TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE FOUNDATION
Supporting Cheyenne Mountain Schools
How have D12's programs been funded until now?
The myriad of student programs, activities, and course offerings currently provided in District 12 were created and previously sustained by funding arising from significant enrollment growth during the 1990s and mill levy overrides in 1999 and 2003.
How has the District managed to avoid cutting back on its programs until now?
Over the course of the last several fiscal years, the District has spent over $1 million of its reserves in order to avoid cutting student programs.
Why are we now faced with the need to raise funds?
Now that enrollment growth has ended, all mill levy override dollars from previous elections have been allocated and the District's reserves are nearing the minimum level. Other funds must therefore be raised to maintain the programs that we have created and that our community has come to expect.
Why are we now faced with the need to raise funds?
Enrollment growth has now ended, state funding has been reduced each of the last two years because of the state's economy, and the District has not asked for a mill levy override since 2003. As a result, all dollars from previous overrides have now been allocated, and the District's reserves are approaching the minimum level. So, other funds must be raised to maintain the programs that we have created and that our community has come to expect.
What has changed in the way that D12 has been funded over the years?
State and federal funding has steadily decreased during the last decade. By comparison, in 2001 state and federal dollars provided for 91% of the District's budget, leaving only $2.1 million to be raised by mill levy overrides, fundraising, and other local sources.
Now, state and federal revenues fund less than 86% of the District's budget, requiring us to raise more than $4 million annually through overrides, fundraising, and other local sources.
How has the current economic downturn affected the District's financial situation?
This year alone, the recession has caused the District to forfeit nearly $700,000 in state funding because the state did not have the revenue to meet this obligation. For next year (2010-2011) the state has indicated at least another $1.4 million reduction for District 12 as tax and other revenues continue to decline at the state level.
What options does the District have to deal with its revenue shortfall?
In a time of declining revenues and budget deficits, there are two ways to address the problem...reduce expenditures or generate more revenue.
Hasn't the District already taken steps to close the funding gap?
The District has already taken significant actions, such as closing an elementary school, providing no increases to employee salary schedules, eliminating the elementary Spanish program, renegotiating the contract with our charter school, and eliminating more than 20 staff positions over the last three years. These actions have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the funding disparity, while improved, still exists.
Why is it so hard to reduce expenses in D12?
The District cannot continue to deplete its reserves, so in the absence of additional Foundation revenue and/or a mill levy override, the District will have no choice but to reduce expenses still further. With 94% of the District's budget allocated to personnel and other fixed costs, the only way to gain any measurable fiscal relief is to further eliminate staff positions, thereby further reducing or eliminating student programs.
Even if it is unpopular for those impacted, shouldn't the District just cut programs that cannot be paid for with existing revenue sources?
Eliminating student programs to address our revenue shortfall is contradictory to our community's values. In a spring 2008 scientific poll, our community, by a 2 to 1 margin among both parents and non-parents, indicated that the last thing they wanted to see us do to address our funding issues was eliminate student programs. A community budget survey in the fall of 2009 also indicated that with the exception of elementary Spanish, all programs in District 12 were of significant value to our community, and that every attempt to raise revenue to maintain these programs should be undertaken.
The myriad of student programs, activities, and course offerings currently provided in District 12 were created and previously sustained by funding arising from significant enrollment growth during the 1990s and mill levy overrides in 1999 and 2003.
How has the District managed to avoid cutting back on its programs until now?
Over the course of the last several fiscal years, the District has spent over $1 million of its reserves in order to avoid cutting student programs.
Why are we now faced with the need to raise funds?
Now that enrollment growth has ended, all mill levy override dollars from previous elections have been allocated and the District's reserves are nearing the minimum level. Other funds must therefore be raised to maintain the programs that we have created and that our community has come to expect.
Why are we now faced with the need to raise funds?
Enrollment growth has now ended, state funding has been reduced each of the last two years because of the state's economy, and the District has not asked for a mill levy override since 2003. As a result, all dollars from previous overrides have now been allocated, and the District's reserves are approaching the minimum level. So, other funds must be raised to maintain the programs that we have created and that our community has come to expect.
What has changed in the way that D12 has been funded over the years?
State and federal funding has steadily decreased during the last decade. By comparison, in 2001 state and federal dollars provided for 91% of the District's budget, leaving only $2.1 million to be raised by mill levy overrides, fundraising, and other local sources.
Now, state and federal revenues fund less than 86% of the District's budget, requiring us to raise more than $4 million annually through overrides, fundraising, and other local sources.
How has the current economic downturn affected the District's financial situation?
This year alone, the recession has caused the District to forfeit nearly $700,000 in state funding because the state did not have the revenue to meet this obligation. For next year (2010-2011) the state has indicated at least another $1.4 million reduction for District 12 as tax and other revenues continue to decline at the state level.
What options does the District have to deal with its revenue shortfall?
In a time of declining revenues and budget deficits, there are two ways to address the problem...reduce expenditures or generate more revenue.
Hasn't the District already taken steps to close the funding gap?
The District has already taken significant actions, such as closing an elementary school, providing no increases to employee salary schedules, eliminating the elementary Spanish program, renegotiating the contract with our charter school, and eliminating more than 20 staff positions over the last three years. These actions have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the funding disparity, while improved, still exists.
Why is it so hard to reduce expenses in D12?
The District cannot continue to deplete its reserves, so in the absence of additional Foundation revenue and/or a mill levy override, the District will have no choice but to reduce expenses still further. With 94% of the District's budget allocated to personnel and other fixed costs, the only way to gain any measurable fiscal relief is to further eliminate staff positions, thereby further reducing or eliminating student programs.
Even if it is unpopular for those impacted, shouldn't the District just cut programs that cannot be paid for with existing revenue sources?
Eliminating student programs to address our revenue shortfall is contradictory to our community's values. In a spring 2008 scientific poll, our community, by a 2 to 1 margin among both parents and non-parents, indicated that the last thing they wanted to see us do to address our funding issues was eliminate student programs. A community budget survey in the fall of 2009 also indicated that with the exception of elementary Spanish, all programs in District 12 were of significant value to our community, and that every attempt to raise revenue to maintain these programs should be undertaken.
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