Gov. Jared Polis isn’t pleased that teachers are rallying at the state Capitol on a school day, forcing some schools and districts to close for the day. But that hasn’t appeared to dissuade the estimated 2,000 educators who plan to protest budget cuts.
A three-page memo from his office provides detailed arguments for why his budget proposal for schools has merit, pushing back against the narrative that it represents a cut for school budgets. The memo, sent out after 6 p.m. Tuesday, also criticizes educators for participating in the rally on Thursday — a school day.
“Canceling school at the last minute in several districts on 3/20/25 will put strains and hardships on parents and will leave kids without instruction and many without a safe place to go,” the memo states. “Let’s remember that nearly 70% of third graders can’t read or do math on grade level, and this leaves parents scrambling to find care.”
In an interview Wednesday, Polis said he supports educators making their case for funding public schools, but “canceling school is not a good way to do that because it alienates parents and families from the work and the important perspective that they bring.”
He suggested holding a rally during school spring break.
Many big districts like Jefferson County, Douglas County, Cherry Creek, Poudre, 27J and St. Vrain are on spring break.
So far, five districts are closing some or all of their schools. Boulder, Summit County, Aurora and Adams 12. Denver Public Schools released a list of schools that will remain open. Nearly 80 percent of schools are closed, including all traditional high schools.
Most districts tried to give students and their families advance warning. In a letter to families on March 14, Boulder Valley School announced it was closing schools after 600 staff absences for Thursday had been reported.
“We know this presents significant hardship for our families, our goal was to share this in advance so families can make necessary arrangements,” the letter stated.
Adams 12 gave notice a day earlier. Summit School district, where 80 percent of teachers will attend the rally, will be offering supervised activities for students who need child care.
Denver’s letter to families about which schools would be open was released Tuesday afternoon.
Thursday’s protest
Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, which is organizing the rally, said preparations for the rally have been anything but last minute. He said the union has been working with districts since early February to ensure they had adequate time to prepare for a possible closure. Individual educators have been organizing class content so there wouldn’t be a loss to learning overall.
Vick said the rally is educational and open to everyone. It is meant to start a conversation about how to make K-12 education funding sustainable long-term, he said.
Colorado schools have sustained cuts for the past 14 years, with state lawmakers withholding $10 billion from schools during that time.
“There is a tremendous frustration that we keep doing this every single year. There has to be a better way for Colorado,” Vick said.
He said that the state needs to find a different way to fund education because the current method is not sustainable. “We have to get out of this ‘Hunger Games’ situation in our state budget, where we are pitting needed things against each other.”
An estimated 2,000 educators will protest budget plans that they believe will result in cuts at their schools. The governor’s proposed plan, while it increases per-pupil school funding, would leave schools with $150 million less than they thought they’d have.
Teachers and some parents are frustrated by overcrowded classrooms in some schools and chronic staff shortages in others. Several parents at a recent Denver Public Schools board meeting complained that their children’s kindergarten classes had 33 students.
Vick believes the governor’s proposal will deeply harm some districts.
“It would mean hundreds of teachers laid off,” he said. “It would mean schools closing. It would mean a number of programs that students depend on.”
Defending his efforts on education funding
The memo from the governor’s office presents a fierce defense of Polis’ efforts — in concert with lawmakers — to provide more funding for education. It lists eliminating the budget stabilization factor that withheld $10 billion from schools over 14 years, enacting free full-day kindergarten and universal preschool, increasing funding for special education, and pushing to improve teacher pay. Under Polis’ administration, total program funding for K-12 education has increased by $2.7 billion through this fiscal year, equating to a 38 percent increase in six years.
This year is an extraordinarily tough budget year leaving lawmakers with the task of slashing $1 billion from the state budget.
Polis’ budget proposal increases K-12 funding by $138 million, which means per-pupil funding increases by $388 on average. But the plan also calls for ending a practice of “enrollment averaging” — sending money to schools based on a rolling five-year average instead of a single-year count of students. Districts signed onto a new school funding formula, passed by lawmakers last year, with the promise that they’d have a few years to move toward a single-year count. When lawmakers realized they had to slash budgets, that promise crumbled.
Even though schools will see an increase in per-pupil funding, the switch to a single-year count will mean $150 million less in funding for schools, especially those with declining enrollment. Jefferson County, for example, is expected to lose $20 million.
“These are adjustments that districts would have to make anyway (because of declining enrollment),” said Polis. “It just says do it now instead of waiting three or four years.”
Polis said K-12 education is one of the only areas in this year’s budget that will see an increase in funding.
“They’re painful cuts to health care. People are losing dental benefits. They're losing health care, providers are getting less compensation. It isn't keeping up with inflation,” he said. “We put education first in our budget.”
He said that the new school finance formula rolling out over six or seven years will bring an additional $500 million to schools. He said it would benefit all districts, particularly those serving a higher percentage of at-risk students.
But other lawmakers are presenting alternative plans — one that would lessen the shock to schools and another that aims to halt the introduction of the new school finance formula. Which plan succeeds will be hammered out over the next few weeks.
