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St. Vrain enrollment largely flat; funded pupil count dips with minimal budget impact
Summary
At a Dec. 17 study session, district staff reported K–12 enrollment of 31,040 (PK–12 32,279), a year‑over‑year decline of 119 students; state funding rules and averaging reduced the funded pupil count by 158 but left the district only about $22,000 over its adopted budget.
St. Vrain Valley School District No. Re1J reported largely stable enrollment at its Dec. 17 study session, with K–12 enrollment of 31,040 and a PK–12 total of 32,279, a year‑over‑year K–12 decline of 119 students.
Bridal Willits, the district planning director, told trustees the figures reflect continuing post‑COVID stability and local migration and housing patterns. “At 31,040, you can see we are really stable post COVID,” Willits said, noting the district remains a net importer of students from adjacent districts.
Why it matters: counts feed state funding. Justin (finance) explained that more than 70% of the district’s total program funding is determined by state calculations tied to the funded pupil count. “Over 70% of our total funding is determined by the state through what we refer to as total program funding,” he said. The district distinguishes between enrollment headcount and the state’s funded pupil count, which may weight or average students differently (for example, some homeschool or part‑time students are counted as 0.5 for funding purposes).
Justin said the district’s funded pupil count fell by 158, driven mainly by changes in the benefit from four‑year averaging in the state school finance law and updated state rulemaking that adjusted how English‑language‑learner, at‑risk and special‑education students are weighted. Despite that, the district ended the October count period roughly 27–28 funded pupils above the budget projection and about $22,000 over the adopted general fund budget of roughly $315 million — a small variance in percentage terms, Justin said.
Staff also highlighted housing data and student yields. Willits reported a partial count of 381 single‑family residential permits so far for the year (projected to finish near 450) and said multifamily units yield far fewer students (estimated about 0.22–0.26 students per multifamily unit), which factors into multi‑year enrollment forecasting.
The district will continue to monitor counts and make school‑level course corrections during early count days, the presenters said. A fuller finance briefing and the amended budget update are scheduled for the board’s January meetings.
Votes at a glance: The only formal vote recorded in the transcript was the motion to adjourn, which passed after a motion and second and recorded affirmative responses; the meeting was adjourned.
