Ketchikan’s school district superintendent is resigning. Michael Robbins announced Monday that he will be stepping down at the end of the school year. His resignation comes less than a week after School Board President Michelle O’Brien also resigned.
Robbins has been Ketchikan’s head school administrator for a little over two years. Previously, he was the principal of a small school in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
School board member Katherine Tatsuda told the Ketchikan Borough Assembly Monday night that the board hopes to begin interviewing potential replacements as early as next month.
Robbins has recently been overseeing a process to restructure the island’s elementary schools to meet the district’s more than $1.6 million budget deficit. The plan was approved by the School Board last month but has been controversial in the community.
“Especially with Superintendent Robbins leaving and the shakeup in district leadership, I am personally concerned about making such a massive change that is so controversial to district staff and the community and the impact on families,” Tatsuda told the borough assembly.
Robbins announced his resignation to district teachers and staff in a four-sentence email. He said he will be resigning on June 30th and looks forward to “supporting a smooth transition in the months ahead.”
