Cherry Creek Schools finance chief outlines tight state funding, asks board to approve fiscal-year appropriation

Cherry Creek School District Chief Financial Officer Scott Smith told the Board of Education on June 9 that limited new state funding and temporary budget fixes mean the district must plan conservatively for the coming fiscal year and asked the board to approve the district's overall appropriations for the new fiscal year beginning July 1.

Smith summarized revenue and spending pressures and said the district secured about $9 million in new state funding for Cherry Creek Schools this year but still faces permanent funding shortfalls. "So tonight, what we are asking is that the board approve the appropriation, for all of the district funds," Smith said. He added that while the district has been able to give substantial raises recently, much of this year's budgetary relief relied on one-time measures: "More than half of this problem this year was solved by either one-time funding or temporary budgetary maneuvers."

Smith told the…