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Borough assembly orders review after officials report $5.4 million shortfall in local education fund
Summary
After a work session on Dec. 1, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly directed staff to draft stronger fiscal‑oversight options following staff reports that the district’s local‑education fund showed an accrued debt of roughly $5.4 million as of June 30, 2025; the assembly also asked for options including independent internal‑controls review and improved monthly reporting.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly on Dec. 1 directed borough staff to produce ordinance options and other measures to strengthen fiscal oversight after staff disclosed an internal debt in the district’s local education fund (LEF) that stood at about $5.4 million as of June 30, 2025.
The directive came after a work session during which Finance Director Charlene Thomas told the assembly that ‘‘the district’s spending of local funds exceeded the LEF appropriations,’’ creating an internal debt the borough now carries. Manager and staff briefings traced the problem to timing and accounting of transfers, an advance of state foundation dollars used to cover prior payroll, and repeated instances in which LEF appropriations were exhausted while the borough continued to make payments on the district’s behalf.
‘‘This debt represents the overuse of the local dollars only,’’ Thomas said, emphasizing the LEF does not include state foundation funding. Manager Duran and other staff…
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