Adams 12 Five Star Schools plans to eliminate around 150 jobs in the next year amid $27.5 million in budget cuts, the district's superintendent announced Thursday.
"I am angry and sad that we have to make these decisions because for decades our state has failed to prioritize education funding," Superintendent Chris Gdowski said. "We are losing outstanding educators, administrators and support staff who all contribute to student success."
The state is moving forward with changing the funding formula for schools, in an attempt to account for declining enrollment, while Gdowski said 80% of Colorado's school districts are experiencing declining enrollment.
As part of the cuts, the Adams 12 district will eliminate teacher librarian roles at all elementary, K-8 and middle schools. Gifted and talented educators will also be cut at all levels. There will be fewer people to intervene when younger students fall behind literacy and math benchmarks. The number of social emotional specialists to address student mental health and behavioral needs in Title I elementary schools will go down. There will be a reduction in art, music and physical education teachers in eight of the district's smaller elementary schools as well.
This comes after thousands of teachers from across Colorado rallied at the state capitol last week to pressure lawmakers to not approve the funding formula change.
Gov. Jared Polis proposed using a single-year student count to determine per-pupil funding. Previously, funding was based on average enrollment over a few years. Colorado is facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, prompting cuts across the state.
The governor's office sent Denver7 the following statement Friday:
“Governor Polis appreciates the challenges Adams 12 faces, and understands the various factors that go into making hard budget decisions, as shown by the district’s budget. He appreciates how hard Superintendent Gdowski and the school board directors are fighting for the district and its students. Governor Polis has fought and continues to fight to increase education funding in a sustainable way, including by increasing total funding education by $138 million in his budget proposal and continuing to work with school districts to achieve an even greater total increase in education funding for next year. Governor Polis will not sign a budget that cuts school funding, and has proposed an increase of $388 in per student funding for next school year.”
Last week, Denver7's Nicole Brady asked the governor's office for more clarification, questioning if schools already had plans for their own budgets based on what their previous pupil count was, and the formula changing to a single-year count would be a so-called cut from their previous plan. She put to the governor's office if that can be true, even as the governor raises overall funding.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Gov. Jared Polis acknowledged, individual schools could see their funding adjusted depending on their student count.
The statement said in part, “In order to help schools access an increase in funding driven by the new, student-centered school finance formula, Colorado must start funding students where they are, not empty chairs. Schools with declining enrollment will see their funding adjusted based on that, and they should not use projections that show them getting funding for students they don’t have."
Numbers from the Colorado School Finance Project, a nonpartisan research nonprofit that tracks school finance data, show Colorado has underfunded school districts statewide by more than $10 billion over the past 16 years. Adams 12 Five Star Schools is the 14th-lowest funded district out of 15 in the Denver metro area, according to Superintendent Gdowski.
Related prior coverage:
- As teachers rally, data shows Colorado schools have been underfunded by $10 billion over past decade
- Some Colorado schools could see funding adjustment, governor's office acknowledges amid teacher rally Thursday
- Colorado parents left scrambling as school districts cancel Thursday classes ahead of rally
- Thousands of teachers show strength in numbers at Colorado State Capitol in fight for funding
- Colorado Education Association plans statewide day of action to protest education cuts
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