Budget season continues in Jeffco, and this week I'm publishing the most comprehensive look yet at how the $45 million in cuts will hit individual schools. Plus, the district borrowed $75 million from its building repair fund, and a second former employee was convicted of sexual assault in one week.

New here? This week is heavy on Jeffco news, but I cover K-12 education across Jefferson, Adams and Weld counties. I'm currently working on stories from 27J and Westminster, and you'll see those in upcoming issues.

Last week, I reported on Jeffco's first detailed accounting of $45 million in budget cuts. The district revealed that 11 schools would face reductions steeper than 3%, but didn’t name them.

I filed a Colorado Open Records Act request to get the full list. This week, I'm publishing all 119 Jeffco schools ranked by their budget cuts, from largest to smallest.

The findings: Five of the six hardest-hit schools are high schools. Eleven schools will lose 3% or more of their budgets next year.

The school board authorized borrowing up to $75 million from the district's Capital Reserve Fund to cover payroll and operating costs this winter—an amount equal to 90% of the fund's entire annual budget.

The Capital Reserve Fund typically pays for facility repairs, including HVAC systems, roofs, playgrounds and building maintenance. The district chose internal borrowing over Colorado's interest-free loan program designed specifically for this purpose.

Between the lines: Colorado runs an interest-free Education Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes (ETRAN) program specifically designed to help districts bridge seasonal cash-flow gaps. Jeffco hasn't participated in recent years. District officials didn't explain during meetings why they chose internal borrowing over the state's interest-free option.

By the numbers: The capital reserve is projected to shrink from $83.5 million this year to $38 million within two years.

📌 Second Jeffco employee convicted of child sex abuse in one week. A jury convicted former Lakewood High School security guard Rubel "Tim" Martinez of sexually assaulting a student while employed as a campus security supervisor. Full story →

🎤 State of the District: Jeffco Superintendent Tracy Dorland gave her State of the District address to community leaders and elected officials Wednesday afternoon (1-3 p.m., during school hours when staff couldn't attend). The speech wasn't posted publicly beforehand, but the district says the video and transcript will be available on its website soon.

📋 Survey mystery: The district launched its annual Jeffco Listens family survey this week (open Jan. 21-Feb. 20), but Evergreen High School is conspicuously absent from the school list. The district has not responded to questions about why Evergreen, which was exempted from budget cuts following the September shooting, is excluded from the family feedback survey.

I'm digging into 27J's boundary changes that will move 800-1,200 students to fill the new Rocky Vista High School opening in Commerce City this fall.

I'm building an interactive tool that will let you step into the superintendent's shoes and see exactly what each boundary decision costs real families.

If you found this useful, help me reach more parents, teachers, and community members who care about what's happening in their schools. Please forward it to someone who needs to see it or share the subscribe link with your parent group, PTA, or neighborhood chat.

See you next week.
Suzie

Class Notes is reported and written by Suzie Glassman for the Colorado Trust for Local News.

I do the homework, so you don't have to.

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