By SUZANNE DOWNING
May 12, 2026 – An Anchorage Superior Court judge has reversed course and cleared the way for the Anchorage School District to move ahead with the closure of Campbell STEM Elementary School, dissolving a temporary injunction that had briefly halted the process.
Judge Una Gandbhir on Monday lifted the injunction she issued earlier this month, after concluding the district had complied with her order to hold an additional public hearing and further explain its reasoning for closing the school.
The decision allows the Anchorage School District to proceed with plans to permanently close Campbell STEM at the end of the current school year in eight days.
The school was one of three elementary schools targeted for closure by the Anchorage School Board in February as part of an aggressive “rightsizing” effort to address an estimated $90 million structural budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. District officials have pointed to declining enrollment and demographic shifts, including a reported 7% drop in Anchorage birth rates since 2020, as major drivers behind the downsizing effort.
The closure sparked a fierce backlash from parents and supporters of Campbell STEM, who quickly organized the Campbell STEM Preservation and Education Foundation and filed suit against the district in an attempt to stop the shutdown.
Earlier this month, Gandbhir temporarily sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that the district had not adequately demonstrated that all relevant funding sources, particularly grant funding associated with the STEM program, had been fully considered before the board voted 4-3 to close the school.
In her May 1 order, Gandbhir halted further closure activity and directed the district to conduct another public hearing by May 15. The order temporarily blocked any further reassignment of students or staff, repurposing of the building, or administrative transition related to the closure.
At the center of the dispute was whether the school board acted arbitrarily by failing to fully account for funding streams tied to the school before making its decision.
The district complied with the judge’s directive during a school board meeting, when Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt provided additional information and updates concerning the school’s finances and the closure rationale.
Judge halts Campbell STEM closure, orders Anchorage School District to revisit decision
That appears to have satisfied the court.
The reversal underscores how unusual the earlier injunction was in the first place. Although Gandbhir initially questioned the board’s process, she had also acknowledged in her earlier ruling that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated irreparable harm — one of the key standards normally required for extraordinary judicial intervention.
Meanwhile, district leadership has maintained that the closure decision was based on multiple factors, including declining enrollment, building utilization, transportation logistics, and long-term financial sustainability.
The court was venturing beyond its role and effectively inserting itself into local education governance. Some observers noted that the judge appeared to be second-guessing policy decisions typically reserved for elected school board members, not the judiciary.
Board members Dave Donley and Pat Higgins had attempted earlier this spring to reopen discussion on the closure vote after questions arose about funding considerations, but their effort failed on a 3-3 vote.
Campbell STEM families who sued said the district rushed the closure decision and failed to give the public adequate notice or fully transparent financial information before the vote. But the process had been underway for many months and was far from hasty or capricious.
With the injunction now dissolved, the district is once again free to proceed with shutting down the school as planned at the conclusion of the academic year. Unless the families appeal the decision.
4 thoughts on “Judge clears way for Campbell STEM elementary school closure”
ASD is trying to be responsible, they need to be encouraged into being financially responsible. ASD can’t hold out hoping by some magic tens of thousands of new enrollments. Alaskans raised current child bearing Alaska generation not to want a family with children. Plus currently Alaska to outsides is on the decline of economic business activity so new state residents don’t want to cone here while other states and other countries are providing more than Alaska.
They either start cutting day or they wait until 2011-2013 births are seniors in high school before making cuts; even then GenBeta’s parents will protest and loudly criticize because of their emotional and physical attachment to a school and program.
Do the hard today before GenBeta families get attached
For a brief time, we thought this judge was going to do the right thing in the best interests of the students and parents.
Bankrupting the school district is not in the best interest of students, parents. I can’t stand it when people sue themselves (suing the district is like suing yourself since the funds to pay for the lawsuit ultimately come from taxpayers pockets). Let’s get on with it. My wallet is light from funding schools which have declined in enrollment for years!
Once the judge figured out she was causing problems for other Leftists, all the perceived issues disappeared. Had a conservative of any stripe been involved it would take action by the US Supreme Court before the matter was resolved.