This learning resource focuses on economic decision-making through the lens of a city budget dilemma. Students are tasked with analyzing a scenario where a city has a $1,000,000 budget surplus and must choose between two critical projects: repairing leaking roofs at district middle schools or purchasing a new fleet of police cruisers. The objective is to identify the scarce resource, define the opportunity cost of the selected economic choice, and justify the decision using a structured Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning (CER) framework. The resource encourages deeper analysis by prompting students to reflect on the ethical implications of their decisions and the impacts on different community stakeholders.