Ketchikan school district warns it may not be able to cover June payroll; borough officials weigh contingency steps

School district officials told the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly liaison committee on April 7 that the district has limited cash on hand and likely will not have funds to cover the district's June payroll without borough assistance.

"As of yesterday we had $1,596,000 balance within all of our accounts," said Lisa, a district official who provided the liaison with a verbal cash-flow update. She said the district expects adjusted foundation payments to change in April through June, and that under current projections the district should be able to meet payroll through May but "I don't believe that we'll have cash to be able to cover that" June payroll.

Assembly members pressed for concrete figures and contingency plans. "If you're not going to be able to make the June payroll ... how much is that going to be?" asked Assembly member Dowell. Lisa said she did not have a precise dollar figure at the meeting and that the district has historically relied on support from the borough under a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to address year-end shortfalls.

Assembly members said the borough…