Another Ketchikan School Board member has stepped down. Tom Heutte abruptly resigned from the board in an email to Board President Katherine Tatsuda on Friday morning.
Heutte’s resignation comes on the heels of the district superintendent, the former school board president, and another school board member all resigning in a span of three months.
The Ketchikan school board has been under fire recently for their decision to restructure the island’s elementary schools to meet a growing budget deficit. There have been protests and the public comment sections of school board meetings have been full of parents and community members angry about the potential impacts of the restructuring.
Heutte said in a text message to KRBD that he was resigning because he’d behaved unprofessionally in a communication with a district employee and “didn’t want to drag the board into further controversy.”
“The level of dialogue on social media, board emails, and public comments has sunk to new lows,” Heutte said in the text. “I found myself sinking to that level.”
“It’s about the kids, not me,” Heutte concluded. “The school board has many challenges ahead and I hope cooler heads will prevail.”
It is unclear when the school board will fill the vacant seat but they are expected to accept or reject Heutte’s resignation at their next meeting on May 28.
