Ketchikan’s School Board President has resigned. Michelle O’Brien announced in an email Thursday night that she is stepping down from the school board, effective immediately.
O’Brien cited “primary professional responsibilities and recent health concerns” as her reasons for resigning.
O’Brien runs the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Southeast Alaska Building Association. She said in a phone call Friday morning that those roles have to take priority over her work on the School Board. According to O’Brien, her volunteer position leading the board, as well as a recent knee injury, had begun to encroach on her career duties.
O’Brien also said in her email that her decision had “absolutely nothing to do with recent or ongoing decisions made by administration or the board.”
The Ketchikan school district is in the process of restructuring the island’s elementary schools in an effort to cope with a growing deficit amid flat-funding from the state and declining enrollment. The restructuring decision has been met with significant community backlash.
O’Brien served on the School Board for nearly a decade before stepping away in 2018. She returned to the board in October to finish out a one-year term left by a resigned member.
O’Brien said over the phone Friday that she hopes whatever comes next for the school district will be a longer term solution to the continuing funding shortfall. She said coming up with fixes on a year-by-year basis is “disruptive” and causes angst for the community, the board, and staff.
Jordan Tabb is the School Board Vice President. He confirmed in a phone call Friday morning that the board plans to accept O’Brien’s resignation at the next school board meeting and that he will be chairing the board in her absence.
“I’ve gotten the opportunity to wear that hat at a couple meetings recently,” Tabb said over the phone, adding that he “felt good” about leading the board and was grateful for community input at recent meetings.
Board members have 30 days to appoint someone to fill the vacant seat on the board until a new member can be chosen for a full term during the municipal election in October.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that School Board Vice President Jordan Tabb would be assuming the role of board president. He will be assuming the responsibilities of board chair while the position is vacant but the president role is elected by the school board and the vice president does not automatically assume it. Tabb said that the board is working with the Association of Alaska School Boards for guidance.
