The Ketchikan School Board will hear from local law enforcement Wednesday on improving district safety plans.
According to the agenda, Alaska State Troopers Lt. John Brown and Ketchikan Police Department Chief Joe White will speak during public comment. They both met earlier with school administrators, Superintendent Robert Boyle wrote in a memo to the board.
Boyle says Brown has offered to provide ALICE training in schools. That stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter and Escape, and is an emergency response strategy used elsewhere in the United States.
Boyle says the district also will work with Brown and White to review each school building and response protocols during the summer break.
In another memo, Boyle noted some planned budget revisions for the coming school year due to shifting revenue projections. He writes that increases in assessments are expected to result in $300,000 more for schools. In addition, he says the district’s share of the borough’s tobacco tax is projected at about $900,000.
Some high-salary employees have left the district, Boyle says. Depending on who is hired to replace them, that also could mean lower expenses. But, he writes, other expenses for the district have gone up, such as utilities and insurance.
Boyle writes that a new draft budget will be presented to the board during its March 28th meeting.
Wednesday’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. in Borough Assembly chambers at the White Cliff building. Public comment will be heard at the start and end of the meeting.
