Letter to the Editor: Does Cordova really spend 31% of its budget on schools?

From left, students Grace Higgins and Peter Solberg. (Feb. 9, 2021) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

Like many Cordovans, I recently received a notice of my property tax bill and with it, a budget information sheet with graphs detailing General Fund Revenues and General Fund Expenses for 2021. I am appreciative of the work the city administration is doing to provide information to community members about its revenues and expenses. I am also appreciative of the funding that the city does provide for our children’s education and am grateful that the amount funded each year is more than the minimum statutory requirement. However, I would like to clarify some of the information provided about the amount and type of funding provided to our schools.

According to the graph in the City of Cordova 2021 Budget information, the city identifies spending 31%, or $3.2 million, of its funds on schools. At the bottom of the page, the amount spent on the district is defined as School debt, In kind funds and cash transfer.

The first clarification needed is that school bond debt is not a school district debt. It is a city debt that the community voted to levy on itself in 2008 to pay for the renovation of the elementary school. The vote by the community was taken with the knowledge that federal forest receipts revenue the city received for many years had been placed in the city’s Permanent Fund to use should property taxes and other sources of funding be less than what was needed to pay for the yearly bond debt.

Also of note is that on the revenue side, $1.07 million has been provided by the state to Cordova ($620 million in forest receipts and $420 million in Bond debt reimbursement) for school funding. The city is simply passing through those dollars.

For the district’s current FY22 budget, the city has agreed to provide $1.7 million in cash contribution and $139,000 of value for in-kind services (for example, water, garbage pick up) to the district. The total city contribution of $1,839,00 is closer to 18% rather than 31% of the city’s overall budget.

For a better outline of city revenue and expenses, see Appendix 9 of the City Comprehensive Plan. While the 2021 actual numbers are different, page 78 provides a breakout that more clearly and accurately identifies how city revenue is generated and where it is expended.

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Barb Jewell
President, Cordova Board of Education

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