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Residents urge assembly not to lift tax cap as school funding request looms
Summary
Two citizens told the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly they oppose lifting the property tax cap to meet the Kodiak Island Borough School District’s funding request, saying taxpayers cannot afford higher rates and questioning per‑student spending. The assembly offered no formal action on the request.
Two residents asked the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly on March 19 to resist calls to lift the local property tax cap and fully fund the school district’s request.
Dan Roar, who identified himself during public comment as the assembly manager, said the Kodiak Island Borough School District is seeking additional funds but that ‘‘we simply can't afford it’’ and warned that removing the tax cap would raise costs for commercial and residential property owners. Roar said the district has ‘‘$50 million’’ and argued that on a per‑student basis the district receives historically high funding.
Roar urged the assembly to ‘‘hold the line’’ and not increase the cap, telling officials he will continue attending meetings until the budget is adopted. Brenda Schwantes, calling in from the line, said she ‘‘identically’’ agreed with Roar and urged the assembly to consider citizens’ ability to pay, citing routine household repair costs as evidence that taxes are already burdensome.
Why it matters: Assembly members will consider the borough manager’s proposed budget in upcoming work sessions and a public hearing schedule. Changes to the tax cap could materially affect household and commercial tax bills and would shape funding available to the school district.
What was said and what’s next: Neither the assembly nor staff adopted new budget direction at the March 19 meeting; the manager outlined the budget timeline and scheduled a work session for March 26 to hear service-area presentations. Citizens and assembly members will have further opportunities to comment before any formal budget or tax‑cap action.
Claims and context: Roar asserted the district has ‘‘more money per student than they’ve ever had before,’’ a claim he presented as a reason to reject additional local funding. No district representative responded at the meeting to confirm or dispute that per‑student calculation; the claim therefore remained unaddressed in the session.
The assembly did not vote on school funding or tax‑cap changes at the March 19 meeting. The manager’s office is expected to provide budget materials and service‑area presentations at the March 26 work session, followed by formal budget hearings later in the process.
