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Ketchikan school board adopts FY26–27 budget after amendments to protect counselors
Summary
After hours of testimony, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Board of Education approved its FY26–27 budget on second reading, removing a proposed curriculum director and converting a social‑worker line back into a counselor to preserve student services. The final motion passed 7–0.
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Board of Education voted 7–0 on April 22 to adopt its fiscal year 2026–27 budget after several amendments intended to keep counseling capacity near current levels.
During an extensive public hearing and board debate, students, counselors and school principals urged the board to restore counseling lines that had been reduced in the latest draft. "ASCA, the American Association of School Counselors, recommends a ratio of 1 school counselor to every 250 students," Alice Patton, a Ketchikan High School counselor, told the board, adding that the district’s proposal would leave K High with "1 school counselor to 500 plus students." Natasha O’Brien, a retired school counselor filling in at K High, said the district was "cutting counseling in the wake of" a recent local suicide cluster and warned that reducing counselors would force staff to triage who receives services.
Interim Superintendent Lisa Bullard described the budget as a compromise shaped by staffing and non‑personnel needs. "The budget in front of you is a compromise, and the compromise is nobody wants to actually say we’re cutting something outright," Bullard said, explaining the administration’s effort to balance personnel lines, projected health claims and necessary contract and utility costs. Bullard cited a proposed staffing total of about 268.5 positions and said some roles were shifted to preserve core services while covering short‑term fiscal gaps.
Board members spent substantial time debating which lines to protect. Member Jordan Tabb, who moved the main budget motion, told colleagues that rejecting the budget and sending it back for reconsideration would be "somewhat catastrophic" because a balanced plan must be filed on the board’s timetable. Other members, including Member Montgomery and Member Ginter, objected to adding central‑office roles while student‑facing positions faced cuts.
To address that tension, the board approved a sequence of amendments before final adoption: it removed a proposed curriculum director position and voted to replace one social‑worker position with one counselor; both amendments passed unanimously. The final amended budget was then approved on second reading by a 7–0 roll call.
The board also approved offering teacher contracts for the 2026–27 school year in a separate vote recorded in the meeting.
What happens next: the adopted budget and its supporting materials will be processed by district staff as the superintendent and administrators finalize staffing allocations ahead of the new school year. The board and administration said they expect further adjustments in the fall if enrollment or funding changes.
