Adams 12 hears legislative forecast as lawmakers prepare for session amid projected state shortfall
Summary
Policy advisors briefed the board on a projected $840M–$1B state revenue shortfall, governor proposals including Medicaid changes and possible revenue measures, and several education-related bill rumors; staff urged directors to prepare advocacy and offered upcoming briefings.
Policy Matters advisors briefed the Adams 12 board on the state legislative outlook and revenue forecast during the Dec. 1 meeting, describing a significant projected shortfall and a set of department-level requests and bill rumors relevant to K‑12 districts.
Katie Hancock and Heather Retzko summarized the September revenue forecast and the governor’s Nov. 1 budget request. An analyst told the group the state was estimating "anywhere from an $840,000,000 shortfall potentially up to $1,000,000,000," and that major drivers include Medicaid expansion costs and post‑COVID fiscal pressures. The governor’s request includes measures that would require legislation to implement—examples staff cited include the proposed sale of Pinnacol (a workers’ compensation entity) and a change reducing the state reserve from 15% to 13%—steps that could affect the state’s ability to protect K‑12 funding if they do not advance.
Advisors walked through Department of Education budget requests made to meet a 2% target reduction, including a proposed restructuring of social-studies assessment funding, a decrease to the local accountability grant program and other administrative reductions. Staff noted the Healthy School Meals for All program is currently funded at roughly $254.8 million, and they described several bill "rumors" (local control of teacher evaluations, childcare licensing bills, an education‑desert proposal, and a possible 504-processing transfer to the department) that the district is monitoring.
Board members asked how these proposals would affect district funding and operations; staff said many recommended changes would require legislation and that some items (for example, assessment timing or renewal‑related rules) are still in early stakeholder discussions. Staff urged directors to submit suggested language for the district’s legislative platform before the board’s next meeting so the platform can be adopted and used in lobbying and meetings with legislators.
Next steps: staff and Policy Matters will continue to track bill filings, report back after JBC briefings and hearings, and coordinate CASB advocacy and potential board participation in lobby days.
