The Cordova City Council last week voted unanimously on a resolution to fund the Cordova School District the full amount district officials requested for the year ahead.
During its May 21 regular meeting, members of the council deliberated on whether or not to fund the entire $2.3 million amount the Cordova School District requested at a work session earlier this month – or to cut that by $117,000 to save money in the city’s budget.
During the public comment period, school district board members reiterated their financial need to council members.
“That $117,000 may not appear to be a significant amount, (but) it is a significant amount for us,” School Board Member Henk Kruithof told the council.
In Juneau, state lawmakers passed an education bill in April that outlined a $700 increase to the state’s Base Student Allocation (BSA), or Alaska’s per-student public school funding model. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed that bill on May 19 – the third time he’s vetoed an education bill in the past two years – but the Legislature overrode his veto on May 20.
Kruithof, however, said Cordova School District officials are worried the governor could still line-item veto elements of the BSA funding. In that case, Kruithof told the council, “we will be in a world of hurt, so that $117,000 becomes even more critical to us.”
In the end, Cordova City Council members agreed unanimously to fund the school district’s full $2.3 million ask.
“I feel very strongly of the fact that it is the city’s obligation to fund the school,” said Council Member Wendy Ranney, after noting that her children have already graduated from Cordova public schools.
“We can’t afford people to leave because we don’t have activities and we don’t have opportunities for our kids here,” Ranney said. “They’ll move out of town and that comes back and impacts all of us.”
While the council pledged to fund the school district, members noted they retain the right to re-visit the city’s budget at the end of their fiscal year in December.
