Based on Gov. Jared Polis’ budget request from earlier this year, Durango School District 9-R expects to receive $600 more per student in per-pupil state funding for the 2021-22 school year.
9-R’s budget numbers were presented Thursday evening in a Zoom meeting by Samantha Gallagher, 9-R’s chief financial officer, in the district’s annual Public Budget Meeting.
Budget priorities for 2021-22 include improving literacy and math proficiency among students, addressing lagging academic performance among minority students and boosting the career pathways 9-R offers students after they complete school.
The district will also hire an administrator of diverse populations to support minority students.
While per-pupil funding looks rosy, the overall budget is expected to drop by about $4.72 million from $68.53 million in 2020-21 to $63.81 million in 2021-22 based on a technicality that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Colorado Connections Academy, a statewide online school, is chartered through 9-R, and it saw its enrollment balloon to 2,100 students in the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But for the upcoming year, 9-R has limited Colorado Connections Academy to 1,200 students, and that accounts for the bulk of the budget reduction.
While budget numbers for Colorado Connections Academy appear in 9-R’s budget, the bulk of the money is pass-through money from 9-R to the online school. Only a fraction of Colorado Connections Academy funding is kept by 9-R, basically as administrative fees.
Salaries for 9-R’s employees are the biggest expense in the budget, accounting for $33.6 million. The district has about 750 employees.
Benefits, including health insurance and retirement, will account for $10.08 million in expenditures.
In total, salaries and benefits account for 84% of the district’s expenditures.
Gallagher said salaries and benefits account for 83% to 85% of expenditures at most Colorado school districts.
A survey in English and Spanish is available through May 21 on 9-R’s website to receive public feedback about the budget.
In terms of revenue, 9-R’s biggest source of money is from the state, at $38.48 million. Property taxes are expected to bring in $21.6 million.
Total revenue is expected to come in at $66.13 million. To cover total expenses of $68.81 million, 9-R will have one-time revenue from the federal government that was approved to aid school districts across the nation with COVID-19 expenses.
9-R has received about $9.3 million in federal funding since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, the district has spent about $2.5 million of that federal COVID-19 money. Some of the money must still be approved for spending by the Colorado Department of Education.
Also, spending of federal COVID-19 funding is subject to allowable uses by the federal government.
Federal COVID-19 aid has come in three different disbursements, and the money must be spent by the end of September 2022, September 2023 and September 2024, based on when it was originally received from the U.S. Department of Education.
9-R can also draw on its fund reserve balance, required under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, of about $7.5 million.
To boost literacy and math scores, 9-R is establishing new instructional systems based on research to boost performance of kindergarten through third graders.
The district also plans to increase the number of different methods it uses to teach math and reading, called multi-tiered support systems, so it can reach students who are struggling with conventional teaching approaches.
The district also plans to increase the amount of professional development to teachers and principals to increase effective instruction.
To help boost academic proficiency among economically disadvantaged and minority students, 9-R plans to hire bilingual parent liaisons to communicate more effectively with families.
The district will hire an administrator of diverse populations and add an activity bus for after-school programming to ensure all students, even those who lack transportation, can participate in extracurricular events.
To boost career paths, 9-R will provide $302,000 worth of tuition and fees to students at Durango High School and Big Picture High School to take college classes.
The district also will dedicate 8.6 full-time equivalent teaching positions to its career and technical education program and support an internship program at Big Picture High School.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
