Douglas County School District warns of multimillion-dollar shortfall as enrollment falls

Douglas County School District Superintendent Jared Alvarado on Monday told trustees the district is facing a multi-year revenue shortfall driven by declining enrollment and rising expenditures, and that preliminary audit information could show a negative ending fund balance this fiscal year.

Alvarado said the district has declined from about 5,221 students in fiscal 2022 to roughly 4,691 at present and that the district has lost more than $5 million in revenue over three years. "We anticipate... a projected negative $5,000,000," he said, adding that a December audit finding could show an initial negative $1.1 million and that the district may need to present its plan to the Department of Taxation.

Why it matters: the district relies on per-pupil state funding and a provision in the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan (PCFP) that limits hold-harmless protection to districts with declines below 5 percent. Alvarado said Douglas County missed that threshold by 0.25 percentage points, exposing it to reduced state funding and prompting the administration to examine both expense reductions and revenue enhancements.

What officials presented: the superintendent walked the board…