The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District board on Dec. 1 directed administration to explore lease options and cost estimates for the 2 Rivers building after hearing a letter of intent from a charter application committee (APC).

Dr. Minor asked the board for guidance about negotiating a lease for the facility and reminded trustees that district charter schools have a statutory right of first refusal. “If there's clear direction coming out of the conversation tonight, I would contact our charter school principals and let them know that 2 Rivers School could be available starting in the '26, '27 school year,” Dr. Minor said.

Several trustees said they supported administration negotiating a tentative lease and producing financial modeling. Miss Julian said the APC had pulled and revised its application after administrative review and that the board should help the APC understand the finance implications. “I am very supportive of you moving forward and negotiating a lease with the APC,” she said.

Board members emphasized the need for precise cost numbers and scenarios. Trustees asked administration to draft at least two lease scenarios: one that assumes the district retains a limited BEST satellite presence at the site and one without BEST, so the APC can model finances conservatively. Trustees also requested an estimate of current operating costs and the expected lease rate components (utilities, maintenance, any capital projects). Dr. DeGraw said a lease draft itself could be produced quickly if prioritized: “If we dropped everything and just this was the priority ... we could do it in a relatively short amount of time, you know, under a week.”

Board members pressed for enrollment and program context: administration reported 22 BEST students currently use the 2 Rivers location in person; Dr. Minor said the school had more than 60 students when it previously operated and Miss Julian cited a DEED capacity figure of 98 students. Trustees also raised concerns that drafting a lease for a specific group could appear as preapproval and asked for a process that preserves the board's discretion and the right of first refusal by district charters.

At the end of discussion Dr. Minor restated that administration will explore lease options and produce costs for both the charter group and the board, including options that retain a BEST hub, and provide that information to inform any future charter application and contract negotiation. No lease or charter approval was voted on during the work session.