The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Clerk has approved recall petition applications targeting three members of the Ketchikan School Board: Judy Leask Guthrie, Jordan Tabb, and Board President Katherine Tatsuda.
Petitioners allege the three violated state laws and board policies by authorizing expenditures beyond available revenues and approving hires that did not meet qualification requirements.
According to the petitions, the board members failed to provide proper financial and administrative oversight of Superintendent Michael Robbins, who stepped down at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
“The Board approved and failed to prevent expenditures that exceeded authorized budget limits, resulting in a fiscal year 2024 deficit of $379,786. This violated state law and Board Policy 3100, which requires a balanced budget,” the petition reads. “The lack of oversight continues: on June 11, 2025, the Board approved contracts exceeding the adopted budget by $371,629 without identifying additional income or adopting a corresponding budget amendment.”
The Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District’s budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year is $42 million, as approved by the school board in a 6-1 vote on May 1. Board member Ali Ginter was the lone “no” vote.
In addition to budget issues, the petitions claim the board failed to ensure compliance with hiring rules that require the district to employ “the most highly qualified person available for each open position.” On at least one occasion, the board approved a superintendent recommendation to hire individuals with only emergency certification, despite more qualified candidates being available. The most recent instance cited occurred on May 28, 2025.
The school district has seen significant upheaval. Not only did the superintendent resign, but earlier this year School Board President Michelle O’Brien and board member Keenan Sanderson resigned.
Petitioners now have 60 days to collect 530 valid signatures per petition from registered voters in the borough. If successful, the recall questions will appear on the Oct. 7 ballot.
“…approving hires that did not meet qualification requirements.” Hmmm, where did I hear that before? Oh yeah, our superintendent in training from Texas that did not meet the minimum requirements for the position being advertised, but the Anchorage School District (ASD) hired him anyway. ASD also paid the outgoing ASD superintendent to train the incoming Texan to do his job when she left mentoring him for two years.
One would hope this is the beginning of a tsunami that is coming for School Boards across the State and Nation for that matter, start holding these idiots accountable!
Can we do the same here in Anchorage and start a recall petition for our ASD school board. It is known that there were highly qualified applicants when they were hiring for new school superintendent, Frank Hauser comes to mind. However they decided to hire a young kid out of TX with little classroom experience. The fact that our student education outcomes has continued to decline is further proof that the hiring decision was flawed.
Ketchikan is becoming as Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau. The result of lack of private and corporate investment. The majority of fiscal activity is related to actions and personality’s involving public employees. Just a fact, not a condemnation.
As result the elected officials are nimrods when it comes to fiscal responsibility, such as understanding budgets, and consequences of spending what is not available, accepting the word of similar employed souls.
Lots of effort on ‘Policy’ little on fiscal or academic results that reflect
toilet level failures.
This writer has no solution to the situation, he can only live with the results dodging those that are possible and holding his nose for the remainder.
As a near life long resident (87 years). knowing history, participating in that history, looking at the present and projecting into the future, It is a conclusion the the best times have passed.
Cheers,
I have heard way too many people express the same exact words of your last sentence Al.
It is so very sad to hear those same expressions so many times over and over by people with your extended life long experience knowing that the future of all my grandchildren as well as everyone else’s will not be the quality of life we have been so fortunate to live.
The integrity of elected positions has been drug through the sewer far too deep to ever be restored all in the name of personal greed.
Cheers.