Alaska Supreme Court declines emergency bid to open Fairbanks charter school

The Alaska Supreme Court has denied an emergency request to force the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District to take steps toward opening Pearl Creek STEAM Charter School in August, according to the Association of Alaska School Boards. The denial leaves a Fairbanks Superior Court order in place days before the school's hiring deadline.

The Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development and the Pearl Creek STEAM Charter School Academic Policy Committee filed the petition on June 18, 2026, asking the state's highest court to reverse the superior court. Acting Attorney General Cori Mills signed the filing, which argued the state board's April 29 approval was final agency action binding on the district. "Pearl Creek APC obtained State Board approval to operate during the upcoming school year, and 352 students stand ready to attend," the filing said.

The accompanying motion sought a decision by 10 a.m. Monday, June 22, because staff positions had to be posted that same day. Certified classroom teachers had to be hired by June 30, it said, and a principal had to be hired first and take part in that hiring.

The district's June 21 opposition argued the petitioners had not shown a compelling reason to depart from ordinary appellate procedure. Forcing the relief sought would disrupt the district, the opposition said, and the district's own appeal should run its course in superior court before any order to open the school.

The Fairbanks school board unanimously denied the charter application on November 4, 2025, citing inadequate planning and concern the school could not afford its educational programming. The commissioner's designee approved the application on appeal on January 29, 2026, and the record went to the state board on February 13. The state board approved a five-year term ending June 30, 2031, and the district appealed that approval to Fairbanks Superior Court on May 7. That sequence, a state board overriding a local board's charter denial, is what the two sides are fighting over.

Charter supporters say the school is open to all Fairbanks-area students and still plan a fall 2026 opening, leaving enrolled families unsure where their children will attend. The district's stated concerns about planning and finances reflect worries about stability and resources at existing schools.

The available documents do not include the text of the Supreme Court's order.

Alaska News has previously reported on a borough proposal to appropriate $268,000 for maintenance at the closed Pearl Creek Elementary School and lease it to the charter school, contingent on a final approved contract. The borough's fiscal note says the $268,000 would be fully offset by reimbursements from Pearl Creek STEAM, so the arrangement is not expected to require an annual tax subsidy.