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Aniak Gym Insurance Claim
Project and Community Update
September 2026
Kuspuk School District continues to make progress on the Aniak Gym insurance project, with our focus remaining on student and staff safety, responsible planning, and restoring this important facility for the Aniak community. Following the damage to the gym, the District has worked closely with our insurance partners, architects, engineers, staff, and community members to carefully evaluate the building and develop an appropriate repair plan. KPB Architects completed an on-site digital scan of the gym this summer to assist with measurements and evaluation, and the structural repair scope has since been reviewed as part of the insurance process. The project has now moved into active design. KPB Architects is developing the architectural and engineering documents needed to repair the gym, including coordination of structural, roofing, mechanical, electrical, interior, and exterior work. The District and insurance team are also working carefully to distinguish repairs associated with the insured loss from other improvements or code- related work so that the project is properly documented and funded. Our current goal is to move the project toward bidding in early to mid-December 2026, with construction planned to begin during the 2027 construction season, following the first available barge shipments. The planning target is to have the gym completed around November-December 2027, ideally in time to support basketball activities. These dates remain planning targets and may change as design, insurance review, bidding, shipping, and construction progress.
Safety Comes First
While the design and insurance work moves forward, the District is also planning for the safe operation of the Aniak school campus. Staff have developed and refined an Aniak Evacuation Emergency Plan that establishes student and staff accountability, evacuation routes away from the gym and tunnel area, transportation assignments, emergency communications, medical response, and relocation to the Community Hall. The plan requires students and staff to be accounted for before transportation and again upon arrival at the Community Hall. The plan also identifies transportation resources and specific staff/student group assignments so that an evacuation can be organized rather than improvised during an emergency. This work reflects something we believe is important: we should not simply react to an emergency we should learn from it, prepare for it, and use that planning to make our schools safer.
Looking Beyond the Immediate Repair
The District is also looking beyond the insurance claim. We are coordinating the gym repair with other planned Capital Improvement Project (CIP) work in Aniak where practical. Aligning project schedules may provide opportunities to coordinate design, mobilization, barging, equipment, contractors, and construction activities rather than approaching each project independently. We are also continuing coordination associated with the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development as we plan for the District's longer-term capital needs. The goal is to make decisions today that support both the immediate recovery of the gym and the long-term safety, reliability, and usefulness of the Aniak school facilities.
Thank You to Our Staff, Community and Partners
A project like this involves much more than drawings and construction. We want to recognize the Aniak school staff, who have continued serving students while adapting to the loss of an important part of their school. Their work developing evacuation procedures, organizing student accountability and transportation, and thinking through how the school will respond in an emergency is an important part of keeping students safe. We also want to thank the Aniak community. The gym is more than a school building. It is a place for students, families, athletics, activities, and community gatherings. We appreciate the patience, cooperation, and support the community has shown while we work through a complicated insurance,
design, and construction process. The District also appreciates the work of KPB Architects and the engineering team, Alaska Public Entity Insurance/Alaska Risk, Sedgwick, insurance consultants, the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development, and the many other partners assisting the District. This has required continued coordination between people with different responsibilities, but a shared objective: safely restoring the Aniak Gym and planning responsibly for the future of the campus. There is still considerable work ahead, but we are moving forward. We will continue to provide updates as the design advances, the insurance scope is finalized, bidding approaches, and the project moves toward construction. Our priorities remain straightforward: keep students and staff safe, take care of the facilities entrusted to us, work responsibly with our partners, and build toward a stronger future for Aniak.
