Board rejects reduction‑in‑force plan after union raises wording concerns; vote fails 1–6

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Board of Education voted down a proposed reduction‑in‑force (RIF) plan in second reading on March 11 after union leaders and several board members objected to the packet version’s language and asked for statute text and other edits to be included.

Member Reid moved to approve the packet version of the RIF plan; Member Tabb seconded. Superintendent Wohler told the board the RIF document outlines the statutory reasons a district could implement layoffs (declining enrollment, change in basic need/finances, or program change) and that the copy in the packet was not the most recent version discussed with the Ketchikan Education Association (KEA). "The RIF document really is just the notice of this — the reasoning why we need to have a reduction in force," Wohler said, noting procedural and legal reviews were still pending for the most recently negotiated edits.

KEA president Lindsey Tucker urged the board to delay adoption and incorporate language from the statute verbatim into the plan to avoid ambiguous interpretation. "The largest edit... was just copying the statute verbatim and putting it all in there so it was very clear," Tucker said.

Board members split over whether the changes were material or merely wordsmithing. Several members said they were reluctant to approve a version that KEA and district negotiators had not signed off on; others said the packet plan had been reviewed by the district attorney and could be adopted to preserve the district’s ability to give formal notice if necessary. The motion failed on a roll call, recorded in the meeting as "motion fails 1 to 6." Officials said that failing to adopt the packet version allows time to incorporate agreed edits and that the district and KEA planned a follow‑up meeting on March 23 to finalize procedural details should layoffs become necessary.

Votes at a glance: the clerk called the roll on the motion to adopt the RIF plan in second reading; the board recorded the outcome as a 1–6 failure. The administration said the RIF plan remains a live policy item and that adopting a revised, legally reviewed version would be possible at a subsequent meeting.

In the same meeting the board approved its consent calendar and awarded a design contract for Ketchikan High School locker‑room and shower renovations to Welsh Whiteley Architects LLC for not to exceed $95,770. The CIP contract passed on a separate roll call with a 6–0 vote (one member absent for that vote).