In a state that ranks among the lowest in the country for school funding, any extra money is cause for celebration.
Last week, Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a supplemental budget that will increase the per-pupil allocation for all three of La Plata County’s school districts for the 2015-2016 school year.
Durango School District 9-R will receive about $155,000, Superintendent Dan Snowberger said. The district has worked all year to get its deficit down to zero, and the money will likely go into the district’s reserves, he said, although some of it may be used to qualify for a federal matching grant for technology.
Because the additional funding is based on the number of full-time students, the other two school districts will receive significantly less.
“We will be receiving approximately $35,000,” Bayfield Superintendent Troy Zabel said, “that will be targeted back to the general fund to offset anticipated budget reductions.”
Ignacio, the smallest of the three, will get an extra $ 27.60 per student, Superintendent Rocco Fuschetto said, for a total of $22,742. Ignacio’s funding will go back into its general fund.
The funding doesn’t begin to make up for the $4 million-plus Durango schools lost this school year thanks to the negative factor of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights limitations after a recession or the proportional negative factor losses at the other two districts. But after all the cuts and tight budgets the three districts have experienced over the last few years, a little extra is nice to get, all three superintendents said.
abutler@durangoherald.com
