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Superintendent of Schools urges board to protect education services as federal forest funding shrinks
Summary
The county superintendent’s office told the board it delivers school support services countywide and asked the board to preserve a bridge fund and consider how Secure Rural Schools reauthorization (or its loss) should be used so statutory positions remain funded while direct services continue.
Coconino County’s Superintendent of Schools (CCSA) presented the office’s FY26 outlook on May 6, asking the Board of Supervisors to protect a bridge fund and to plan for the possible non‑reauthorization of Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funds.
Superintendent staff said the CCSA provides fiscal services, special‑education and mental‑health supports, literacy training, professional development and operates a small accommodation district that runs alternative and detention‑based schools. The office said it directly supports rural and small districts through payroll, reconciliations, special‑education evaluations and countywide programs that would be difficult for small districts to fund alone.
Board members were told the superintendent’s office has historically relied on SRS (federal forest fees) for a portion of its budget. Those funds have supported statutory positions and school services; recent SRS distribution rules have sharply reduced near‑term receipts. County staff recommended temporarily back‑filling the superintendent’s statutory positions from county funds if reauthorization or formula funding does not materialize; the manager proposed carrying forward $600,000 in bridge funds and continuing to let the office retain indirect cost recovery from grants as a stability measure.
The superintendent also described a countywide literacy effort funded with ARPA and other grants: an in‑house literacy coordinator, LETRS (science‑of‑reading) training for K‑5 teachers and leaders, and early‑childhood literacy work. A sustained focus on teacher recruitment and retention was highlighted: the county has used federal funds to build teacher housing (teacherages) and to expand counseling and behavioral health staffing in high‑need schools.
Mental‑health staffing gains were described: a federal grant placed counselors in multiple districts, and the CCSA created a county incident response team that deploys following student or staff deaths or serious incidents. The superintendent’s office asked the board to consider three service improvements for FY27 planning: (1) extend limited‑term mental‑health positions or make them permanent, (2) convert the mental‑health division manager position to an assistant‑director to ensure continuity, and (3) partially fund a grant writer to pursue complex, competitive federal grants.
Superintendent staff proposed the following principle if SRS funding is reduced: use any short‑term county backfill to protect statutory office functions and preserve SRS dollars for direct services in schools. The board asked for legal review and agreed to keep the bridge‑fund plan on the list of follow‑up items to consider for FY27 planning.
Quote: “Schools are the first line of prevention and response to a host of issues facing our community,” the superintendent said. The office urged the board to treat education services as a countywide safety‑net function and to plan for funding continuity if forest fee revenue changes.
The board did not take immediate funding action at the May 6 meeting but asked staff for follow‑up legal analysis and financial options ahead of FY27 planning.
