Yavapai County School Superintendent Steve King [R] addressed a meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Sedona Bell Rock on Tuesday, April 1, his first speech to the group following his victory in an uncontested general election last year.
King said that he had met with a staffer from U.S. Rep. Eli Crane’s [R-District 2] office the previous day to lobby for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program, which provides about $1.5 million in federal funding for Yavapai County schools each year. The program was last reauthorized on Feb. 15, 2021, for fiscal years 2021-23.
The program funds schools, roads and services in over 700 counties by allocating U.S. Forest Service revenue from grazing leases, timber harvesting and special use permits to these uses. Half of the funding is distributed to school districts on the basis of their enrollment numbers, while the other half is distributed by a five-member board called the Forest Fees Management Association that represents school districts and allocates its share of the funding for common projects around the country.
Yavapai County Education Service Agency executive assistant Jenn Nelson said that the county most recently received $1,485,829.93 from the program in April 2024.
“To date, the SRSA funds of September 2024 have not been paid out,” Nelson said. Without congressional reauthorization, the program will expire at the start of the new federal fiscal year in October.
“Last April [the Sedona -Oak Creek School District] received $44,971.44 in SRSA funds, in which they paid $22,485.72 to FFMA,” Nelson stated. “This year FFMA has paid $20,058.42 in elections costs for Sedona paid out to Yavapai County Elections Dept., $1,434 to Coconino Elections Dept. and paid out directly to [SOCSD] $20,610 in technology reimbursements.”
Yavapai County Supervisor Nikki Check [D-District 3], Supervisor Brooks Compton [R-District 1] and County Manger Maury Thompson attended the NACo Legislative Conference from March 1 through 4 in Washington D.C., during which they also lobbied U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly [D-Ariz.] for the reauthorization of the SRS program and payment in lieu of taxes funding.
“It’s a priority for our County Supervisors Association, alongside the National Association of Counties, and I’m going to be working on [the] public lands committee within the National Association of Counties,” Check subsequently said. She added that the SRS funding was closely linked to the federal payment in lieu of taxes program, which reimburses counties for property tax revenue lost due to nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries.
“I think just getting the word out there is very important, but I’ve kind of exhausted every avenue I have,” King said. “It’s not a new tax … It’s a fee distributed out to schools because of their lack of taxable property, which is how, in many schools are funded in Arizona. It’s been very successful. It’s always had bipartisan support. It has never been a politically contentious issue.“
Crane’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Larson Newspapers.
King also addressed his appointment of a replacement for Mingus Union High School District Governing Board President Misty L. Cox, who resigned March 25.
“As county school superintendent, my responsibility is to appoint board members to open board seats,” King said. “And if a school board member steps down, resigns in the middle of their [term], then it falls upon me to choose the next school board member. And I had my first appointment [Kayla Elder] in Seligman two weeks ago … and now we have a new board [seat] open up in Mingus.”
Those interested in applying for the vacancy may send a resume and letter of interest to Jenn Nelson, Yavapai County Education Elections Coordinator, at 2970 Centerpointe East, Prescott, AZ 86301, or by email to Jenn.Nelson@yavapaiaz.gov.
Applicants are asked to describe themselves, their education, their background, their reasons for wanting to serve on the board, their mailing and residential addresses and their phone numbers. Letters of interest will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, with the appointment scheduled to be made on Friday, April 18.
King also encouraged attendees to volunteer for their local school district in any capacity.
The Kiwanis Club of Sedona — Bell Rock meets the first Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m. at the Sedona Elks Lodge
