The Economic Significance of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in the Kenai Peninsula Borough

Abstract

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is the largest single employer in the borough, providing over 1,200 jobs in the 2009-2010 school year. In addition to employment, school district purchases of goods and services directly supported an additional 250 jobs (Direct employment in Table 1). Those 1450 jobs supported over 600 more jobs (indirect and inducedimpact in Table 1) when employed households spent their income locally. The total payroll from district, direct, indirect and induced employment is almost $100 million. This paper (and the numbers in Table 1) report on the economic significance of the KPBSD. Economic significance analysis models how money is spent and re-spent within the economy, and how much leaks out of the economy (e.g., money spent while on vacation in Hawaii). Based on this modeling, the analysis calculates how much economic activity in the borough can be traced to the school district, as the district and the borough economy currently exist.