Adams 12 leaders warn of significant budget shortfall as teachers plan Capitol action

Summary

District leaders told the board and the public that changes in state school finance calculations and falling Medicaid direct-certifications will cut revenue next year, prompting modeling of painful reductions; teachers and parents urged legislators to restore funding during public comment and ahead of a planned walkout.

Superintendent Chris Gadowski told the Adams 12 Five Star Schools Board of Education that state changes to the School Finance Act and lower direct-certification through Medicaid will reduce the district's funded pupil count next year and create a substantial budget gap.

Gina Lanier, the district's chief financial officer, said the statewide inflation factor for the School Finance Act is 2.3 percent, but the district expects a year-over-year funded pupil decrease of about 905.4 students under four-year averaging and a modified implementation of HB 1448. That shift, Lanier said, explains most of the projected drop in revenue and contributes to what the district models as a very tight 2025-26 budget.

The projection also reflects a roughly 6 percent decline in the district's free-and-reduced-lunch direct certifications after federal COVID-era Medicaid verification changes were rescinded, Lanier said. "Those were lifted, I think last…

Adams 12 leaders warn of significant budget shortfall as teachers plan Capitol action

Summary

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