Aspen educators to march in protest of state cut to education

Aspen educators will rally together on Thursday, March 20, to advocate for stronger state support for public education. 

The solidarity march begins at 3:25 p.m. at Aspen Middle School and will continue down to the Maroon Creek roundabout, where participants will line the roads and highway. It is being hosted by the Aspen Education Association (AEA), the local educators’ union, and the Aspen School District (ASD). Class will not be affected by the march.

The march falls in solidarity with statewide protests on “No More Cuts” day — a statewide day of action to rally against public education funding cuts. 

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“Public education is the great equalizer,” said Marnie White, AEA president. “And when we don’t fund it appropriately, that playing field is no longer level.”

This comes as the state legislature considers a change to enrollment determination methods, which could cut nearly $150 million in education-related spending next year, according to the state, as it faces a $1.2 billion budget shortfall.

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The change would determine the amount of funding allocated toward districts based on their student-body size, which is based on a single-year student count system, rather than a four-year average. This move is to account for a declining student population in recent years, as analyzed by the Colorado Department of Education.

“It is past time to eliminate this antiquated system that funds empty chairs rather than actual students,” said Gov. Jared Polis in his January State of the State speech. 

But the change could pose serious funding consequences for school districts across Colorado.

With a shift to single-year enrollment count, ASD could expect a total funding decrease of $335,831 in the 2025/26 school year, dropping expected funding from $23.8 million to $23.5 million, according to data published by the Colorado School Finance Project, a Denver-based nonprofit researching public school finance.

The Roaring Fork School District, set to send 15 to 20 educators to rally at the Capitol on Thursday, could expect to lose $1.44 million, decreasing expected funding from $74.4 million to $73 million.

ASD also faces an estimated $5 million loss over the next five to six years — or 18% of its total program funding — resulting from last year’s new Public School Finance Formula bill. The new formula will benefit most school districts but will adversely affect ASD along with 22 other school districts, according to an ASD press release. It is set to be phased in starting next school year.

Additionally, the state shifted an increased financial burden onto local taxpayers, after it deemed property values, and by extension property taxes, were high enough to remove the majority of government contributions, according to Mary Rodino, ASD assistant superintendent of business and operations. The change resulted in a $6 million property tax increase for district taxpayers in the 2023/24 school year. 

ASD Superintendent Tharyn Mulberry said with the “No More Cuts” day march, educators and administrators are all in agreement about the cuts. 

“This is just one of those areas that I think we’re all in agreement — that it’s hard to make all of our needs be met with an ever-shrinking pie,” Mulberry said. 

“Our goal is to convince 51% of state legislators to publicly commit not to cut education funding,” White said.

Should the district’s expenditures exceed available funding in a given year, it relies on its fund balance: its cash reserves. But to make funding problems more complicated, the balance took a serious hit between the 2017/18 and 2022/23 school years, declining from $8.1 million to $2.8 million, according to Rodino. The decline was likely due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The district also gets help from local partners, including the Aspen Education Foundation, Aspen Public Education Fund, and the Snowmass Village Public Education Fund, which accounts for $5 million to $5.8 million per year of the school’s funds. Without this support, 55 school positions and programs would not have funding, according to her.

To account for a potential shortfall, the district is considering pushing for a mill levy override increase, which would allow the district to levy 47% over the per pupil funding cap set by the state. The base “per-pupil funding” set by the state for the 2024/25 year was $10,791, according to the press release. ASD currently has $14,824 in funding per pupil, but its cost to cover staff and benefits are $13,500 per pupil, leaving little buffer. 

Should the district move forward with the mill levy override increase, it will go to a November vote.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.