How did we get to this point?

LPS cut $4 million for the 2009-2010 school year due to the economy and a smaller student population. In addition, the Colorado Legislature passed a school finance bill in May 2009 that allowed for only a modest increase to K-12 education.  For LPS, the increase was about one and a half percent for 2009-2010. 

This school finance bill also reflects the Legislature’s concerns about the state’s ability to fund K-12 education in the future. Please know that we share those concerns. At the current rate of spending, the State Education Fund will be bankrupt in one or two years. Therefore, the Legislature is requiring districts to hold in reserve until January 29, 2010, about half­ of the new money it is receiving for 2009-2010 in the event the state would have to take the money back. This means that LPS will have to hold in reserve about $2 million of the new money we are receiving, and it is very likely that it will be taken away.

In the meantime, costs the district has little control over such as health insurance, utilities, and state required contributions to employee pension funds continue to outpace the funding we receive. The district had to make $4 million in cuts for 2009-2010 in order to maintain a balanced budget. This is on top of the $1.5 million in cuts made for 2008-2009 and a state-mandated, one-time cut (rescission) to our budget in March, which equaled about $532,000. 

LPS has created efficiencies wherever possible, which included closing two elementary schools at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. Combined, these cuts have equaled more than $6 million in the past two budget years.