Data released by the Colorado Department of Education on Jan. 15 shows slight declines in the state’s student enrollment count, with a 0.1 percent decrease reflected in prekindergarten through high school grades since 2023.
The October 2024 count, which the state uses to determine how much money each school district receives, showed 881,065 students enrolled in Colorado schools — a figure Education Commissioner Susana Córdova called reflective of “ongoing demographic shifts across the country, including in Colorado.”
Slight declines were observed in Archuleta School District (ASD), as well.
Pagosa Springs Elementary School had 511 students enrolled as of October 2024, or three students less than the year prior. Pagosa Springs Middle School counted 484 students, down from 489, and Pagosa Springs High School had 435 — 15 less than it did in the last count.
San Juan Mountain School saw enrollment increase by two students to 47, as did Pagosa Peak Open School, which counted 111 students — an increase of five from the year before.
Across Colorado, the highest enrollment increases were for Hispanic students, according to the state’s report, with 8,722 more students than the prior year.
“The increase mirrors the State of Colorado’s larger demographic trends,” the report states, “which also show steady growth in the state’s Hispanic population over the last two decades.”
Revised budget
Despite slight dips in local enrollment, ASD Finance Director Eric Burt reported during the district’s revised budget hearing Tuesday, Jan. 28, that the district’s total program funding increased, albeit slightly, by 0.35 percent to $18,990,331.
“When we originally presented [the budget] we were looking at a 90-10 split between local and state,” Burt said during a preview of the budget at the ASD Board of Education meeting on Jan. 14. “We’re now at 80-20.”
He added that the split is partly informed by local property values.
“Is that a readjustment, long-term, for the state?” board member Tim Taylor questioned.
“Just for this school year,” Burt replied. “Beginning of next month, we’ll start talking about the ‘25-’26 budget and, as we look at those numbers, we’ll make our best assumptions on where we think valuations will be for the coming year,” he said, before adding, “I think our initial assumptions will … stay fairly much in line with where we’re at right now.”
According to the revised budget approved Tuesday, the total local share of the district’s funding is $15,286,751. The state’s share is $3,703,577.
The projected total revenue of all district funds is $23,763,666.
“We were happy to see that there were no big swings in this one,” Burt said Tuesday. “We were able to keep it within very close distance to where we were in the adopted budget.”
ASD Superintendent Rick Holt praised Burt’s calculations during the meeting, saying, “That kind of estimation, that far out, given the budget climate, and to hit it that close, is an impressive feat.”
Holt also reported to the board that recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump freezing federal funding channels were not likely to impact the local school district, at least immediately.
“We’ve gotten some feedback from the state basically saying, ‘Hang in there, we don’t think it will impact schools directly too much,’” said Holt.
He also noted the late hold placed on those executive orders by a federal court judge.
“[It’s] going to take some time to work through that,” Holt said. “We’re aware of what’s going on. We’re working with the department [of education] and working with our federal agencies to kind of navigate that. But, right now … there doesn’t seem to be any cut to direct funding that we would notice.”
garrett@pagosasun.com