Response to 'Anything but...'By Hannah RamiskeySeptember 29, 2018
I usually do not get involved in the tit for tat conversations, but Michele O’Brien’s letter concerns me. I find it interesting that you bash “old negative men” in the community while welcoming the young, fresh, and inexperienced. Huh, wonder how the 20% senior population in Ketchikan feels about your dismissal of their contributions to building Ketchikan through decades of difficult times? Sometimes being old and experienced means you remember what worked and what didn’t. A few points: By state statute - the School Board designs an educational program and the Borough Assembly decides if the community can afford it. It is a planned check and balance that appears in most government relationships in the United States. It protects one entity from bankrupting the community. By the same token, the Borough doesn’t decide what is taught in schools. Interestingly enough, Dan Bockhorst was not a voting member on the Borough Assembly. He provided information on the state of the finances and seven other people made the decision. While you were on the School Board, I was always surprised by both your and Mr. Timmerman’s constant complaints about the Assembly and the character assassination claims against Mr. Bockhorst. In my forty years in Ketchikan I have never seen School Board leadership react with such hostility against the government body who funds your programs. You might take some responsibility there. In the 90’s the Borough funded to the cap - they were able to do that by giving 100% of Borough property tax to the schools. At the time, Ketchikan was caught, along with Sitka and a couple other small communities in the unfair school funding situation. Our schools were neither big enough nor small enough to get adequate funding. It took a lot of support from Senators like Gary Wilken from Fairbanks to get that turned around. Senate Bill 36 changed the funding somewhat for the better. Since then the state has continually increased funding to schools and the cap has become much, much higher. (Because of federal disparity laws, the state has minimum and maximum limits on mill rates allowed for education funding). By the end of the 90’s, Ketchikan was losing the Pulp Mill and all those well- paying jobs were gone. There are some wealthy business owners and entrepreneurs in Ketchikan, however, other than better paying government jobs (with benefits), the base of Ketchikan now has lower paid service and the tourism seasonal jobs – many with no benefits. We now give 100% of the Borough property tax AND 20% of the sales tax to the School District, while also funding the Rec Center, Aquatic Center, the airport, Animal Control, parks, and Borough government---finance, tax collection, planning departments, etc. We need all those things to have a desirable community in which to live. At the end of the 90’s the School Board was finally allowed to have a carry- over fund. Before that time, the School District had to zero out (-to the penny-) its budget by June 30th every year in a report to the Borough. I heard, the School District last year had over $600,000 in reserves. Yep, that Borough has been nothing but stingy to the District. And I see now they are adding new positions. Maybe the School Board members need to closely go over their budget to see where that money is going as the Borough does not control the allotment of the $21,000 per student. Hannah Ramiskey Editor's Note:
Received September 29, 2018 - Published September 29, 2018 Related Viewpoint:
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