Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State lawmaker tells Englewood leaders he will defend K‑12 funding formula averaging amid $1 billion cuts
Summary
Jeff, chair of the Joint Budget Committee, told Englewood officials he does not support eliminating student‑count averaging entirely and expects a significant increase in K‑12 funding overall because of Amendment 23; he said a glide path toward shorter averaging is likely but details remain under negotiation.
Jeff, chair of the Joint Budget Committee, told Englewood officials that K‑12 public education protections will remain a priority even as the state faces a large overall budget shortfall. “The last place in the world that I want to cut from our budget is K‑12 public education,” he said.
Context and the issue: The briefing reviewed the state funding formula for schools, which depends on a per‑pupil count taken on a single October count day. Under current law the per‑pupil number can be averaged over several years (historically five years) to smooth budgets for districts with declining enrollment. The governor’s proposal would eliminate averaging and pay districts only for current‑year enrollment; Jeff said that proposal would be a “pretty significant shock to districts.”
What Jeff said: He described the negotiated funding formula changes as moving from a five‑year to a four‑year averaging period this year and said a technical issue in the state education fund could affect implementation. He said policymakers are likely to land at a shorter averaging period than five years but that “2 years is probably where we will end up.” He added: “If I have to choose between funding students that don't exist and fully funding the kids who do, I'm always gonna side with the kids who do.”
Why it matters: District budgeting, hiring and classroom services rely on stable multi‑year revenue forecasts. City officials raised the issue because changes to averaging would affect local school district budgets and the community’s students.
Next steps: Jeff said the speaker of the House and other legislative leaders are engaged in these conversations and that the Joint Budget Committee will continue to negotiate the technical details and any glide path for averaging changes. Englewood officials said they will press state leaders for a solution that avoids abrupt funding shocks to districts.
