Manitou Springs School District 14 is bracing for a significant hit to the budget in the coming years. As a result of Colorado’s $1.3 billion budget deficit this year and changes to the school funding formula, D14 could be facing a $1.17 million loss of revenue.
“Last legislative session, last May, they passed a new finance formula,” explained D14 CFO Suzi Thompson during this week’s Manitou Springs Board of Education meeting. “We’ve had the same finance formula since 1994 and it was passed to start in the 25-26 school year. Really what this new formula does is shift the spending and add more factors.”
School districts are funded, in part, according to the number of students they serve. Colorado currently uses a five-year enrollment average to determine how much per-pupil funding to send to school districts. The new funding formula changes that to a four-year enrollment average for some districts starting next year. To address the state budget deficit, Gov. Jared Polis has proposed using a single-year student count rather than a multi-year average. Thompson says this will significantly impact D14.
“Taking averaging out of the formula impacts us long term,” said Thompson. “It’s kind of like a hidden negative factor … it’s like almost $1.2 million a year for us.”
Colorado’s negative factor, or budget stabilization factor, is a provision in state law that reduces the amount of total program funding and state aid provided to K-12 school districts. As of 2019, Colorado was $2,158 below the national average (more than 16% below the national average) for per pupil spending, according to the Colorado Education Association.
“Definitely in the Pikes Peak region we are the hardest hit,” said Thompson. “We are one of the hardest hit school districts in the state.”
Superintendent Sean Dorsey noted the impact this could have on hiring in the district. “In years past, we’ve been able to hire earlier, and principals love to do that because it’s the cream of the crop in the hiring pool,” he said. “The unfortunate piece of this is we’re going to have to be very careful and cautious. We’re going to have to dialogue more about each and every position that’s open. It’s going to be a process to get positions approved for rehire.”
Kolleen Johnson, D14’s executive director of secondary schools, noted that so far this year the district has received 71 choice applications, or applications from families who live outside of D14 who are seeking to enroll. Students choosing in from outside of district boundaries can offset funding losses from declining enrollment. Students from outside of the district are able to attend as long as there are enough slots available after the enrollment of students who live within district boundaries.
“I have to do this meeting, then this, then this, before I can accept this kid,” explained Johnson. “Because of the number of spaces someone’s not going to get in, but I think scheduling can help us speed up the process.”
D14 Board of Education director Jill Bishop noted the importance of students choosing Manitou Springs. “We need kids,” she said. “Anything that we can do to speed up the process [is good]. I’m pleased to hear that you guys are looking at that and figuring out ways to [speed up the process] because I know there’s a lot of moving parts.”
Manitou Springs Middle School Principal moving on
Manitou Springs Middle School Principal Dustin Cady announced during this week’s board meeting that this will be his last year in D14. “My wife Mary and I made the decision, we want our kids to grow up surrounded by their grandparents’ love and support,” he said. “We are moving to the Boulder area this summer, and it’s very bittersweet for me. I have loved my time at Manitou. This school has given so much to me and this district, and it’s a fantastic community. I want to thank, in particular, the district leadership team for your support over the last five years. And in particular, the past two years, Sean [Dorsey] and Kolleen [Johnson] have been really helpful for me personally as a leader. And then all of my teammates, I wish we could have worked together a little bit longer, but it’s been just an amazing experience. And I thank you for your support. I think the school is positioned to continue to thrive into the future.”
Before his announcement, Cady and Assistant Principal Areashera Bartlett presented to the board on the middle school’s performance. Manitou Springs Middle School has shown an 11% increase in CMAS scores, and Cady and Bartlett reported successes in the school’s writing program.
Dorsey recognized Cady’s efforts. “Even though I wasn’t here when you found this place, I know what it was,” he said. “There was hard work being done. You brought the touches of culture and systems and ‘This is the way we do things around here,’ the direction and the focus. You and Area came together as a wonderful team on behalf of kids and families and staff. You need to be proud of the work that you’ve done.”
