June 17, 2008
District Faces Cuts
The Jefferson County Board of Education has unanimously approved a $987.3 million budget for the 2008-2009 school year. The district made $1.5 million in budget cuts and continues to strategically use voter-approved mill levy money from 2004 to support student achievement. According to the district’s budget office, 84.9 percent of the budget goes to schools, 10.9 percent is allocated for school support and 4.2 percent is targeted to district administration.
Board members say the budget reflects the district’s financial transparency and its focus on targeting funds that will make a difference to students. The district remains financially sound but the five-year budget outlook will require significant reductions and tough prioritization decisions. The budget office is projecting the following reductions between 2009 and 2012:
2009-2010 - $7 million
2010-2011 - $12 million
2011-2012- $16 million
The budgeting challenge for Jeffco Public Schools is how to meet increasing community expectations, increasing mandates and increasing costs with declining enrollment and cost of living increases that don’t match rising expenses.
Review the 2008-09 Adopted Budget.
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