The president of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District’s board is standing behind the board’s unanimous vote to reject a charter school application last year.
That’s despite Alaska Department of Education Commissioner Deena Bishop last week overturning the board’s decision in a 28-page letter, drafted by a designee, which approved the application. The committee backing the Pearl Creek STEAM Charter School had appealed to the commissioner in November following the local denial.
The Fairbanks school board voted to reject the application in October, turning down the committee seeking to open a charter school at the recently-closed Pearl Creek Elementary. The board later issued a 52-page written decision that outlined their reasoning, and Board President Bobby Burgess says that position remains unchanged.
“The board stands by our initial decision and the reasons that are laid out in the letter that we sent when we initially rejected the application,” he said.
The document includes concerns about a net $2.8 million impact to the district’s overall budget if it were to open the school. It also takes issue with the charter school committee’s plans for a facility, admissions, transportation and student nutrition, among other things. The board’s decision says it seems likely that “the proposed school could fail entirely.”
Burgess said greenlighting the application would’ve meant taking on too much risk.
“When there are uncertainties in the plan, things still being worked out, and we put our stamp of approval on it, we are taking responsibility for the operation of that school,” he said.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy and his education commissioner have consistently said they’d like to expand charter schools in an effort to give students and parents more choices. The commissioner’s recent approval of the Pearl Creek application overrides the local board and now sends it on to the state board of education for final approval or denial. The state board is expected to take it up for consideration in March.
According to the commissioner’s analysis, the proposed school’s committee met or exceeded its legal obligations when applying, and there wasn’t anything to justify upholding the denial. On multiple occasions, the commissioner’s decision refutes the board’s findings by saying the board expected too much detail at the application step.
For instance, the commissioner’s decision says nothing in Alaska statutes or regulations say a plan for student nutrition is needed in charter applications, and that even if that were the case, the committee did discuss nutrition in their submission. The letter also says there’s nothing in Alaska law requiring a charter school applicant to demonstrate “likelihood for success,” which the board had pointed to as one of its reasons for denial.
Jennifer Redmond, treasurer for the academic policy committee backing Pearl Creek STEAM Charter School, said it felt good to see their application move forward.
“At the end of the day, it’s really about our kids, who deserve engaging, hands-on learning and families who want to stay invested in public education,” she said. “And it was really wonderful to see that shone through, and it really affirmed that the Pearl Creek team meets the legal and educational standards to move forward.”
The committee wants to open the school this fall, and Redmond says they are still ready to do that. She said 340 students, 50 of whom would come from outside the district, have shown intent to enroll at the school. She also said people have put in thousands of volunteer hours so far.
“I think this just reflects our lived experience and local values and deep investment in children and community,” Redmond said.
Funding for a new charter school does not appear in the proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget recently released by district administration. Superintendent Luke Meinert told the school board Tuesday that’s because the district doesn’t want to set aside money for a charter that doesn’t have the final go-ahead. But he says it’s among the budgetary variables the school board should be keeping in mind.