Board votes to permanently close four schools

What happened

On April 6, 2026 the board voted to permanently close River City Academy, Seward Middle School, Sterling Elementary School, and Tustumena Elementary School, effective June 30, 2026, after each was flagged as too small to run efficiently: River City Academy serves 62 students; Seward Middle serves 106 students in a building built for 227; Sterling Elementary serves 110 students in a building built for 270; Tustumena Elementary serves 116 students in a building built for 400. Each closure passed by a contested roll-call vote (7-2, 8-1, 7-2, and 7-2) after public testimony almost entirely in opposition. In July 2026 the board formally declared the Tustumena, Sterling, and Seward Middle buildings surplus and directed the superintendent to transfer them to the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

Why it matters to families

Four school communities lose their neighborhood school for the 2026-27 year, with students reassigned elsewhere and buildings handed to the Borough. It is the most direct effect yet of the district's budget crisis on students and families.

The evidence

The April 6, 2026 approved minutes record each closure as a separate agenda item with its own roll-call vote, enrollment/capacity figures, and estimated savings (River City Academy: about $323,856/year); the July 7, 2026 approved minutes record the board declaring three of the four buildings surplus for transfer to the Borough.

The source