Parents and community leaders push to convert Pearl Creek Elementary into STEAM magnet to boost enrollment

More than a dozen parents, educators and community members urged the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District school board on Feb. 2 to transform Pearl Creek Elementary into a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) magnet school as an alternative to closing neighborhood schools.

Proponents said a magnet conversion could increase enrollment from outside the district, open new grant opportunities and help the district recapture students who have chosen homeschool or private options.

Why it matters: Supporters argued the district’s budget shortfall forces difficult choices and that growing enrollment through a magnet program could bring new state and federal dollars into the district. They also said Pearl Creek’s location, green space and community partnerships make it a practical candidate.

Christina Turman, a Pearl Creek parent, said transforming the school “is a move that deserves serious consideration” and estimated that “a hundred new students pencils out to about a million dollars,” attributing the figure to increased per‑student revenue under the current funding model. Turman said a magnet school could preserve Pearl Creek as a neighborhood school while drawing students districtwide.

Solomon Pomerantz, who testified in favor of keeping neighborhood schools open, recommended the board work with the borough to submit capital improvement projects that would address maintenance concerns raised about Pearl Creek. He said the borough owns school buildings and funds major maintenance through its capital improvement program and that Pearl Creek has lower operating costs compared with some other schools.

Naomi Pomerantz, who identified herself as a pediatrician, told the board converting Pearl Creek into a STEAM magnet would build on existing community partnerships and increase access to STEAM education across Fairbanks, and she urged development of before‑ and after‑school childcare to support working families.

Other testimony supported the magnet idea with a mix of local data and community outreach: one speaker said a recent parent survey showed strong interest, including families currently outside the district; another said Pearl Creek already has high community engagement with programs such as NASA GLOBE and nature‑based learning.

Opponents and caveats: Not all speakers supported a magnet conversion. Jen Gunderson, a Pearl Creek parent of 10 years, said a new school‑of‑choice could “exacerbate the inequity amongst our schools” if students who can provide transportation disproportionately benefit. Several testifiers asked for more detailed, school‑level budget breakdowns and for the district to provide clear enrollment projections and fiscal notes that show how a magnet conversion would affect the overall budget.

What the board heard about funding: Testimony repeatedly encouraged the board to pursue grant funding and private partnerships if the district supported a magnet conversion. Witnesses referenced federal magnet school grants and USDA/NIFA funding possibilities; speakers urged the district to pursue those sources rather than rely only on closure savings.

Next steps and context: Multiple speakers asked the school board to delay final votes and allocate time to develop the magnet proposal and its fiscal plan. Several people also encouraged residents to testify to the state legislature about increases to the base student allocation (HB 69), which was announced at the start of the hearing as an opportunity to affect the district’s long‑term funding.

Ending: Proponents of a Pearl Creek STEAM magnet told the board the proposal is already attracting out‑of‑district interest and asked the board to treat the idea as a districtwide growth strategy rather than a single‑school fix.