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District lobbyist warns state budget cuts could hit District 51 programs and staffing
Summary
At a District 51 board meeting, contract lobbyist Amy Atwood told trustees the state faces roughly a $1 billion shortfall and K–12 education could see reductions including grant cuts and changes to enrollment averaging that would lower District 51's revenue next year.
Amy Atwood, contract lobbyist for Mesa County Valley School District No. 51, told the board the Colorado state budget is “a billion dollars down” and that K–12 funding will be under pressure in the legislative session.
Atwood said early targets for reductions include grant programs and changes to the pupil-count averaging used in school finance. “The first place that they'll be looking is with grant programs,” Atwood said, adding that roughly 75 grants total about $78,000,000 and are “really on the table to be cut.”
Why it matters: District 51 stands to lose operating dollars or see slower implementation of the new school finance formula if the legislature pares spending. Atwood and board members repeatedly referenced House Bill/measure “1448” (spoken in the meeting as “14 48” or “1448”), which the district supported last year and whose phased rollout the district expects could be reduced from the planned 18 percent to a smaller percentage.
Board members and staff explained the local effect in dollars presented at the meeting. A board member summarized scenarios provided by district staff showing District 51 could face anywhere from a roughly $2,000,000 increase under the most favorable scenario to a potential $9,300,000 decrease under the governor's proposed change removing averaging entirely. The board discussed an intermediate change (moving averaging from five years toward three years) that the meeting described as likely and which officials said could reduce District 51 revenue by “somewhere between 3,300,000.0 or 4,400,000.0.”
Atwood also warned that federal funding uncertainty could add pressure on the state budget and noted the Joint Budget Committee had asked state agencies to avoid nonessential spending while the shortfall is addressed.
Board members asked about advocacy and outreach. Atwood and other speakers said Representative Kevin Taggart (referred to in the meeting as Representative Taggart), who sits on the Joint Budget Committee, is engaged on the district’s behalf. Superintendent Dr. Hill and trustees urged community advocacy and indicated the district will continue to seek information from state leaders as committee work proceeds.
The board and Atwood said final budget impacts likely will not be known until mid-April, with May 8 (end of session) as the latest possible decision window discussed at the meeting.
Ending: Trustees said they expect further legislative updates and likely another staff briefing in a future meeting as fiscal details emerge.
