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Fairbanks North Star Borough School District board meeting, date not confirmed yet

3 h 59 min

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Fairbanks school board ratifies one-year agreements with ESSA and FEA 2:26:48

  • The board adopted the second half of Article 4, Personnel, as amended; a speaker presenting the item said adoption would finish the migration to the new policy platform. 2:14:11
  • The board ratified a tentative agreement with the Education Support Staff Association effective from July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. 2:27:50
  • The board also ratified a tentative agreement with the Fairbanks Education Association for the same period. 2:32:22
  • District staff presented a student achievement report on mCLASS, MAP and AK-STAR results, and board members asked about a seventh-grade dip, testing and professional development funding. 2:39:09

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (14)
  1. Call to order and roll call 4:58
    • The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM, and the roll call established a quorum. 4:58
  2. Performance and recognitions 6:02
    • The North Pole Middle School Band was scheduled to perform the U.S. Armed Forces version of the national anthem followed by 1941. 6:02
    • A teacher at North Pole Elementary School was recognized as the Excellent Educator of the Month for November 2026. 14:52
    • The board's vice president was recognized for 3 years of school board service before stepping down from the board. 19:01
  3. Adoption of the agenda 27:04
    • Consent items marked with an asterisk are approved automatically when the agenda is adopted. 27:04
    • The motion to adopt the agenda with consent items carried. 28:02
  4. Northstar Middle College spotlight 28:40
    • A presenter said Northstar Middle College is a dual enrollment partnership between the district and the University of Alaska Fairbanks and currently serves 202 juniors and seniors. 29:30
    • A presenter said 80% of college courses taken by the graduating classes of 2025 and 2026 were passed with a C or higher, students earned an average GPA of a 3.2 and graduating seniors completed an average of 40 college credits. 35:11
    • Timothy Doran asked about the program's graduation or completion rate, and a presenter said students who stay are 100% graduated. 39:32
  5. Public comment on non-agenda items 53:34
    • A speaker at public comment raised a new charter school application before the board and said opening new charters would only continue to starve neighborhood schools. 56:12
    • A speaker cited spring MAP results, saying 80% of high schoolers tested at or above benchmark in reading, up from 59%. 59:21
    • Other comments covered the Purple Star School application process and district budget priorities. 1:03:13
  6. Advisory member reports 1:11:37
    • A student advisory member reported on school activities, including Lathrop's state football championship and a North Pole flag football state title. 1:13:40
    • Morgan Dulian asked the student member to gather peer views on whether activities motivate students academically and what barriers keep students from participating. 1:16:59
    • Naomi Hewitt asked what students would do for their schools if they had a magic wand. 1:18:43
  7. Board committee reports 1:21:48
    • Audra Hull reported that the Policy Committee advanced without changes two policies recommended for update due to legislative action last year. 1:24:43
    • Loa Carroll-Hubbard said the Budget Committee is requesting stakeholder input and will hold its second meeting Thursday, October 22nd, from 5:30 to 7:30. 1:26:11
    • Morgan Dulian said the first legislative Committee of the Whole will meet Monday, November 2nd, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. 1:27:37
  8. President's report 1:27:59
    • Robert Burgess said the Borough Assembly passed Resolution 2026⁠-⁠40 on October 8th, which requires the board budget to first use carryover funds above 40% of the borough's July 1st direct appropriation to education before requesting local support. 1:27:59
    • Robert Burgess said the board will take action on a charter school application at its regular meeting on November 3rd. 1:32:09
    • One board member asked whether the full amount or only the amount over 40% would carry into the next year, citing concern about the risk management fund, and another board member said the language does not seem to require the district to spend that money. 1:39:40
  9. Superintendent's report 1:45:13
    • The superintendent said a college and career fair drew over 300 students and over 80 vendors. 1:48:59
    • The superintendent said the district received approval to move forward with renovation at Ann Wien Elementary School funded by an $8 million grant, with construction planned for the summer of 2027. 1:49:47
    • Naomi Hewitt asked whether a remodel would go out to bid as one project or multiple projects. 1:54:50
  10. Second half of personnel policies 1:57:33
    • During the public hearing, a speaker asked the district to find ways to support educators defamed through social media and AI-generated content. 2:11:46
    • Timothy Doran moved an amendment to Board Policy 4157, 4257, 4357, Employee Safety and Security, to add language in accord with the negotiated agreements. 2:14:42
    • One board member said the harassment policy as written gives the district latitude to address harassment and suggested no changes, while saying it is important to be mindful that social media is evolving. 2:18:49
    • The amendment carried, and the main motion as amended carried. 2:18:09
  11. Support staff agreement ratification 2:26:48
    • The tentative agreement was ratified by ESSA members on October 8th, 2026, and is effective from July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. 2:27:52
    • Naomi Hewitt moved to ratify the agreement. 2:29:37
    • Timothy Doran noted appreciation for the district and ESSA bargaining teams and said it is a 1-year agreement. 2:30:59
    • The motion carried. ~2:32:20
  12. Teachers association agreement ratification 2:32:22
    • Loa Carroll-Hubbard moved to ratify the tentative agreement with the Fairbanks Education Association for July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027. 2:32:48
    • A speaker at the public hearing encouraged the board to ratify the agreement. 2:33:24
    • One board member called the agreement an example of collaboration. 2:34:43
    • The motion carried. ~2:36:21
  13. Student achievement report 2:36:25
    • A presenter said MAP reading proficiency for grades 3 through 9 was 55%, then 59%, then 70%, noting that MAP had recalibrated its tests. 2:47:22
    • A presenter said AK-STAR reading proficiency was 35 in 2023⁠-⁠24, 37 in 2024⁠-⁠25 and 36 in 2025⁠-⁠26. 2:58:30
    • One board member asked about a 7th grade dip in the data and which tests are most useful, and another board member suggested a data work session on disaggregated data. 3:06:12
  14. Board comments and adjournment 3:36:56
    • Meredith Maple shared reflections on serving on the board. 3:37:15
    • Naomi Hewitt described helping with a reading program at Barnett Elementary. 3:48:13
    • Loa Carroll-Hubbard described teaching 5th grade during Junior Achievement Day at Weller. 3:53:48
    • The meeting was adjourned without objection. 3:57:20

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Who spoke

Who spoke

We can’t yet tell who is speaking at this board’s meetings.

Video: posted by the district as “2026-10-20 | School Board Regular Meeting”