I am running for office again. This will probably be my last campaign. So I thought I would do something different, and discuss just one item, the Borough Assembly/School Board relationship.

Borough-School District Relations

Improving relations between the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District and the Borough is important to me. I have participated directly in that relationship for 13 of the last 26 years. I am particularly pleased to see that Michelle O'Brien, calls for improved Borough-District relations not once, but twice, in her candidate’s statement in SitNews.

The dynamics built into the forced relationship of the Assembly and School Board is fraught with lots of potential conflict; and it takes tact and skill to manage those dynamics. Unfortunately, the relationship has usually become problematic; and both groups have some responsibility for the difficulties. There are several areas of potential problems.

The first area of problems is the lack of respect for the boundaries of responsibility: On the Borough side, the Assembly has periodically trespassed into Board matters and ventured into ‘helping’ the board choose financial priorities. I have identified that problem and spoken about it, both as an Assembly member and a School Board member.

School Board members on the other hand have occasionally elected to denigrate the Assembly for its choice of priorities for spending, and individuals have maligned Assembly Members for those choices.

Fiery rhetoric is another problem area. The exercise of skills, learned in internet flame wars, has become too common; and excessive exuberance in derogatory speech has been spewed by members of both bodies and is quite obviously counterproductive to good relationships.

An additional area of conflict is information. Frequently information is provided that is either erroneous, or not clearly articulated. As one would expect, it is budget information that is most often skewed. When that is done it leads one to lots of misinterpretation and questioning of motives. In fact, the biggest impediment to better relations is the lack of agreement concerning school finances. The topic of School finances is mind-numbingly complex. School District officials will tell you, for example, that the District currently has a $31 million budget, while the Borough Assembly states that the District has a $48 million budget. Thet full context of financial data is rarely articulated.

I am going to pick on Michelle O’Brien again, and only because of her comment above is an example of incomplete context. Michelle states that:

“.....with a budget that has diminished by nearly 2 million dollars in local contribution since 2009--despite the fact that our current enrollment is looking to be only .6 students shy of enrollment in 2008.”

In the fiscal year 2009 the district was hit with a drop in enrollment. That drop resulted in a major reduction in State Funding for schools. Also, that year the Borough contribution rose by over a million dollars from the prior year in response to that shortfall. As you examine the figures below, the difference between 2009 and 2014 is significant, but it is just over a million dollars, not two million. Also, as can be seen by the numbers, the District's budget has risen every year since 2009. It is the Assembly's responsibility for determining the overall School District budget authority, not just the local contribution; and the Assembly examines the budget as a whole.

In Closing:

Ms. O’Brien states that “Ketchikan boasts one of the most successful Districts in the state, and the nation.” I believe, that the performance of our schools reflects the very strong support for education by the Borough Assembly.

The differing views regarding the magnitude of the school budget lead to confusion, frustration, and inefficiencies in the dealings between the Borough and the School District. Public trust and confidence also suffers.

Some Assembly Members have stated repeatedly that they would be willing to consider even greater contributions to the District if clarity over District finances can be achieved. These difficulties can be readily overcome through agreement between the School Board and Assembly. As an Assembly Member, I intend to pursue that goal.

The Numbers:

SitNews ©2014
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

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