Summit School District’s board of education approved a budget amendment on Jan. 31 that will redirect more than $800,000 in revenue to cover heightened expenses for curriculum materials and third-party services. 

In a statement released by the district, officials said the move will “allow us to invest in curriculum purchases to enrich instruction and directly support our teachers, students and classrooms.” 

According to Summit School District Chief Financial Officer Kara Drake, the district netted an additional $864,000 in revenue for the 2023-24 budget due to an increase in program funding and interest income. 

While districts are set at a base level of funding under the Colorado School Finance Act, a number of other factors are used to calculate a district’s needs, known as its total program funding. 

The baseline for funding is based on a district’s enrollment. Despite seeing a slight dip in student numbers this school year, Summit School District maintained a similar per-pupil funding to other years because of how the Finance Act accounts for enrollment changes. 

Drake said per-pupil funding is based on the enrollment of either the current school year or the average of the past two, three, four or five years — whichever is highest. Other factors, such as a district’s size and cost of living, are adjusted every school year. 

The changes this year led to an increase of $286,000 in revenue for the Summit School District, though the state’s overall funding is still lower than last school year because of an increase in property tax revenue. 

Stay connected to Summit County.

Sign up for daily or weekly newsletters at SummitDaily.com/newsletter

The other major revenue increase was driven by interest earnings on investment accounts that the district has. Because interest rates are higher, those accounts generate more revenue, Drake said. 

While revenue is slightly up, so are expenses, due largely to a rise in costs for curriculum materials and third-party services. 

According to Drake, an order for new math materials was expected last school year but did not arrive until this year, meaning it will need to come out of the 2023-24 budget. Other curriculum costs are being quoted at higher than expected prices. 

Costs have also risen for contractors, which can include anything from bus repairs to elevator inspections. Certain open roles that the district has yet to hire for has also meant that officials have turned to contractors to fill those services which otherwise would be offered in-house, Drake added. 

The district is also on track to increase its fund balance reserves, which serve as its savings account. Currently, the district has a policy of reserving, at minimum, 7% of its annual revenue for its fund balance, which essentially serves as its savings account. That’s in addition to a 3% minimum required by state law, meaning the district is saving 10% each year. 

“We ended last year with a little bit more in our fund balance than we’d anticipated when we built the budget,” Drake said, adding that the district, under its own policy, will be able to grow its reserve from 7% to 11.5%

That would give the district a total savings of 14.5% of all revenue for its 2023-24 budget. Last school year, the district ended with just over 10% in reserves. 

It comes as the board of education considers a change to its policy that would increase its overall minimum fund balance from the current 10% to 13%. The recommendation to do so came from the district’s finance committee, which discussed the proposal with board members in November. 

Board member Julie Shapiro, speaking during the Jan. 31 board meeting, said the district is “in better shape than we thought we’d be, and that’s a good thing,” adding that the redirection of additional funds will benefit “teachers, kids and classrooms.”