School district facing more funding cuts 4 decks

Governor proposes budget request that would cost district $300,000

After the failure of Colorado Proposition 103 to pass muster on Election Day and bring the state’s school districts some relief from further budget cuts, the Gunnison RE1J school district administration and school board are preparing for another round of rescissions.
The latest cuts to K-12 education funding were glimpsed in Governor John Hickenlooper’s budget request for the next fiscal year. His request proposes a plan to close the gap on an anticipated $679 million shortfall in general fund revenues, at a heavy cost to schools.
Gunnison school district business manager Stephanie Juneau told the school board at a meeting on Monday, November 14 that Governor Hickenlooper’s budget request for 2012-13 calls for a $350 million overall reduction to K-12 education, which means about $300,000 less for the district.

“Had Proposition 103 passed, it would have helped stop the reduction in funding for K-12,” Juneau said. “But as you will see here and throughout the presentation, that is not the case.”
The cuts being proposed for next year would be the latest in a three-year line of cuts that has reduced the state’s share of funding for the district by $1.5 million, resulting in changes to educational programs and staffing, elimination of elementary school counseling and significant shifts in extracurricular activities and transportation.
“I thought it would be prudent to share [the governor’s budget request] with the board and with the public, because it’s not getting any better,” Juneau said. “I continue to have the honor of being the bearer of bad news.”
The governor’s budget request notes that state revenues have dropped 5 percent since the peak of the economy in 2007-08, but reports the demand for state services and benefits have “increased substantially and reflect the pressures of a growing population and a weak economy.”
And the problem is similar in the state’s schools, which are expected to take on more than 2,500 at-risk students, potentially requiring more school resources; those students are among the nearly 7,000 new students who will enroll in Colorado schools next year.
But as a percentage of the state’s expenditures, K-12 education is going to drop from 40.4 percent this year to about 39 percent next year, while the percentage going to healthcare programs and human services is going up.
At the same time the state is withholding $261 million that otherwise would have been added to the education budget for growth and inflation as a “budget balancing measure,” along with a “negative factor” of $89 million.
 “That total decrease of $350 million for the state equates to about $300,000 for our district,” Juneau said.
She explained that if the state’s own formula for funding education were to be followed, districts would see a per-pupil funding increase of $197. “In normal economic times that would be pretty good information,” she said. “We’re not in normal economic times.”
Superintendent Jon Nelson pointed out that the $300,000 reduction in funding for the district is based on a reduced per-pupil reimbursement from the state and a flat enrollment. If the enrollment goes down, the state’s share of funding does too, and more of the district’s budget will come from property taxes.
“If we’re not collecting all that money—and based on foreclosures and delinquencies, etc., that’s a reality for our area—we need to budget less than 100 percent of collections. Otherwise our budget will be inaccurate for our community,” Juneau said. “We also need to take into account what’s going on in the local economy and Western State College. That could be a real issue for our district as well in 2012-13.”
And while Nelson admitted growth in the student population might not be a factor for the district schools, “given the situation…,” board member Bill Powell pointed out that the state’s reporting requirements are becoming more time-consuming and are drawing more on the district’s limited resources.
Powell asked for a complete overview of the district’s financial situation, from the impacts of TABOR to funding decreases, at a work session November 28. In the meantime, district administrators are considering their options for trimming $300,000 from an already lean budget.