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District lobbyist says school‑finance drafting fix is moving; options remain for formula roll‑out pause
Summary
At a Jan. 20 board meeting, the district’s contract lobbyist described a technical error in recent school finance legislation, credited staff and legislators for a fix in a supplemental bill, and outlined three statewide options under consideration that would affect local funding.
Amy Atwood, the district’s contract lobbyist, briefed the board on Jan. 20 about activity at the Colorado Capitol and what it means for District 51.
"There have been so far about 250 bills introduced. We have or we will have about 700 bills," Atwood said, adding that education‑related bills have been unusually few because of the state's budget constraints. She described a drafting problem in the school finance language that threatened districts that had expected a "hold harmless" protection between old and new formulas; staff worked with Representative Tagert and legislative leaders to pass a technical correction in a supplemental bill.
Atwood and Dr. Hill said the supplemental bill will correct the current year (2025–26) and that sponsors, the Joint Budget Committee and the Colorado Department of Education have indicated a similar fix will be carried into the bill that sets the 2026–27 formula. "No one has pushed back on the fix for the hold harmless," Atwood said.
Administrators outlined three options the state could pursue for the new school finance rollout: run the formula exactly as written (which could deplete the state education fund); shift specific ownership tax revenue into the formula (which district staff said could yield an estimated $5 million cut to D51); or pause the seven‑year formula rollout and hold districts flat for now. Atwood and district leaders warned that moving averaging from five years toward a current‑year count would reduce funding for declining‑enrollment districts and that a proposed smoothing method (50/30/20 weighting over three years) is under discussion.
The board did not take any legislative positions at the meeting beyond expressing appreciation for staff work in advancing the technical fix. The district said it will continue monitoring legislation and working with lawmakers as the session proceeds.
Ending: Administrators stressed uncertainty remains and that the district will continue outreach to legislators and the Joint Budget Committee as bills progress.
