Grand County School District adopts revisions, shifts tax levies to rebuild capital fund

Grand County School Board members on Wednesday approved final revisions to the district's 2024–25 budget, adopted a tentative budget for 2025–26 and moved forward proposed tax rates that shift revenue from the debt levy into the capital levy while lowering the district's overall tax rate.

The actions followed a presentation by the district's finance staff showing only modest changes from the March budget revision, then a proposed 2025'26 budget that uses fund balance and a levy shift to pay down debt and restore capital reserves as HMK construction finishes.

Hamilton, who presented the financial materials, said the district expects to finish the fiscal year with roughly $14.2 million in overall fund balance, down slightly from an earlier projection. "Our overall fund balance is gonna — we anticipated it to be about 14,500,000.0. We're gonna close about 14.2," Hamilton said. He told the board the change was largely by design to cover salaries, benefits and one-time costs tied to construction and technology.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the district's budget revision for fiscal year 2024'25 and to approve proposed tax rates and the tentative 2025'26 budget subject to the truth-in-taxation…