Durango School District 9-R will host a public budget meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Durango High School. The community is invited to attend and share input about the proposed budget for the 2017-18 academic year.

The district will be budgeting $51,275,975, according to 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger. “We expect no cuts to programs but an increased investment into programs lost or decreased during the downturn of the economy,” he said.

Salaries traditionally run 80-83 percent of the budget, Snowberger said. This is expected to continue this year with salaries on the higher end of that range. “With salaries frozen last year, the board is working in good faith to recognize the hard work of our staff,” he said.

The board anticipates additional changes to the distribution of the budget, in part due to last year’s approval from the Colorado Department of Education for 9-R to separate from the San Juan Board of Cooperative Educational Services. “With Durango 9-R assuming responsibility for special education programming ... we will see the savings achieved through this separation reinvested into programming and resources for students,” Snowberger said.

The proposed budget will be on file and available for viewing during regular business hours in the finance office and superintendent’s office at the Durango School District 9-R administration building, according to a legal notice.

mrupani@durangoherald.com