The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District will vote on a reduction in force plan Wednesday night that will potentially allow them to lay off employees in order to meet their budget goals.
Last week, district administrators were tasked with coming up with a plan to cut costs to meet the district’s $5.4 million budget deficit. At a special meeting last Saturday, district staff presented that reduction in force plan, and a budget plan, to the board.
The proposed budget plan includes closing Point Higgins and Fawn Mountain Elementary Schools, cutting library positions, cutting administrative assistants and custodians, and moving the district’s central office to a school building. It also includes cutting over 40 staff positions.
Bridget Mattson is a parent who spoke at Saturday’s meeting in support of the budget plan presented.
“This facilities based restructuring removes that fixed overhead before dismantling student opportunity,” Mattson said. “Closing two elementary buildings reduces duplicated administrative structures, custodial services, utilities and maintenance costs. And it doesn’t start with just eliminating programs like welding, music, advanced coursework, career and technical pathways or graduation supports.”
Mattson is also a member of the borough assembly, but spoke as a private citizen. She said she appreciates the work that’s been put in by staff in the week prior to create a plan that will be sustainable alongside expected shifts in the future, like rising insurance costs or dips in enrollment.
“They were specifically asked to make a plan to cut $5.5 million, and we recognize that what’s on this agenda packet today is substantially more than what they were tasked with,” she said. “The sustainable stabilization plan that is brought before you and presented showed its resiliency by being able to maintain its framework and absorb additional potential deficits.”
School board member Shari Montgomery said that last year, before she was elected, she asked the school board to not close Point Higgins Elementary. Saturday afternoon, she tearfully told the audience she supported the decision to close the school.
“The last thing I wanted to do is close our community schools,” Montgomery said. “And this sucks. It sucks for every single one of us in this room. The only community we have right now is Ketchikan, and we have to do this together.”
Montgomery said the proposed plan is a start, but it’s not enough. She said people will be upset and families will leave the district, and things will get worse before they get better.
The draft reduction in force plan was unanimously approved on first reading, but it is likely to look a little different when presented at the meeting Wednesday night.
Mary Maley is the vice president of the Ketchikan Education Association, the local teacher’s union. She said they want to be involved in development of the plan before it’s finalized.
“The RIF plan as it is written right now is not adequate,” Maley said on Saturday. “There are some mistakes and important information missing entirely. We would love to discuss the details of these in a meeting with district leadership.”
The school district’s interim Human Resources Director, Tim Peterson, said the draft has been reviewed by the district legal team, and that they had communication with KEA. The board directed administration to have an official meeting with KEA before Wednesday.
Maley asked the board to approve the plan on first reading so timeliness can be maintained and staff can be made aware of layoffs before Spring Break, which starts this weekend. Layoffs must comply with collective bargaining agreements and tenure.
In the board packet for Wednesday night’s meeting, there is a partial and incomplete list of staff members’ names who are up for contract renewal for the 2026-2027 school year. The board will vote on whether to approve those contracts. Those contracts are required by state law to be renewed annually, and school board president Katherine Tatsuda says it is not abnormal to include a list of names. There hasn’t yet been a date set to vote on renewal for the remainder of the teacher contracts.
The reduction in force plan will have a second reading — and board approval — before it is finalized. There is a public hearing on the plan before the regular board meeting on Wednesday, starting at 4 p.m. in the borough chambers.
Correction: The initial version of this article conflated the reduction in force plan with the drafted budget plan. The reduction in force plan allows the district to implement layoffs.
