Board votes to close two elementary schools and cut dozens of jobs

What happened

On April 8, 2026 the board voted 7-0 to close both Fawn Mountain Elementary and Point Higgins Elementary at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, moving their students into Houghtaling Elementary and other district buildings starting in fall 2026. The same budget cycle included a formal Reduction in Force plan, adopted March 25, 2026, that a draft district plan estimated could eliminate around 41 teaching positions along with librarian, principal, and support-staff jobs districtwide.

Why it matters to families

This changes which school building hundreds of elementary students attend and increases class and school sizes district-wide. It's a direct response to falling enrollment (down about 12% over five years) and the district's Borough debt, and it eliminates real jobs: the incoming superintendent later told the board the reduced positions belonged to 'teachers, aides, custodians, and support staff who gave years of their lives to Ketchikan's kids.'

The evidence

The April 8, 2026 agenda statements and roll-call votes for Fawn Mountain Elementary and Point Higgins Elementary closures show both motions passing 7-0, effective at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. The March 25, 2026 RIF plan and its 'FY 2026-2027 Strategic Financial Plan' attachment describe declining enrollment and debt-repayment obligations as the drivers, and a March 28, 2026 budget presentation lists an estimated reduction of about 41 teacher positions district-wide as part of the plan.

The source