Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District Board of Education members on April 7, 2025 defeated a motion to revoke the district's elementary-school specialization structure and adopt a multi-age instruction cost-savings model for the 2025-26 school year. The roll call vote was 1 in favor, 4 opposed; the motion failed and the current specialization structure remains in place.

Why this matters: The vote follows weeks of community engagement and a lengthy public-comment period at a special Saturday meeting where teachers, parents, paraeducators and students described how the two competing plans would affect classroom services, career and technical education (CTE), special education and student transportation.

Board action and vote
The motion on the floor read: "approve the revocation of the elementary school specialization structure and implement the multi-age instruction cost saving model for the 2025-2026 school year." The motion's mover and seconder were not specified on the record. The clerk recorded votes as follows: Guenter, yes; Hewitt, no; Tabb, no; Guthrie, no; Kat Suda, no. Tally: Yes 1, No 4. Outcome: motion failed.

Public comment themes
Speakers on both sides framed the debate as a choice between preserving neighborhood schools and relationships (multi-age supporters) and maintaining specialized programs and course offerings (specialization supporters). Teacher and staff speakers criticized instability and potential job losses; program advocates warned of lost electives and CTE offerings; families raised concerns about longer bus rides and social-emotional impacts on young children.

- CTE and electives: Camille McRoberts, a parent and former culinary instructor, said electives and CTE "are not extra classes. They are the glue that holds many students in school," and warned that cuts to those programs would reduce career pathways that feed the local tourism, hospitality and maritime economy. Mary Miller, a long-time CTE teacher, cited the Carl Perkins funding history and noted the district has already lost several full-time CTE positions in recent years.

- Special education and paraprofessionals: Multiple speakers, including Lindsay Tucker (speech-language pathologist) and Debbie Olsen (special education coordinator), described increased reliance on contracted teletherapy and said the district has paid about $500,000 for contracted services. Olsen noted the district had roughly 451 students identified with special education needs and warned that staff reductions would increase workload for remaining personnel and complicate legally required meetings and accommodations.

- Class composition, reading requirements and instructional time: A group of certified elementary educators cited the Alaska READS Act requirement (referenced in testimony as the "READS" requirement) for high-quality, grade-level tier 1 reading instruction and argued multi-age/split-grade classrooms would make delivering required 90 minutes of tier 1 instruction and targeted interventions impractical without additional staffing or curriculum supports.

- Transportation and younger students: Several parents and residents voiced concerns about long bus rides for kindergarten and early-elementary students if schools are reorganized, including reports of existing long commutes and worries about unsupervised time and bullying on buses.

Board discussion
Board members discussed evidence, community reaction and financial context. Board member Ally Ginter, who spoke in favor of the multi-age model during discussion, said the model "prioritizes relationships over restructuring" and argued it would reduce transitions for students and preserve neighborhood schools while providing cost savings without moving teachers or students across buildings. Several board members opposed revocation citing the potential academic and programmatic losses under the multi-age plan and the need for a stable multi-year plan to protect secondary and CTE programs.

Board member Jordan Tabb (speaking against the motion) told colleagues he had considered both plans and said, "I will be voting no on this motion," noting he believed specialization offered some programmatic opportunities for students despite the challenges. Another board member raised the district's uncertain fiscal outlook, including recent borough decisions affecting local cash flows and a pending state BSA (Base Student Allocation) increase (HB 69 referenced in discussion) that could change finances next year.

Formal outcome and next steps
Because the motion failed, the board did not adopt the districtwide multi-age instruction cost-savings model for 2025-26; the previously approved elementary specialization structure remains the district's plan for now. Board members said regardless of the vote they expect more work in subsequent meetings to address lost services and to refine staffing or support plans. The board announced next steps for budget consideration: a first reading of the budget at the April 23 meeting and a special meeting on April 30 for the budget second reading; superintendent search steps and finalist interviews were also scheduled for May.

Other board decisions announced at the meeting
Board President Catherine Tatsuta read a public statement that the district "will no longer read public comment emails aloud during board meetings," adding that the board will still receive and consider emailed comments and encourages in-person participation. The board clerk and communications plans for upcoming meetings were also discussed.

Context and restraints on reporting
This article summarizes the recorded meeting transcript and public comments delivered at the April 7, 2025 special meeting. Where the transcript did not name a motion mover or seconder, the article notes that information as not specified. Quantitative figures (for example, numbers of students identified with special education needs, paraprofessional positions cited for elimination, dollar figures mentioned by speakers, and contractor costs) are reported as described during testimony; where the transcript gave multiple similar counts (for example, 450 vs. 451 students), the article preserves the testimony without reconciling those variations.

Ending
The board will consider the budget at upcoming meetings on April 23 and April 30; the superintendent search and finalist interviews are scheduled for May. Members of the public who addressed the board asked for clearer plans to protect special education services, CTE programs and neighborhood-school access as the district moves through the 2025-26 budget cycle.