28-03-2025
Adams 12 Five Star Schools must cut $27.5M from its budget; plans to cut 150 positions
DENVER (KDVR) — Adams 12 Five Star Schools announced its final proposed budget plan for next year and said it needs to cut about $27.5 million.
In a release, the district said more than 88% of its budget is spent on salaries and benefits, so 150 positions will be cut across the district. Reduced state funding, the conclusion of COVID-19 relief money, increasing costs of benefits and changes in enrollment averaging led to the deficit.
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'I am angry and sad that we find ourselves in this position because we live in a state where so many stubbornly deny hard facts about how inadequate our school funding system is,' Superintendent Chris Gdowski said. 'I am committed to doing everything I can to bring future changes to our state's broken school finance system.'
Some of the cuts were already made. Those staff members received notifications on Thursday. The second round of layoffs will be announced in April.
In a letter linked on the district's website, Gdowski outlined the positions that will be cut or reduced. Among them is the teacher librarian role in all elementary schools, K-8s and middle schools.
'We will take steps to keep libraries open for most of the school day, but recognize we'll be without the expertise these staff provide in the use of library materials and technology,' Gdowski wrote.
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Gifted and talented advocates will also be eliminted. Gdowski said instead, the district will set aside a pool of money to 'support student enrichment and growth opportunities for gifted and talented students.'
Here are the other reductions Gdowski listed in his letter:
The number of academic interventionists supporting students behind in meeting literacy and math benchmarks.
The number of social-emotional specialists in Title I elementary schools.
Some art, music and physical education staffing in eight of the district's smaller elementary schools. Teachers will be shared among some schools so students will still have access.
Some teachers, meaning some classes will be larger.
Twenty-two Educational Support Center positions
In a webpage, the district provided details about why the budget deficit is so large, citing lower enrollment which drives funding. The state is proposing a change to district enrollment funding — using a four-year average, rather than a five-year average.
Superintendent Gdowski said Adams 12 is not wasteful, nor inefficient.
'I know that we spend just 6.3 percent on school and district administration each year — one of the lowest rates in Colorado and the country,' Gdowski wrote in a letter posted to the district website. 'I know that we're lagging behind neighboring school districts like Boulder Valley and Westminster by $60 to $90 million per year in supplemental override revenue. And I know that as a state we are substantially behind most of the country in K-12 funding.'
He said a pair of recent studies found that Colorado is '$3.5 to $4.1 billion behind the funding level needed to provide an 'adequate' education to all students.'
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'If we had that funding, our budget would be 70 percent larger than it currently is — and I wouldn't be sending this letter,' Gdowski wrote. 'The positions and services that we're cutting are far removed from the 'waste and inefficiency' rhetoric. We will be without 150 outstanding administrators, educators and support staff colleagues next year — and it doesn't have to be that way.'
He advocated for 'honest conversations, starting at the state level, about the unmet needs and gross inequalities in resource allocation caused by our current school funding system.'
On March 18, the Colorado Governor's Office released a fact sheet detailing Gov. Jared Polis' school finance formula. The office said his proposed budget would increase education funding by $138 million in a budget year and average per-pupil spending by another $388.
'It is not a cut, and the Governor would oppose any cuts to education,' the Governor's Office said. 'This responsible budget increase during a year in which almost all sectors are taking a hit aims to fund students based on where they are learning, instead of through an arbitrary multi-year average.'
On the district website, a list of specific cuts to areas of the district was provided.
Educational Support Center: 22 full-time equivalent positions totaling $3 million and another $1.2 million reduction in operating costs. Learning Services, the largest budget in the ESC, will be reduced by approximately 9%.
Overall, ESC reduction is approximately 6%
Elementary: Reduction of $8.5 million, approximately 10%
K-8: Reduction of $1.5 million, approximately 7%
Middle: reduction of $2.9 million, approximately 7%
High: Reduction of $4.1 million, approximately 7%
Alternative: Reduction of $1.3 million, approximately 7%
Enrollment reserve reduction: $0.6 million or 6 full-time equivalent positions
The district also provided a full budget reduction plan in Google Sheets, accessible here.
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