Superintendent: district 'flat funded,' reserves healthy; assessments show modest gains

Superintendent Ruby Bodie told the Estes Park School District R‑3 board on May 18 that the district’s preliminary budget plan assumes essentially flat per‑pupil funding under the Colorado Funding Formula and that the district’s reserve balance remains healthy.

Bodie said the district anticipates maintaining current staffing and spending levels for 2026–27, and that salary schedules will remain the same with increases tied to years of service and continued education. "When we look at our program funding as established through our per pupil enrollment in the Colorado Funding Formula, we are essentially flat funded," she said.

On academic measures, Bodie reported early results from end‑of‑year assessments: 61% of students districtwide are meeting math expectations, 62% in reading and 64% in science, with small (1–3 percentage point) gains compared with last year. She noted 25 multilingual learners met the WIDA ACCESS threshold to exit English language development programming (about 20% of the district’s multilingual learners).

Bodie also updated the board on long‑range facilities planning: a team of architects presented two schemes for the district’s master plan, staff and committees requested additional detail to compare the options, and the planning team is gathering further feedback from staff and the community before any decision.

The superintendent praised staff and volunteers for year‑end events and recognized district awards, including a designation as a NAM Best Communities for Music Education recipient. Board members asked follow‑up questions and thanked staff for the work; no final budget or facility decision was made at the meeting.