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Graham County gives $75,248 Secure Rural Schools payment to Bonita School District
Summary
The Graham County Board of Supervisors voted to allocate the county's reduced Secure Rural Schools payment — $75,248.42 after a $5,000 retention for county road work — to Bonita School District for the 2024 distribution year, after a sustained discussion of distribution methods.
The Graham County Board of Supervisors voted May 5 to give the county's full distributable Secure Rural Schools payment of $75,248.42 to Bonita School District after discussion of several allocation methods.
County Manager Dustin Welker told supervisors the federal Secure Rural Schools (SRS) payment this year was far smaller than in prior years, falling from about $425,000 in a recent year to roughly $80,000 this year. After setting aside $5,000 that staff said must remain in county hands to support highway-related bus routes, the remaining $75,248.42 was available for distribution to school districts, Welker said.
The board considered four example distribution methods the staff provided: 100% by student population; 80% population/20% acreage; 50%/50%; and 100% acreage. Welker said the examples were illustrative and the board could choose any allocation.
Superintendent Donna McGaughey of Bonita School District spoke in support of directing the money to Bonita, saying, “If Bonita Schools [is] in the situation that they're in, I personally feel like if we gave Bonita Schools the full amount, I would like to think the other school districts would understand.”
Supervisors debated the fairness of changing the longstanding method. One supervisor said method 4 (100% acreage) would give Bonita about $34,000 based on its larger forest acreage, while other districts such as Safford and Thatcher would lose a sizable share. Another supervisor said the board needed a defensible rationale if it changed the formula.
After discussion, a supervisor moved to allocate the entire $75,248.42 to Bonita School District for this year. The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote with four ayes; no no votes were recorded.
The board record shows the county retained $5,000 of the federal payment for highway-related use before distribution, per prior audit guidance referenced by staff.
No formal change to an ongoing allocation policy was adopted; the board made a one-year allocation decision for the current payment and acknowledged it could change the distribution method in future years.
The board did not cite any additional legal authorities beyond the federal Secure Rural Schools program during the vote. County staff told the board the SRS allocation method has varied over time and that the board may set distribution policy annually.
