Denver Public Schools

1. Denver Public Schools School Finance ~ A to Z FY 2010-11

2. School Finance ~ A to Z Determining Total Program funding: Funded Pupil Count times Total Per-pupil Funding plus At-risk Funding plus On-line Funding

3. School Finance ~ A to ZFY 2010-11 Behind the Formula: DPS’s Per Pupil Revenue

4. School Finance ~ A to Z • Per-Pupil Revenue & Amendment 23 • A constitutional amendment passed by the state's voters in 2000. The amendment provides for minimum levels of increase in the statewide base per pupil funding amount and in categorical funding and sets a minimum increase in the state General Fund appropriation for school finance funding for public elementary and secondary education. • It requires an annual increase in the base per pupil funding in the school finance act and total state funding for categorical programs of at least the inflation rate plus one percentage point from FY 2000-01 through FY 2011-12 and by the inflation rate thereafter.

5. School Finance ~ A to Z • Funding Per-pupil Revenue Two local sources of revenues are incorporated into the Public School Finance Act: Property Taxesand Specific Ownership (vehicle registration) Taxes. Funding for a school district's Total Program is provided first by local sources of revenues (the Local Share); if these local sources are insufficient to fully fund Total Program, state moneys fund any shortfall. • Local Share • Property Taxes • Specific Ownership Taxes • State Share • Equalization

6. School Finance ~ A to ZFY 2010-11 • OTHER FUNDING • Categorical Program Funding: • In addition to Total Program funding, districts may receive state funding to pay for specific programs designed to serve particular student needs. Statewide total for 2010-11 = $191M; DPS: $20.4M • Override Revenues: $77M • Bonded Indebtedness: $1,055.1M

7. School Finance ~ A to ZCalculating Your Property Taxes • The taxable value of your property is a percentage of the actual value (roughly 7.96%) and the resulting value is called the “assessed value.”  • To determine the amount of property taxes, multiply the assessed value times the decimal equivalent of the total Mill levy (one tax Mill is equal to $7.96 on $100,000)

8. Financial Backdrop:

9. Ending Fund BalanceFund Balance as % of Revenue • General Fund Revenues 2010-2011 in the Adopted Budget • $657,114,149 • Ending Fund Balance as of June 30, 2010 • $106,198,919 • Ending Fund Balance as a % of Budgeted Revenue • 16.1%

10. Observations & Insights • Defining Realities • Need to “live within our means” potentially at odds with goal to be nation’s best urban school district • Revenues from the School Finance Act grow at a rate less than expenses escalate: e.g. increase in PPR based upon CPI whereas total compensation package pressured to increase at some multiple of the CPI. “Do more with less” may mean “do less with less” • Significant number of pupils living within district boundaries seeking educational opportunities which are out-of-district

11. FISCAL RISKS • State’s Fiscal Health • Revenue Problems • Compensation Philosophy • Base Pay • Other Pay Elements, e.g. longevity, education • ProComp • Professional Development • Benefits • Health Benefits • PERA • Stakeholder Expectations

12. Points To Remember • School Financing in Colorado is inadequate. • Increased expenses and decreased revenues means additional resources are necessary to maintain programs • Numerous “value-added” programs are not funded by school finance (Technology, Transportation, Security, Second Language Acquisition, Graduation expectations).