Students in the Roaring Fork School District head back to school on Thursday.
With declining enrollment and uncertainty over future federal and state funding for education, the district is bracing for another tough fiscal year.
Earlier this summer, the Trump Administration announced it was withholding nearly $7 billion in funding for schools nationwide, primarily serving low-income and non-native-English-speaking students.
In late July, the administration released the funding, but the back-and-forth compounded an already stressful financial situation.
The Roaring Fork School District stood to lose $360,000 in federal funding, said Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole, which would have exacerbated existing enrollment issues.
As the cost of living continues to rise in the Roaring Fork Valley, families are leaving the region, which means fewer students enrolling in the district’s schools for at least the next decade.
“For us, everything hinges on student enrollment, Cole said. “We're anticipating declining enrollment, which means declining revenue.”
The Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics are also adding to the uncertainty over future enrollment.
Two years ago, the district updated its Safe Haven Policy, reaffirming that it will educate all kids who come through its doors, regardless of immigration status. But under the Trump Administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement, many parents are keeping their children home out of fear that families could be detained and deported at school or on their way to classes.
“We can't deliver on our mission unless kids are there,” said Cole. “If they don't feel safe, they're not going to be at school.”
Due to declining enrollment, other school districts in Colorado, including neighboring Mesa County, have been forced to downsize by closing schools. Cole said the Roaring Fork School District isn’t considering that option yet, but it's bracing for future cuts.
Cole said that the district’s robust partnerships with nonprofits in the region, such as the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and the Buddy Program, can help schools weather the budget pressures ahead by allowing them to continue offering elective programming for students, especially in music and the arts — often the first subjects to get eliminated.
Already, the district has had to address nearly $18 million in budget deficits over the past two years. Rising health insurance costs are partly to blame, said Cole, but lower enrollment numbers continue to present challenges.
The district has paused rehiring for certain open positions, reallocating savings from the Meadowood staff housing project in Carbondale, which was completed under budget.
However, Cole cautioned, those were the easier, more straightforward reductions. “It gets harder from here,” she said.
