Issues facing the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District were discussed during KSRM’s coverage of Decision 2023 focused on the Board of Education District 7 race.
The Tuesday evening radio forum featured candidates competing in the race to fill a three-year term seat. Sitting Board of Education President, Debbie Cary, and challenger Diane MacRae spoke on issues impacting the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in advance of the General Election on Tuesday, October 3rd.
The subjects discussed included the Mat-Su Borough School District’s choice to remove books from its libraries, the Alaska READS Act, and state education funding.
The candidates also discussed the scrutiny surrounding the reconstruction proposal for Soldotna Elementary, specifically, the suggestion that the building which was previously used as Soldotna Prep school could serve as a replacement in lieu of reconstruction.
Debbie Cary;
“So, we’re talking about Soldotna Elementary and Soldotna Prep at this particular moment. We all have to understand that Soldotna Prep has very different physical needs than what Soldotna Elementary has. And when I say that, when you look at a countertop height for an elementary school, it’s way different than what a countertop height for a high school is going to be. They’re shorter people, you know? So, I think that at one point the borough and our maintenance department looked at all of that and the cost was prohibitive to do it. And that’s why it was decided that it would be split into two. I mean, we actually looked at moving. Redoubt and Soldotna Prep and making those a [grades] 1, 2, 3 school and a [grades] 4, 5, 6 [school], and looked at all of those different configurations. So, the best plan that they came up with – the guys that know – was what they’re presenting, but Soldotna Elementary definitely needs to be rebuilt.”
Diane MacRae;
“If we have the school space for it, I think we could modify it at a reasonable cost to meet the needs, and I think that would be a better way of handling money as long as it’s in good condition and whatever is needed to be done is addressed.”
Click the player below to listen to the candidate election forum in case you didn’t have an opportunity to:
