PUEBLO — A southern Colorado school district says it is facing a budget crisis. Pueblo County School District 70 said they have a two million dollar budget deficit.
A spokesperson for Pueblo County School District 70 said the following are hurting the district by the millions:
- failing to pass a mill levy tax
- lower enrollment
- changes in state funding
Last year, a mill levy override question was put on the November ballot. It would have given D70 nearly $7 million for capital improvement projects like fixing school roofs and sewers, but the question failed.
“It's just very disheartening that that mill levy did not pass. So, I hope if we put together another mill levy in the next few years that people will really educate themselves on District 70 schools,” said Allison Balas, Union President for Pueblo County Education Association.
Balas is representing staff and teachers in D70. She said the district could see more financial trouble this year if Governor Polis's proposed budget passes.
“The proposed budget of the governor has really put District 70 in a place where our finances are slim,” said Balas.
In his State of the State Address, Governor Polis said he wants to change the way schools are funded through student enrollment.
Currently, school districts in Colorado are funded by the average number of students enrolled over a four year period. Balas said it used to be five years, but that changed last year.
Governor Polis is proposing schools should be funded by how many students are actually “in the seats" during October's yearly count.
“It's not feasible to plan a balanced budget. It's not feasible to, you know, offer competitive salaries and all of that in the spring when you don't know until October how many kids are actually in the seats,” said Balas.
If Governor Polis' change happens, a District 70 spokesperson said the district would lose an additional $2.5 million in state funding.
“So, instead of doing the averaging and so that districts can prepare over time for these cuts, he's saying, 'No,' he wants it done now, and that's just not good for public schools. It's not good for children. It's not food for the future of Colorado,” said Balas.
D70's enrollment is also declining. According to the Colorado Department of Education, D70 has 263 fewer students in 2024 compared to 2023.
Recently, the school district outlined a few options to solve the budget problem which included the following:
- decreasing or eliminating district program
- school consolidation or school closures
- not filling open positions
“We don't have to make those decisions right now, but we have a plan if we do,” said Balas.
D70 said no final decisions have been made, and the community will be given an opportunity to weigh-in before that happens.
Jill Huggins has children who go to school in District 70. Huggins, her mom and all her children went to school in Beulah.
“It was a small school, so we have lifelong friends, like, I still have friends that I've been friends with since kindergarten,” said Huggins. “It's just a great school. It's a tight knit community. Beulah kids are just good kids, and then they become good adults and good humans, and they're productive. And Beulah has a hand in that the teachers and the staff, and it's just a good place."
Huggins said she is nervous about the school's future after budget talks at Tuesday night's board meeting.
“What I've heard is that, because... District 70 itself is considered suburban, but they have three rural schools, so they should get more funding than they're getting. So, now they're talking about potentially closing those three schools, and Beulah being one of them,” said Huggins.
Huggins said if the school closes, there is not another one close by. She said not having a school in town could ruin Beulah for families.
“It would kill our community. I believe, I think it's Craver is 37 minutes for me, but they're talking about closing Craver too. So, it would be even further to go to Rye, where they're... considering consolidating. After that, it would be Pleasant View, which is 40 minutes. And I don't know, you know, initially I thought, do I move... from the town I grew up in, and I live in my grandparents house... but the community itself, it would... destroy it... It would be a ghost town,” said Huggins.
She is encouraging everyone in her community and all families who attend or support D70 schools to write letter to legislatures and speak out to Polis’ change.
“We’re just encouraging people to write letters and be loud and do what we need to do to get the funding changed to save our school,” said Huggins. “We have several community events coming up, and so the principal, Mr. Rogers, and I are going to get together next week and kind of put together simple simplify things a little bit, because it's kind of messy right now, and kind of put out there exactly what the community needs to do to try to help.”
Huggins said a school with high performing students should not be closed down.
“Beulah school has been awarded the performance Achievement Award every year... that's been an award, and that's like the highest award you can get. We have 50 middle schoolers, and I don't know how many are participating in the Science Olympiad, but they've gone to state every year, and they placed fourth last year. They're just smart kids. They're good kids, and it's a good place,” said Huggins.
D70 released the following statement regarding the budget deficit:
"Pueblo County School District 70 has long been one of the lowest-funded districts in Colorado. The proposed changes to the state funding formula from the Governor’s office have forced the district to explore all options to reduce expenditures due to declining state revenues and student enrollment projections.
The core challenge remains how District 70 is funded at the state level. While many of our schools are physically located in rural areas, the district as a whole does not receive rural funding. Additionally, the Governor’s plan removes averaging from the formula, which disproportionately impacts districts with declining enrollment—affecting 80% of the state’s 178 K-12 school districts. The new funding formula will further reduce our revenues, magnifying budget challenges.
Had the MLO passed, we would have retained 100% of those local funds in Pueblo, avoided depleting reserves to match the BEST grant, and remained financially stable despite the projected $2.5 million revenue loss tied to the new funding formula and declining enrollment.
No decisions have been made. All preliminary cost-saving measures are being evaluated to identify potential solutions for addressing critical budget challenges and ongoing life-safety needs across the district."
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Union workers at King Soopers stores in Pueblo are set to go on strike on Friday
The announcement came from Local 7 President Kim Kordova on Thursday during a news conference, according to Scripps News Denver.
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