A vacant Fairbanks school's fall reopening hinges on a vote — and an unsigned charter

Whether a vacant Fairbanks school reopens for students this fall comes down to a vote Wednesday night. The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly will decide whether to hand the empty Pearl Creek Elementary building to a charter group, Pearl Creek STEAM, on a five-year, below-market lease — and to put up $268,000 to get the long-idle building back in working order. For families hoping to enroll, it's the clearest sign yet that a fall opening is real.

For the borough, it's a chance to salvage a roughly 63,000-square-foot building that has sat empty on Auburn Drive long enough to draw vandalism and wear. And the money isn't a giveaway: the charter group would have to pay back every dollar the borough spends on upkeep, which the borough's fiscal note says leaves taxpayers with no net cost.

But the whole arrangement rests on one thing that hasn't happened yet. If Pearl Creek STEAM doesn't land a final, signed charter contract with the school district, both the lease and the money evaporate. The state Board of Education approved the group's charter back in March — overriding the local district, which had turned it down — but that contract with the district still isn't in hand. Organizers say they're aiming to open this fall.

Assembly members Tammie Wilson, David Guttenberg, and Kristan Kelly called the special meeting and are sponsoring the measure. If it passes, the deal takes effect within days — leaving one question hanging: whether the charter contract can be locked in fast enough to open the doors by fall.