Cordova board reviews FY27 draft budget after city adds one-time allocation; staffing prioritized

The Cordova City School District board reviewed an updated draft of the fiscal year 2027 budget and discussed staffing and one-time revenue that together have narrowed a previously larger projected shortfall.

Staff member Alex, who presented the packet, said the city approved an allocation that changed the district's projected deficit from about $1.4435 million to roughly $1.269533 million and—after several adjustments—left the district with an approximate $19,000 shortfall "currently today about a $19,000 deficit," which he said staff would seek to eliminate before formal adoption at the June meeting.

Board members said the city allocation and other adjustments give the district more breathing room but that retaining classroom positions is a priority. One trustee urged the board to show a staffing scenario reflecting full staffing levels; others noted a standing action that night to hire a high-school teacher that would ease pressure across grades.

Alex explained the budget math behind several line-item choices: a projected starting fund balance around $750,000; an operating cash floor trustees set previously at $450,000; moving $140,000 from a planned computer refresh into prepaid healthcare to increase the prepaid healthcare line from an earlier $300,000 proposal to $440,000; and drawing less from the fund balance to preserve flexibility. He said the district had also completed a memorandum of agreement with another Alaska district that added about $20,000 of revenue in the draft.

Trustees discussed risks of hiring one-year replacements if state funding is uncertain and cited an administrative estimate that a combined salary-and-benefits cost for a teacher hire would be at least about $130,000. Several trustees emphasized a preference to protect teaching positions even if other nonessential items must be reduced. One trustee asked staff to present a budget scenario with full staffing before final adoption.

The board also discussed a pending state capital proposal—described in the packet as a roughly $150 million statewide one-time capital pool—which, if enacted and not vetoed, could provide several hundred thousand dollars to the district depending on final student counts. Trustees noted the governor's line-item veto power and uncertainty until the legislative session and gubernatorial actions conclude.

What happens next: staff will return a revised budget proposal at the June meeting for formal adoption, incorporating any new state revenue information and trustee direction.