Ketchikan Gateway Borough School Board approves amended FY25–26 operating budget after public hearing
Loading...
Summary
After a public hearing with no speakers, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Board of Education approved an amended FY25–26 operating fund budget by roll call vote 6–0. Staff said the amendment reallocates staffing dollars, adjusts revenue for enrollment, and moves some salaries to contracted services to cover special-education needs.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Board of Education voted unanimously on Dec. 17 to approve an amended FY25–26 operating fund budget following a public hearing that produced no public comment.
Board member (speaker 8) moved the revision, which the motion described as reducing revenues by $191,000 and adjusting expenditures by a net decrease; the transcribed meeting record shows some dollar amounts in the motion were not legible. The motion was seconded and adopted on a 6–0 roll-call vote.
District finance staff explained the changes during discussion. According to the finance director, the amendment shifts about $600,000 in salaries and benefits (partly by reclassifying positions), moves some vacant occupational-therapy and physical-therapy salary lines into contracted-services to allow flexibility when providers are hired or used by contract, and leaves several operations-and-maintenance positions open because they have been difficult to fill. The director also said the district qualified this year for the 0.5 pre-K funding component and that the district’s count of intensives came in higher than budgeted (budgeted 121; actual count 128), which affected revenue and service-cost projections.
Board members asked detailed questions about paraprofessional contract amounts and the district’s practice for presenting contracts to the board. Member Montgomery pressed why three para positions showed contract amounts around $45,000 plus benefits when typical paraprofessional pay was lower; staff explained these figures reflect turnover, partial-year placements, and a need for contingency in areas with staff shortages. Staff said the $25,000 policy threshold cited by one board member applies to third-party contracts, while personnel hiring follows a different set of procedures.
The finance director said he is working with the Alaska Department of Education on the district’s maintenance-of-effort (MOE) obligations and expects to meet the required per-pupil expenditure line for the year. He also noted that the district continues to reconcile final OASIS enrollment numbers, which are not finalized until January or February.
The board approved the amendment and then moved on to board comments and other business. The district will present additional follow-up materials, including answers to member questions about special-education expenditures, at future meetings.
