HomeSTEAD Charter application heads to state after approval from Fairbanks school board

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - After being approved by the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board in a 4-3 vote on April 7, the application to establish the HomeSTEAD Charter School at the site which once held Two Rivers School is slated to head to the state for potential final approval.

The application had been previously submitted to the school district last fall before being withdrawn in November to undergo revisions, being resubmitted in March after organizers worked with district administration to improve the document.

Jasmine Wicks, president of the school’s academic policy committee, presented the reworked application at the April 7 school board meeting before board members took the final vote.

“I felt a lot of anxiety because the first time we thought we had it so right, and then the next time we’d worked so hard,” she explained.

Wicks described the feeling of finally being approved locally as “surreal,” saying, “It feels like we have some room to breathe, to actually make this happen in real life, not in just a concept.”

Meeting with district administrators on Tuesday, Wicks said the charter will then be finalized and sent off to the state.

Paul Reid, Project Coordinator with the Office of Education Advocacy, said the Department of Education, upon receiving the charter application, will review the document before the State Board of Education makes a final decision.

“Hopefully the State Board of Education will be in agreement with the Fairbanks Board of Education and approve our application so that we can open a school,” Wicks said.

Wicks argued that a charter school in the Two Rivers area would bring in revenue for local businesses and might attract people toward living in the area.

When discussing the charter application, some board members raised concerns, with board president Bobby Burgess expressing doubts about the long-term financial impact of opening a new charter school.

“We did consolidate schools for several reasons. Yes, it was budget ultimately that drove it, but also declining enrollment and staffing challenges, and with those things combined, I am concerned that the impacts by opening this school, the impacts would be as severe as, you know, having to close some other neighborhood school in a few years,” he said.

While saying he found the charter application impressive, Burgess disagreed with the district administration, which recommended approval.

“I do really want Two Rivers and other rural communities to have a school. We need a better funding model than the one we have,” he said. “I don’t think that a charter which ultimately takes resources from the rest of the district is the appropriate model at this time.”

If approved by the state, current plans are for the school to open in July 2027, after educators have been hired and the building prepared to reintroduce students.

At that point, its model would have students attending school on a year-round schedule.

“Ours has more frequent breaks throughout the year, so families can do things together, go on vacations. Educators can travel and not have to pay peak season plane tickets. There’s also a longer break, say, around Thanksgiving,” Wicks explained, adding that their schedule would have a break during September for family moose hunting season.

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