Letter from the Superintendent: K-12 Finance

March 6, 2025

Dear Cherry Creek Schools community,

As I mentioned in my message earlier this week, one of the areas of great uncertainty right now is around funding. Unfortunately, funding for K-12 public education is at risk. While it is too soon to know the extent of any federal funding that may be cut, we face another more immediate threat in the funding we receive at the state level. After nearly 15 years of more than $11 billion being cut from K-12 public education, the state is trying to do it again.

Governor Polis and state lawmakers are looking to make a major change to the way it funds schools that will drastically cut funding from 80% of school districts across Colorado, including $17 million from Cherry Creek Schools. This proposal would dramatically change the way the state funds K-12 education, moving from an enrollment averaging formula to a single annual student count. Enrollment averaging is a 30-year practice in the State of Colorado that provides stability and predictability for school districts to invest in students and ensure they have the resources they need rather than being forced to constantly adjust to drastic swings in funding due to small changes in enrollment. Eliminating averaging would have a disproportionate and immediate impact on schools, leaving many students across the state without the resources they need as soon as the 2025-26 school year.

Facing a budget deficit, the state is once again trying to cut K-12 education in order to balance the budget at the expense of our students and teachers. Any cut in funding would have a districtwide impact on all students resulting in staff layoffs, larger class sizes, reduced student offerings, and more. We need your help to let state lawmakers know these cuts are unacceptable, especially at a time of great uncertainty at the federal level. Public school districts have been used to balance the state’s budget for the past 15 years. The state must balance its budget somewhere else. Please visit www.kidsmattertoo.org to send a letter or visit our CCSD Legislative Updates page to call CCSD lawmakers.

These cuts are unacceptable, and our kids deserve better. I urge you to make your voice heard today.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Cherry Creek Schools!

 

Sincerely,

Christopher Smith

Superintendent