunny, warm weather is a nice break from the cold winter up north, Nance said. The bugs and bees -- pretty much nonexistent in the winter in Barrow -- are a source of endless fascination for the kids, she said.
A few minutes later, Kris came running up to his mom with a rock in his hand. Something was smashed on the end of it.
"Look mom -- I killed a spider!"
Nance laughed. "They are tripping out on the bugs," she said.
Camper hosts are not chained to the school to which they are assigned, and even when they are there, vandalism still sometimes happens, Mew said. "It cuts down on it, but it doesn't stop all of it."
Still, the program seems worth its cost, he said. The amount of water and electricity used by each camper is almost negligible, and the sewage disposal costs the district about $15 to $20 per week, Mew said.
Daily News reporter Tataboline Brant can be reached at tbrant@adn.com or 257-4321.
CAMPER HOST PROGRAM: Anyone who would like to be considered for a slot in the program can contact the Anchorage School District's emergency preparedness office at 348-5170.
