Durango School District 9-R parents gathered Tuesday evening at Escalante Middle School for the first of two public input sessions on budget cuts.
For the past four years, the school district has run a deficit – it was more than $2 million in 2012 – and in 2015, it reached $465,000.
Deficits are paid through reserves, which the district tries to keep at a minimum 15 percent of the yearly budget. This year’s reserves are estimated at only 13.4 percent.
Next year’s budget must be at least $465,000 less than this year’s $42.2 million. But the question remains, where to cut?
Parents were asked to weigh in on several budgetary questions, and an overwhelming 79 percent favored raising revenue compared with the 8 percent who supported cuts, and the 13 percent who say they first need more information. The polling pool was small – about 40 attended – so the results are not necessarily an accurate portrayal of the district opinion.
Because the state is not planning for any additional revenue, parents were asked if they supported a mill levy campaign, or a cessation of spending; 91 percent were in favor of the mill levy campaign.
Early-childhood programs and reduced class sizes were the top two investments respondents supported, should the district seek new revenues. And if the district must cut expenses, parents polled that activities and athletics should be the first to go.
Asked if public charter schools, which also face funding challenges with the state, should be included in a future mill levy, 50 percent of parents said “no,” 35 percent said “yes,” and 15 percent were neutral.
Those who attended Tuesday’s meeting could choose to attend two of six workshops with district staff to get a basic fiscal picture of district operations, specifically concerning the state funding formula, 9-R operational costs, salaries and benefits, curriculum and assessment, special education and at-risk services, and technology.
Justin Austin, the district’s chief financial officer, explained that Colorado’s funding mechanism considers size, need and other factors when allocating funds, and funding falls short for Durango; the state covers only about half the cost to educate pre-schoolers, and little more than that to educate kindergartners.
“Early childhood is something the town values,” District Superintendent Dan Snowberger said. “Not that we think we should cut it, but we need funding for it. If we were fully funded, we wouldn’t even be meeting tonight; we would be able to continue to support the educational program in our district for at least a while longer.”
This year, the district received a 3.7 percent increase in funding, but there will be no increase in the year to come.
So what is the budget crisis? Snowberger explained that it has to do with two conflicting state issues – the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, and Amendment 23. The former limits government spending to stay in proportion to the rate of inflation and population growth. But Amendment 23, passed in 2000, mandated an inflation plus 1 percent increase in K-12 funding.
The next public session will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Miller Middle School, 2608 Junction St.
jpace@durangoherald.com
