During the Finance Committee meeting Tuesday, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District leadership said that they aren’t planning on implementing any reductions to Homer Flex High School for the upcoming school year.
“The recommendation from the district, after reviewing everything — comments and the student numbers — was that we do not change anything at Homer Flex,” KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland said.
He noted that Homer Flex’s numbers have been consistent over the years, and previously heard public testimony highlighted the positive impacts that the school has had on their students.
“I think we’ve all received very compelling testimony about the impact that that program has made on youth, that there was a reason they left Homer High School to attend (Homer Flex) and how they found the supports they needed,” Holland said. “So that came through loud and clear to me.”
Homer Flex currently serves more than 30 students, according to Holland. It is also the only alternative school serving the lower Kenai Peninsula, and one of two alternative schools — alongside Kenai Alternative High School — serving the entire district.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is currently facing a $17 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. The KPBSD Board of Education Finance Committee released earlier this month three draft budget reduction scenarios that all described significant cuts to staff and programming, even with the most generous possibility of state funding.
Discussion on school closures began in February, with nine schools throughout the district originally selected for potential closure — six of which have already been removed from consideration. Nikolaevsk School, Sterling Elementary and Tustumena Elementary are still being explored as options for closure.
The decision to explore closing alternative schools in the district came up at the Board of Education meeting held in Homer on March 3, when the board asked district administration for information about closing Homer Flex and Kenai Alternative High School. Public testimony heard at the March 3 meeting leaned heavily in favor of keeping alternative schools like Homer Flex open, as they serve students who would otherwise “slip through the cracks” in traditional high schools, the Peninsula Clarion previously reported.
Homer Flex Principal Christopher Brown also posted on social media, following the March 3 meeting, asking for community support in advocating for alternative schools. He told Homer News on March 14 that Flex’s lower student-to-teacher ratio, comfort of familiar surroundings, and trauma-informed and aware approach to teaching all create a learning environment that supports area students.
A full recording of the March 25 BOE Finance Committee meeting will be available at the KPBSD’s BoardDocs website.
