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Jeffco superintendent outlines three ballot funding options as district trims budget
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Summary
Jeffco Superintendent Tracy Dorland told Lakewood City Council the district reports a record 94% graduation rate, recent school closures have saved about $20 million annually, and a partnership group is weighing three ballot options — a $75M general mill levy override, a $135M package adding a capital mill, or a mill-plus-bond package — with a board recommendation due in May.
Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Tracy Dorland presented results and funding options to the Lakewood City Council on April 27, highlighting student outcomes and the district's fiscal choices.
Dorland said Jeffco serves roughly 75,000 students across 145 schools and employs about 14,000 staff. She reported a 94% graduation rate this year — the highest in district history and 8 percentage points above the state average — and said graduation-rate increases extended across multiple student subgroups. Dorland also said concurrent-enrollment programs saved about $8.5 million in college tuition costs and the class of 2025 earned about $15.3 million in scholarships.
On finances, Dorland described the district's funding structure and the limits set by state per-pupil formulas. She said Jeffco faced a deficit after the board adopted a deficit budget last June and, in response, implemented a "budget reduction blueprint" that cuts roughly $40 million in expenditures for the coming fiscal year. District leaders also closed 21 schools in prior years, which Dorland said saves about $20 million annually; proceeds from property dispositions have been earmarked for capital accounts.
Dorland described three ballot options that a community partnership is evaluating: a $75 million general-purpose mill levy override that prioritizes compensation and programming; a $135 million package that adds a special-purpose mill levy to provide ongoing capital funding; and a combined option using a general-purpose mill levy and a one-time bond to fund capital needs without an ongoing capital mill. The partnership will recommend one option to the Jeffco Board of Education in May; if placed on the ballot and passed, Dorland said the measure would allow the district to retain experienced educators and invest in facilities.
Councilors praised district outcomes and asked clarifying questions about how the $40 million in reductions were allocated, the effect on classrooms, and how the district tracks postsecondary outcomes for graduates. Dorland said the reductions prioritized keeping cuts away from classrooms where possible but conceded some school-level impacts were unavoidable, and offered to follow up with more detailed data on postsecondary destinations.
Dorland said the partnership's recommended option will be considered by the board in May, with a formal action expected by August 2026 if the board chooses to place a question on the ballot.
