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Assembly adopts FY2026 school funding and passes borough budget
Summary
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly approved the local contribution to the school district for FY2026 and adopted the borough's FY2026 budget after votes on ordinances that set spending authority and funding levels.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly on May 19 adopted an ordinance setting the borough's FY2026 local contribution to the Ketchikan school district and passed the borough's FY2026 budget.
The assembly approved Ordinance 2066 (substitute), setting the borough contribution subject to statutory caps at $11,694,754 and authorizing a total school spending authority of $37,941,678. Assistant Borough Manager Cinda Smith said the ordinance was updated to use the latest student count figures and clarified that the initial spending authority did not include grants or special revenue, which the district may still use once final numbers are confirmed. "This ordinance is built on the facts that we know and have in hand," Smith said during the staff presentation.
Separately, the assembly considered the borough-wide appropriations. After a public hearing and staff presentations the assembly adopted Ordinance 2070, the FY2026 borough budget (motion to adopt introduced and passed during the meeting). The votes on both ordinance actions were recorded by roll call and passed with unanimous support from members present.
The ordinances reflect a set of technical updates tied to the school district's enrollment figures and the borough's revenue assumptions. Smith and other staff told the assembly they had used the district's most recent pupil-count and state guidance when calculating required local contributions and the maximum allowable local contribution before hitting statutory caps. Smith noted uncertainty remained around several state-level revenue items — notably the status of HB 57 and federal Secure Rural Schools funding — and said those items could affect state and federal revenue flows to the borough and school district in coming weeks.
Assembly members asked for additional detail about specific line items in the budget and were invited by staff to review the full budget book and meet with finance staff as needed before June 2, when additional hearings and approvals will continue for some budget-related items.
The assembly's action keeps the borough and school district operating under a spending plan tied to recognized revenue assumptions while preserving flexibility to incorporate grant and special revenue amounts once final federal and state actions are known.
The meeting record showed the motion to adopt Ordinance 2066 (substitute) carried on roll call with seven affirmative votes. The budget ordinance (2070) likewise carried on a roll call vote at the meeting.
