Ketchikan school board reopens restructuring debate, directs staff to plan multi‑age option; approves study of closing Point Higgins

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Board of Education on March 12 reopened debate over a controversial FY2025–26 restructuring plan, directing staff to develop a plan for multi‑age/shared class arrangements and to pursue specified district cost reductions while also approving the creation of a closure plan for Point Higgins Elementary.

The action followed a lengthy work session and more than an hour of public testimony in which parents, teachers and students urged the board to rethink a February 12 vote that advanced a specialization model that would concentrate grade bands and shift students between buildings. Board members ultimately voted 4–3 to direct staff to prepare a multi‑age/shared‑class plan with targeted expense reductions and also approved a separate motion directing staff to prepare a closure plan for Point Higgins Elementary; both votes were split along similar lines.

Why it matters: The board’s direction is an attempt to find alternatives that reduce staffing and operating costs while avoiding the disruption community members warned would accompany the restructuring the board previously approved. District staff told trustees the budget must be…