JSoldotna Prep. Feasibility Study

In October 2019, Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce and the Kenai Peninsula Borough Land Management Officer, Marcus Mueller, approached the school district with an idea to potentially relocate Soldotna Elementary and Soldotna Montessori schools to the former Soldotna Prep building and campus. Two primary reasons drive the request from the Borough, and prior to any decisions, a significant feasibility study and community meetings would take place.

First, the Soldotna Elementary School facility will require significant capital expenditures to extend its useful life while the former Soldotna Prep facility is in much better physical condition and has a longer expected useful life period.

Second, for several years the Borough has worked to identify and procure a location that would be acceptable for a new, state-of-the-art Central Emergency Services fire station and headquarters. The Borough is very interested in the land location where the current Soldotna Elementary and Soldotna Montessori schools are located, and believe that this location could be ideal for such a purpose and facility.

Discussions at this point are only preliminary. After a facility and program feasibility study is conducted, I will share that information with the Board of Education. The potential project would require a change to the current neighborhood PK-6 educational model of Soldotna Schools. Redoubt Elementary would likely need to be converted to a Pre-K to Grade 2 primary elementary school. A new Grade 3-6 school would likely be created in the former Soldotna Prep school with room for including Soldotna Montessori in the same facility. This would require significant remodeling and renovations to both facilities to ensure an age appropriate instructional setting, and the Borough has indicated they could be responsible for the necessary remodeling to support the educational model and school move. The Soldotna Prep facility includes significantly more square footage than the Soldotna Elementary/Soldotna Montessori building, which would afford many opportunities not available in the current Soldotna Elementary building.

Significantly more Board of Education, Borough Assembly, and community stakeholder discussion will be necessary if the feasibility study shows that this project would make financial sense. The earliest timeline that such a move of schools would be implemented would be the fall of the 2021-2022 school year. I will keep the board updated as more information becomes available. I will also be working with the building principals in all three schools to ensure that staff, parents, students, and school communities are involved and engaged in this discussion. Thank you.