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Committee to explore ending White Cliff lease as part of larger cost‑saving review

Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Finance Committee (Board of Education) · December 16, 2025

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Summary

Facing a projected $1 million reduction in state funding, declining enrollment and a reported $5.4 million borough debt, committee members asked staff to examine terminating the White Cliff lease (approximately $36,000 annually) and to place the option within a broader budget timeline and cost-savings analysis.

Speaker 1 told the committee they were instructed by the superintendent to bring discussion of the White Cliff lease to the finance committee and said they would like to see the district move out and terminate that lease by the end of the fiscal year. Speaker 2 suggested phrasing the action as a proposal to explore options rather than an immediate directive.

Speaker 1 cited district financial pressures, saying state funding for the next year "looks like it's 1000000 dollars less than what we received this year," and referenced declining enrollment and an outstanding amount owed to the borough of "$5,400,000." Speaker 3 urged planning the review within a budget timeline and noted that while the White Cliff lease "is somewhere around $36,000," that is small compared with a roughly "$44,000,000" operating budget, so savings should be weighed alongside other measures.

Members discussed logistics and timing: Speaker 3 recommended that if the district cancels the lease any move occur in summer to avoid midyear disruption for schools and students. There was also mention of conversations already underway with the borough about repurposing specific spaces.

Why it matters: The committee framed the White Cliff lease as one of multiple potential cost-saving steps to address projected revenue shortfalls and a substantial amount owed to the borough; the committee emphasized the need for dollar estimates for any proposed changes.

Next steps: Committee members asked staff to include the White Cliff lease option in a budget timeline and to produce cost/benefit estimates as part of the broader budget-planning work for presentation at the next finance-committee meeting.