When Dan Snowberger took over as superintendent of Durango School District 9-R in 2012, he inherited a budget deficit of more than $2 million. While it went down to $70,000 for 2014-15, it increased again this year.

The deficit for the 2015-16 budget may be cut from $465,000 to $215,000 because of a $200,000 grant funneled from a donor through the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado and additional income from the state in per-pupil funding and because of an increased number of students, but all of those are events that may not repeat.

Deficits are funded by pulling from the district’s reserves. The 9-R school board has set a target of keeping the reserves at a minimum of 15 percent of the annual budget. After four years of drawdowns, the reserves are at an estimated 13.4 percent for this year.

Salaries and benefits make up the bulk of the district’s expenses. This school year, the two items are budgeted at more than $34.5 million, 82 percent of the budget.

Snowberger and his staff have identified several areas for examination, including:

Partial funding of kindergarten students: Colorado reimburses school districts for kindergartners attending five-eighths of a day, but for at least 20 years, 9-R has offered full-day kindergarten.

“I think it’s a community value that we offer full-day kindergarten,” Snowberger said, “but residents need to understand we have to pull three-eighths of the funding from the (first grade through 12th grade) budget.”

Kids Camp: The after-school camp plays an important factor in families’ child care scenarios, he said, but the cost is subsidized for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, more than a third of 9-R students. The district is arranging for the Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County to take over some of its Kids Camps in the schools.

Capital Investment: District 9-R’s bus fleet is aging. It is getting its first new bus in at least three years this spring, but that is because a bus was totaled in a rollover crash in November. The district’s oldest bus has 225,000 miles on it, and the average bus has driven more than 150,000 miles, Snowberger said. A new bus costs about $113,000.

Transportation: Colorado does not require school districts to provide transportation for students, so $1 million to pay for it comes out of the general fund. Because the district is so large – more than 1,100 square miles, Snowberger believes a number of students would not be able to go to school without the buses.

The district may also have to consider raising pay for bus drivers as the shortage of drivers continues.

abutler@durangoherald.com