The Ketchikan School Board exited an executive session on Wednesday night without taking action, but Board President Kim Hodne said âdirection was givenâ to the Ketchikan School Districtâs legal counsel, Glenn Brown. The board did not provide additional details about the nature of the direction.
Wednesdayâs special session was called for the board to discuss a legal matter with Brown, who is the attorney for both the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and for the district.
No members of the public provided comment at the start of the special session on Monday.
Superintendent Beth Lougee did not participate in the executive session with the board, which lasted about 40 minutes in total. She and Board Clerk Kerry Watson sat in the hallway outside the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly chambers while the board and Brown talked in executive session. The dynamic was similar to a special meeting last week, when the board met in an executive session to continue its evaluation
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly on Monday will meet in person for the first time in more than two months to hold a second work session to discuss ways to close an operating deficit in the boroughâs Local Education Fund.
Mondayâs regular meeting also will include an ordinance that would indefinitely extend a 5% marijuana tax in the borough and two public hearings.
Local education fund
As its first of two items of new business, the Assembly will enter a work session to discuss the ongoing Local Education Fund deficit.
Borough staff are currently projecting that the fund deficit in the 2022 fiscal year will be just over $1 million, which if implemented would draw the fund balance down to about $1.89 million.
 The Ketchikan School Board approved all items on its agenda at its regular meeting on Wednesday night with no opposition, and did not take any actions after discussing the Ketchikan School Districtâs budget priorities.
Prior to the budget discussion, Acting Superintendent Katie Parrott presented the board with the results of the districtâs budget survey as part of her superintendentâs report. No members of the board asked questions of Parrott at the end of the presentation.
The two items of new business on the agenda offered a quick change of topic. Board members unanimously approved an updated Memorandum of Agreement between the district and its two charter schools, Ketchikan Charter School and the Tongass School of Arts and Sciences, then approved a contract extension with district psychologist Brian Adams.
Ketchikan s school board to discuss budget priorities for 2021-2022 school year Wednesday krbd.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from krbd.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Though the Ketchikan School District has returned to low risk level operations, the Ketchikan School Board will meet virtually on Wednesday to review the results of a community survey before discussing the district s budget priorities.
Also at the meeting, the board will consider a contract extension and weigh revisions to the district s agreement with its charter schools.
Budget priorities
As a prelude for the board s budget discussion, Acting Superintendent Katie Parrott as part of her superintendent s report will share the results of the district s community-wide budget survey. The survey results are attached to the meeting agenda under the superintendent s report.