A new design to combine Soldotna Elementary School and Redoubt Elementary School into the vacant Soldotna Prep School at a projected cost of $35 million was approved by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education by an 8-1 vote Monday.

A set of educational specifications — documents that define a full design for a school and how its space will be used to complete the task of educating students — were adopted Monday and will be advanced for development and implementation. They describe combining both Soldotna Elementary and Redoubt Elementary students into one school housed in the Soldotna Prep building while dividing the vacated Redoubt Elementary facility between Soldotna Montessori Charter School and River City Academy.

The move comes years after Kenai Peninsula Borough voters in October 2022 approved a $65.5 million school maintenance bond package that included, among several major projects, the construction of a new Soldotna Elementary School. The Kenai Peninsula Borough has pointed to inflation in saying that the cost of building a new school would exceed the funds available in the bond by roughly $15 million.

That’s why, in December of last year, the borough approved a nearly $400,000 contract with MCG Explore Design — to which it later added another $80,000 — to develop a new plan for housing Soldotna Elementary, Redoubt Elementary, Montessori Charter School, River City Academy and Connections Homeschool between the existing Soldotna Prep and Redoubt buildings.

Through June, MCG met with a steering committee that included borough and school district leadership, community members and school administrators. This week, during a work session of the school board on Monday, the borough presented their findings and recommendations for the first time.

John Hedges, borough purchasing and contracting director, said Monday that a renovated Soldotna Prep building could maintain large classrooms with exterior lighting, adequate gym space and varied common areas. Similarly, moving Soldotna Montessori and RCA into the newly vacant Redoubt building would create space for both programs to grow. Hedges said that the plan might include moving sixth grade students into Skyview Middle School — though he said that would be up to the school board.

The finished plans leave out Connections, with the borough’s presentation saying that the consolidation plan was unable to meet a “major priority” of a public storefront.

Borough Mayor Peter Micciche said that the consolidation plan can meet the budget dictated by remaining bond funds. As the borough and the state loses young people like elementary school students, the school district needs to “have a better vision for public education.” Combining elementary schools means creating a building “full of opportunities” that aren’t currently possible because of declining funding. The district receives funding from the state on a per-student basis and staffs schools based on enrollment.

An “efficient, thriving building,” Micciche said, can have counseling, music, art and other programs that aren’t possible right now.

Many members of the school board said they were excited about the plan. Sarah Douthit called it a “great turning point for our district.” Patti Truesdell said she was “all for it.”

“This is going to be more than surviving,” Truesdell said. “We’re going to reopen Soldotna Prep and put some schools in there and do some great things.”

KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland said that he supported the plan. He said the renovated Soldotna Prep could become a school that draws in people and students.

Penny Vadla, who also was the only member of the board to vote against approval of the plan, said she is concerned about enrollment at the elementary school — which is projected to climb to 600 or more students.

Though the board voted to approve the proposal and accept the educational specification, Board President Zen Kelly noted that the document is “vague” and doesn’t meet the standard of educational specifications considered by the board in the past.

Micciche said that, after the affirmative vote on Monday, work would begin immediately to get the design shored up and then out for bid on “a very aggressive schedule.” Hedges said they’d target having the Soldotna Prep facility renovated by the start of the 2026-2027 school year, though Holland said that “seems like a really big stretch.”

Decisions still need to be made, Holland said, about the district’s long-term plans for other outlying elementary schools like Sterling Elementary School and Tustumena Elementary School — both of which were considered for closure last year — and how the district can use the space available to it even in the current Soldotna Elementary School building it plans to vacate.

A full recording of the school board meeting will be available at the KPBSD’s BoardDocs website. Maps and design documents for the project can be found at that site as well.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.