Earlier this year, Ketchikan High School athletics and activities programs were told they would receive no school district funding for travel during the 2026-2027 school year. The drop in funding came as the school board worked to cut more than $5 million from the budget for the fiscal year that started July 1.

This lapse in funding has caused a restructuring for the 2026-2027 season, affecting multiple sports including cross-country, volleyball and the swim and dive team.

Steps are being taken to promote more community fundraising and to change schedules to keep costs as low as possible. This includes cutting pre-season tournament play in the Lower 48 for baseball and softball, as well as limiting team travel to Alaska events outside of Southeast.

“We’ve made some adjustments to schedules. … We’re not allowing our teams to do as much out-of-region travel,” Kelly Smith, Ketchikan High School activities director, said in an interview last month.

The fundraising needs this year come to $250,000 to $300,000 more than in past years, to cover for the reduction in school district funding.

Before this school year, the district budgeted an average of about $550,000 for activities each year. About 40% went to non-travel costs such as coaching stipends, regional fees, and day-to-day operations for running activities programs, according to Smith.

About 60% went to student travel, primarily to cover airfares for end-of-season regional and state championship events. That is what was cut from the budget.

The Wrangell school board faced similar budget problems a few years ago and stopped funding student travel to state competition. Community members created a new, nonprofit fundraising group to pick up state travel costs the past two years, averaging about $20,000 a year.

While Ketchikan’s student activities supporters need to raise at least $250,000, Smith said she is positive the community will stand together to support students.

“Ketchikan has always been kind of the example of how a community embraces its kids. So they’re doing what they always do,” said Smith.

“Unfortunately, we need more, and that’s unfair to them because people see a vibrant, hopping community with millions of dollars rolling through in tourism. We don’t get that money. We are getting most of our dollars from a very small percentage of community members and businesses that unselfishly provide for kids all the time, and it’s really stressful and frustrating that we have to ask them for more this year.”

The focus on working with community businesses has brought together several initiatives to bring in more money for activities.

Most recently, several tourist-focused shops in downtown Ketchikan began selling $25 activities-themed T-shirts and directing 100% of the proceeds from the sales of those T-shirts to the Ketchikan High School Activities Fund.

“Over 80% of kids participate in some sort of activity, and whether that’s music or basketball or cheerleading or drama, all kinds of things,” said Smith. “For a lot of kids, that’s what keeps them motivated in school, and that’s where they learn a lot of skills they’re not getting in the classroom, as far as discipline, communication, teamwork and things like that.”