Founded in 1995, the Colorado School Finance Project (CSFP) is a non-profit whose mission is to compile, collect, and distribute research-based, non-partisan information and data on topics related to school finance for state and local policymakers.
You're invited! - 2nd Annual CSFP Conference We invite you to join us for our 2nd Annual Colorado School Finance Project Conference: Investment in Action on Wednesday, September 21, 2022! The conference will be held at The Charter at Beaver Creek, 120 Offerson Rd, Beaver Creek, CO 81620. To register, go to: https://www.co-case.org/event/2022CSFP_SuptsConf. We encourage you to register as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing you in September! Please reach out to t.rainey@cosfp.org for any questions.
EXCITING NEWS! Colorado School Finance Project awarded CDE grant to help school districts with ESSER transparency- March 1, 2022 CLICK HERE to join mailing list to learn more about the project
CSFP School Funding Presentation - June 29, 2022
June 2022 Forecast • Legislative Council Economic & Revenue Forecast Report • Legislative Council Presentation Slides • Legislative Council Consumer Price Index Forecast • OSPB Colorado Economic and Fiscal Outlook Report • OSPB Colorado Economic and Fiscal Outlook Presentation Slides • OSPB Colorado Outlook Supplemental Materials
CSFP ESSER Grant Presentation at CEA Conference (lunch session) - June 7, 2022 CSFP ESSER Grant Presentation at CEA Conference (afternoon session) - June 7, 2022
CSFP to East Central BOCES: Learning and Transparency Technical Assistance Program Grant - June 1, 2022
Great Education Board and CSFP: Legislative Re-cap and impacts on: K-12 Funding - May 19, 2022 CASB and CSFP: Legislative Re-cap and impacts on: K-12 Funding - May 18, 2022
May Advisory Meeting (May 13, 2022) - Recording of the meeting Initiative 63 - fact sheet and slides Colorado Department of Labor and Employment - Ryan Gedney Fiscal Impact on potential ballot/legislative measures - Chris Stiffler, CFI Universal Pre-school - funding discussion
CSFP Presentation to CASBO — May 5, 2022
2021-22 Budget Stabilization Factor by School District
May/June What We're Reading - “Everybody has a second job”: Low pay leaves rural Colorado teachers struggling. Colorado’s teacher salaries are among the lowest in the nation" - Daliah Singer, The Colorado Sun, May 19, 2022 - Colorado Public Education Opinion Survey Part 1 - May 26, 2022 - Colorado Public Education Opinion Survey Part 2 - June 8, 2022
MAY 2022
May Advisory Meeting (May 13, 2022) - Recording of the meeting Initiative 63 - fact sheet and slides Colorado Department of Labor and Employment - Ryan Gedney Fiscal Impact on potential ballot/legislative measures - Chris Stiffler, CFI Universal Pre-school - funding discussion
CSFP Presentation to CASBO — May 5, 2022
APRIL 2022
Snapshot of Impacts on School Finance 2022-23- April 6, 2022
CSFP Presentation to the Cotopaxi School Board — April 27, 2022
April Advisory Meeting (April 22, 2022) - Recording of the meeting Forecast Update- Kate Watkins and Marc Carey Universal Preschool Update Ballot Initiative update CSFP ESSER Grant Presentation FY 22-23 ESSA Preliminary Allocations
CSFP Presentation at the Western Slope Advisory Meeting — April 21, 2022 ESSER Presentation at the Western Slope Advisory Meeting — April 21, 2022 ESSER Grant Presentation at the Northern Superintendents Meeting — April 21, 2022 ESSER Grant Presentation at the Southern Superintendents Conference — April 14, 2022 ESSER Grant Presentation at the Colorado BOCES Quarterly Meeting — April 11, 2022 ESSER Grant One-page flyer for School Districts and BOCES
Colorado School Finance Project's Impacts on School Finance Bubble Graphic 2022-23- updated on April 14, 2022
MARCH 2022
School Finance memo from Joint Budget Committee Staff- Craig Harper, March 18, 2022
2021-22 Budget Stabilization Factor by School District
March 2022 Forecast Legislative Council Staff Economic & Revenue Forecast Report Economic & Revenue Forecast Presentation Consumer Price Index Forecast Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting Colorado Economic and Fiscal Outlook Presentation to the Joint Budget Committee The Colorado Outlook: Supplemental Materials
March Advisory Meeting - Recording of meeting - CSFP Transparency Grant slides - Early Childhood Education presentation - Bob Palaich, Augenblick, Palaich & Associates - PERA Update slides - Ron Baker, PERA of Colorado
CASB Conversations Webinar- School Finance 101, Part 1 [Need to be CASB member to access]
SOS School Finance 101 Presentations March 1-2, 2022: - Gunnison School District- school finance background- Tracie Rainey, CSFP - Take Action Slides- Lisa Weil and Cody Ostenson, Great Education Colorado and Great Schools Thriving Communities - 2022 School Funding Ballot Initiative Training information- Lisa Weil and Cody Ostenson, Great Education and Great Schools Thriving Communities
March What We're Reading:
- Democrats formalize plan for expanded preschool, early childhood department. But will Colorado have enough teachers?- Erica Breunlin, March 11, 2022
- Ballot measure would steer part of TABOR refunds to Colorado schools- Erica Meltzer, Chalkbeat, March 4, 2022
- Education groups want more funding for teachers, so they're pushing a November ballot initiative that could do just that- Jenny Brundin, Colorado Public Radio, March 3, 2022
FEBRUARY 2022
Colorado Association of School Executives Winter Conference February 2022 - Tips on how to work with your school board- Tracie Rainey, CSFP and Glenn McClain, Platte Valley School District - What Now with School Finance? - Tracie Rainey, CSFP
DRAFT 2022-23 Funding Workbook- Based on JBC Recommendations- Colorado Department of Education, February 2022
Presentation to Colorado BOCES Association Winter Quarterly Meeting- February 15, 2022
February CSFP Advisory Meeting - Recording of meeting - School Finance Project 2022- Office of the State Demographer's presentation - Issues in the Design of Early Childhood Systems: Informal Dialogue with CSFP- Bob Palaich - ADA Conversation Starters - How are states funding school districts in the wake of changing enrollments caused by COVID-19? (blog post) - How states count students to determine funding: A call for change (blog post) - Not Making the Grade - Issue Paper: Using Average Daily Attendance as a Basis for Distributing State School Revenue
Tax Effort and Fiscal Capacity 2021-22 including an overall summary and detail by school district
Tax Effort and Fiscal Capacity 2021-22 Summary
Tax Effort and Fiscal Capacity 2021-22 by Assessed Value and type of Mill – includes pie chart and detail by school district
Total Assessed Value 2021-22
Assessed Value per Pupil 2021-22
Total Program Mills 2021-22 (mills each district levies as part of the school finance act)
Mill Levy Overrides 2021-22 (voter-approved)
Percent of Colorado's General Fund Appropriation Allocated to Education 2006 to 2002 chart
JANUARY 2022
Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance January 27, 2022 - At-risk Bill Draft Fiscal Note - Special Education Bill Draft Fiscal Note - MLO State Match Bill Draft Fiscal Note - DID NOT VOTE ON and WILL NOT BE MOVING FORWARD - State Land Trust Bill Draft Fiscal Note
January 14, 2022 CSFP Advisory Meeting - Recording of Meeting - CSFP Interim Committee and Legislative Update - Universal Preschool Recommendations Final Report
CSFP Presentation to Alamosa School District- January 13, 2022
Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance- January 10, 2022 meeting - Colorado At-Risk Study Final Report Presentation- Urban Institute - Bill Drafts: Special Education bill & State Match for Mill Levy Override - School Finance Simulation Tool- Anna Gerstle, Legislative Council Staff - School Finance Update- Craig Harper, JBC Staff
January/December What We're Reading:
- Colorado's 2022 legislative session began Wednesday. Here's your guide to get involved.- Sandra Fish, The Colorado Sun, January 12, 2022 - Funding, school ratings, workforce: Education issues we're watching in 2022- Jason Gonzales and Erica Meltzer, Chalkbeat, January 7, 2022
DECEMBER 2021
December 2021 Forecast Legislative Council staff Economic & Revenue Forecast Presentation to the Joint Budget Committee - K-12 Enrollment Forecast (slides 34-39) - Assessed Valuation Forecast (slides 40-45) - School Finance Outlook (slides 46-50) Consumer Price Index Forecast Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) Colorado Economic and Fiscal Outlook Presentation to the Joint Budget Committee The Colorado Outlook: Supplemental Materials
CSFP State Profile Report- 2021 (2019-20 audited data) 2021 State Profile Overview (1-page overview) 2021 State Profile Charts & Highlights (2 pages) 2021 State Profile Report (7 pages) includes a historical look at: - Enrollment in K-12: Enrollment, Special Education, Free & Reduced Lunch, Emergent Bilinguals (English Language Learners according to CDE), and gifted students - Teachers: Number of teachers, teachers per 1,000 students, average salary (comparing CO and National) - Per Student Current Spending and Revenue - Relationship between state/local revenue for K-12 and personal income
Colorado Department of Education presentation to the Joint Budget Committee Questions, Comments, and SlidesCASB Annual Convention- December 2-4, 2021
- Colorado K-12 Funding, School Finance- New Board Member Training booklet - Colorado K-12 Funding: New Board Member Orientation presentation - Mill Levy Correction presentation - Tracie Rainey and Glenn Gustafson
NOVEMBER 2021
2021 Certified Election Results- as of 11.29.21 Most Recent Voter Approved Mill Levy Override (MLO) Results- November 2021
November CSFP Advisory Meeting - Video recording of meeting - Nutrition Services presentation- Jessica Gould, Littleton Public Schools - Education Funding sheet with Governor's proposed budget changes ADDITIONAL RESOURCES : - Mill Levy Correction information from CDE CASB Conversations Webinar: What You Need to Know About the Mill Levy Correction August 23, 2021- Tracie Rainey (CSFP), Kate Bartlett (CDE), and Susan Meek (CASB) - Recording - PowerPoint Slides
MILL LEVY CORRECTION INFORMATION- Tax Credits and "De-brucing" or "De-TABORing"
PEBC Catalyst Presentation- November 12, 2021
Governor's Budget Proposal 2022-23 - FY2022-23 Budget K-12 one-pager - Full proposal - Shortened proposal with attachments - FY2022-23 budget rollout presentations
Money Matters: Tell Your Story ESSER funding documentsNovember What We're Reading:
- Large 27J district bond passes amid mixed success of school tax measures- Ann Schimke and Melanie Asmar, Chalkbeat, November 3, 2021
OCTOBER 2021
CSFP Western Slope Advisory Meeting Presentation- October 21, 2021
Budget Stabilization chart 2017 to Present for all School Districts
Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance October 19, 2021 - Special Education: Funding Overview- Legislative Council Staff - Overview of Possible Special Education Funding Scenarios- Consortium of Directors of Special Education - 2019-20 Annual Report by the Special Education Fiscal Advisory Committee - Special Education Fiscal Advisory Committee (SEFAC) - CDE Early Childhood Update - Mile High Early Learning: Montessori Inspired- Pamela Harris - Early Milestones Colorado: Ideal Learning in Colorado- Katie Nicolau - Colorado's Missing Year: Assessing Colorado's K-12 Performance in the Wake of COVID- Keystone Policy Center - Wildflower Schools- Rachel Kelley-Cohn October CSFP Advisory Meeting
- Video recording of meeting - 10 Key Takeaways from CSFP's Inaugural Conference - Economic & Revenue Forecast Presentation - Kate Watkins, Legislative Council Staff - School Finance Update Presentation- Marc Carey, Legislative Council Staff - Interim Committee Discussions and Mill Levy Correction Presentation- Tracie Rainey, CSFP and Justin Silverstein, APA Consulting
Money Matters: Tell Your Story ESSER funding documents
Adams 12 Five Star Leadership Academy presentation - October 8, 2021
Thirteen Years of the Budget Stabilization Factor-2009 to 2022 (data for every school district)October What We're Reading:
– How Staff Shortages Are Crushing Schools– Mark Lieberman, Education Week [will need to sign-in for access]
- The latest Nobel Prize winner: Researcher who helped show money matters for schools- Matt Barnum, Chalkbeat, October 13, 2021
SEPTEMBER 2021
ELECTIONS PAGE 2021
DRAFT of 2021 School District Elections- Elections: Bond, BEST, Mill Levy Override (MLO), Operational MLO, and Transportation MLO. Information posted as of 9/29/2021. 2021 State Ballot Information Booklet (the Blue Book)- Legislative Council of the Colorado General Assembly
The factors in the Colorado School finance formula: - Dollars available for Colorado school finance formula factors BEFORE and AFTER the Budget Stabilization Factor - A Look at Factor Funding and the Budget Stabilization Factor - School Districts Ranked by Pre-BS Factor Cost of Living as a % of Total Factor Funding
September Forecast Legislative Council Staff Economic & Revenue Forecast Economic & Revenue Forecast Presentation Consumer Price Index Forecast Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting Colorado Economic and Fiscal Outlook Presentation to the Joint Budget Committee The Colorado Outlook: Supplemental Materials
Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance September 17, 2021 - State Land Board funding for K-12 Education- Colorado State Land Board - A National Perspective on Property Tax & School Finance: How Colorado Compares- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy - Mill Levy Overrides 101- Legislative Staff - Property Tax Levy Overrides in Other States- Andrew Reschovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- School District Overrides- Daniel Thatcher, NCSL and Michael Griffith, LPI
CSFP Inaugural Conference Beaver Run Resort, Breckenridge, Colorado September 15, 2021 - "How Money Matters: Creating, Adequate, Equitable and Sustainable School Funding"- presentation by Danielle Farrie, Education Law Center - "What the NFL taught me about Leadership & Teamwork"- presentation by Reggie Rivers, former Denver Broncos player (PowerPoint presentation download with videos) - Boulder Valley School District ESSER story video- Rob Anderson - East Grand School DIstrict ESSER story video- Frank Reeves - Greeley Evans ESSER story video- Dierdre Pilch - Gunnison Watershed School District story video- Tia Mills - Littleton School District ESSER story video- Jonathan Levesque - Northeast BOCES ESSER story video- Tamara Durbin
A Look at Mills in Colorado: - Local Mill Effort by Assessed Valuation Per Pupil UPDATED - Total Mills (including bonds) for all school districts
AUGUST 2021
Sheridan School Board Presentation August 24, 2021
CASB Conversations Webinar: What You Need to Know About the Mill Levy Correction August 23, 2021- Tracie Rainey (CSFP), Kate Bartlett (CDE), and Susan Meek (CASB) - Recording - PowerPoint Slides Additional Resources: - Financing Public Schools FY 2021-22 (LCS) - School Finance Booklet (LCS) - CDE Mill Levy Correction website - CSFP Mill Levy and Tax Credits for Colorado districts - CSFP Tax Effort and Fiscal Capacity – 2020-21
Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance 2021 - August 24th Agenda - School Finance 101 presentation- Legislative Council staff and Office of Legislative Legal Services - Federal COVID Recovery Funding for Education Update- Colorado Department of Education - Measuring Student Poverty in Colorado's School Finance System- Colorado Children's Campaign
CSFP Staffing Survey Results, August 2021
Financing of Public Schools 2021-22- Legislative Council Staff, August 11, 2021
Timeline of Colorado's School Finance & Education Reform 2020-21 thru 1982
Education Week Quality Counts Per Pupil Spending Charts FY18 Trends in Per Pupil Spending Chart- Data from NCES, US Census Bureau, and Education Week
Budget Stabilization 2009-to present chart
JULY 2021
JOIN US- Colorado School Finance Project's Inaugural School Finance Conference, September 15, 2021 at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, CO -REGISTER NOW
Timeline of Colorado's School Finance & Education Reform 2020-21 thru 1982
Education Week Quality Counts Per Pupil Spending Charts FY18 Trends in Per Pupil Spending Chart- Data from NCES, US Census Bureau, and Education Week
Budget Stabilization 2009-to present chartJuly What We’re Reading: – 4-day school weeks: Education innovation or detriment? Evidence suggests instructional time makes the difference- Brookings Institute, July 12, 2021