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A View of the Summit Issue 1
Superintendent Dr. Tony Byrd

Dear all,

Welcome to 2025 and a new form of communication directly from me.  This weekly letter, titled “A View of the Summit” is meant to help the community learn more about the academic and financial landscape in the Summit School District.  I really appreciate the time you take to read this and hope you will reach-out with any questions or comments you may have.  Happy New Year!

Academic Rigor 

While we are doing well in some academic areas, there is plenty of room for improvement and we have been working tirelessly in this direction. Our focus is simple but powerful: providing high-quality, engaging teaching that challenges and supports every student, every day.

We are starting to see positive results.  After a careful analysis of our elementary math program in my first year as superintendent (2022-23), we decided we needed a new curriculum and last year elementary math scores improved across all student groups. This was great news because schools typically see a temporary dip in scores when implementing a new curriculum. 

In addition to this new curriculum, we are in the second year of our approach to academic rigor

  1. Teaching grade-level standards that challenges all students.
  2. Making learning engaging and relevant.
  3. Providing the right support for each student to succeed.

We believe every student can achieve at high levels when given the right opportunities and support. That's why we're focusing on getting these basics right in every classroom, rather than continuously trying the next new thing in education which can be a downfall for schools and districts. 

Financial Context

Colorado finances are not simple to understand. Given that, we will start these weekly messages with an explanation of the larger context within which school districts operate. Please feel free to follow-up with me with any questions you may have.

The state is still facing a large budget shortfall for Fiscal Year 2025-26, though recent revenue estimates make the shortfall “less bad”. The shortfall was estimated at $931 million in September; now the shortfall is estimated at $672 million. As a result, the General Assembly will need to make a combination of budget reductions and revenue enhancements to balance the FY 2025-26 budget. 

With respect to public school finance, the Legislative Council forecasts slightly higher enrollment and slightly lower property tax revenues for FY 2024-25 – requiring an additional $45 million General Fund. Through the forecast period, however, K-12 enrollment statewide is expected to decline due to low birth rates as well as high housing costs. 

The Governor’s most recent budget proposal for 2025-26 makes a significant change to school funding by using a single year enrollment count instead of a four year average. A four-year average allows schools to lessen the budget impact of enrollment declines. Also included in the request was increased funding for at-risk students, healthy school meals, childcare assistance program and Colorado Universal Preschool providers.

The bottom line is that we will likely be operating our school district with less money next year than this year. This will require us to make additional cutbacks on top of those we made this year to increase salaries to ensure we continue to live within the Board of Education policy of a 10 percent unassigned fund balance (our savings account).  

Closing Thoughts

I look forward to sending you weekly updates through this newsletter and hope that we can continue to have critical conversations about academics and finances moving forward.

Have a wonderful week.
Tony