Judge Denies Pearl Creek Charter APC's Motions for Preliminary Injunction

The legal battle over local control and charter school approvals in Fairbanks just got spicy. Today, Superior Court Judge Kirk Schwalm issued a pretty ironclad denial of Pearl Creek STEAM Charter APC's motions for a preliminary injunction against the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FNSBSD).

You can review the order here:

You might recall that this consolidated appeal stems from the State Board of Education deciding to approve Pearl Creek's charter application after the school district issued a 52-page explainer denying it. Pearl Creek wanted the court to force the district to open the school immediately. The judge refused.

A party seeking preliminary injunctive relief must meet the balance of hardships standard or show probable success on the merits. The court determined the current status quo is, in fact, an unopened school. Pearl Creek therefore faced a heightened burden to prove this was an extreme or exceptional case warranting a mandatory injunction and failed to sell it to the judge.

The court also systematically dismantled Pearl Creek's arguments regarding irreparable harm. The judge pointed out that all students still have access to public education although some families will be hurt they aren't getting their preferred educational option in a special school for their special kids.

​I'm sure there's a lesson in here somewhere, namely that you can confabulate on social media and baselessly accuse school board members of engaging in "illegal" conduct, and wage a public disinformation campaign to distort the facts about the budget, but at the end of the day, you have to prove your case in court.