The Village of Levelock’s school closed on Friday because of low student enrollment.
The Lake and Peninsula School Board voted unanimously to shutter the school after a tearful meeting Oct. 29.
“I know that it’s a tough decision that we have to make. I’ve been through a few of these. I’ve closed schools, I’ve opened schools,” Austin Shangin, a board member from Perryville, said at the meeting. “It’s heartbreaking, but it’s something that we have to do.”
Levelock is a small village nestled into the upper banks of the Kvichak River with around 50 year-round residents, according to locals. The average daily membership at school this fall was seven. A school needs at least 10 students to receive state education funding.
Kasie Luke, the superintendent of the school district, says that the district is facing a larger deficit than initially budgeted for by approximately $300,000. Student numbers were projected to drop district-wide – and they did. But not as much as expected. And because of a peculiar wrinkle in state law, in this case, more students actually mean the district is expecting less state funding.
As of the Oct. 29 presentation to the board, Luke estimates the deficit is between $600,000 to $1 million. Luke says the district doesn’t have a fund balance to float schools that don’t meet state counts, and closing is consistent with past practice.
Luke says this isn’t the first time Levelock’s school has come close to falling below the count. The school’s numbers have fluctuated over the years, and families have been forced to consider what they would do in the case of a closure, but Luke says the reality of it actually happening is just sinking in.
“I think the bottom line is that when the heartbeat of a community, which exists in the school and the young humans that attended, stops, it's hugely impactful for the morale, for the growth of the community, for the community to be able to, again, just foster togetherness,” said Luke. “Because it's such a common ground for everybody to attend and for everybody to be there.”
Levelock’s sole teacher, Kathy Touring, was relocated to a teaching position in Igiugig. A long-term substitute previously filled the position. Her first day at Igiugig school was Monday.
Over the last several weeks, the district has been working with students and families to create transition plans. The district offers a remote homeschooling correspondence program, Lake View Homeschool, and its teacher traveled to Levelock earlier this month to provide information and assist interested students in transitioning into the program.
Six Levelock students decided to enroll in homeschooling and their first day was Monday. Luke says that overall, the transition went smoothly.
“Often with homeschool transition, there's a lot of questions about what families can do, what homeschool allotment covers,” said Luke. “So it depends on a case-by-case basis, dependent on the family of what choice they make, how they would like their students to engage, and with what resources.”
In the short term, Luke says the Lake and Peninsula School District is working with the community and the borough on how to move forward. She says the goal is to keep the school building open and accessible to the public, but that’s dependent on resources and local capacity.
“There is hope for a continuation of the community to function in the school, if we can work together and if resources allow, and I don’t doubt that we can,” said Luke.
The district will assess reopening the school every spring moving forward.
