Last year, Colorado took a historic step by updating our state’s outdated school funding formula. For more than 30 years, the formula left students who need the most support without enough resources. With bipartisan leadership and strong community support, House Bill 24-1448 was a long-overdue fix that put students at the center of how Colorado funds public education.
In Greeley-Evans School District 6, we serve a diverse student body of more than 23,000 students across 34 schools. Approximately 67 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. We serve students who are homeless or living in challenging economic circumstances. We also serve a large number of students learning English as a second language — many of whom are refugees who have never had a formal education. We serve students with intellectual and physical disabilities. While all of these students face challenges, they have just as much potential as any other child, and we are committed to helping them succeed. But to do that, we often need to provide additional support such as mental health and behavioral support, tutoring, credit recovery and summer school.
For years, we’ve been stretched thin under the old funding formula. We were often expected to do more with less, trying to make limited resources cover an ever-growing list of needs.
Now, as Colorado faces a $1.2 billion budget shortfall, lawmakers are considering a proposal that would protect the progress made last year — even in the face of fiscal challenges — by implementing the new funding formula gradually, in a responsible and sustainable manner. House Bill 25-1320, introduced by Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie, Rep. Meghan Lukens, Sen. Paul Lundeen, and Sen. Jeff Bridges, increases public education funding by $256 million while protecting every district from funding cuts. It ensures no district receives less than it did the year before and continues to direct more resources to the students who need it the most — those facing poverty, learning English, and other challenges.
In District 6, this kind of stability is vital. It would allow us to direct resources to those students with the greatest needs while bolstering programs for advanced students such as Gifted and Talented, Advanced Placement offerings and concurrent enrollment in college. This funding also helps us fulfill our long-term goals in our district’s strategic plan, Innovation2030.
Throughout my nearly 40-year career in public education, I have served as a teacher, principal and now superintendent, and have seen firsthand how important it is for all students to have equal opportunities. I know that real student success begins with a commitment to doing what is right for all learners and investing in their education. At District 6, one of our core values is clear and simple: Our students come first. This principle guides every decision we make, and a stable and fair funding system is key to ensuring all students have the tools they need to succeed, no matter their background or circumstances.
As we face tough budget times, it’s crucial that we keep our promises to students. Delaying the new funding formula now would undo years of progress and shift the burden of past underfunding onto our kids. That’s not fair.
Dr. Deirdre Pilch is superintendent of Greeley-Evans School District 6.
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