What Does It Mean to Center Kids in Colorado’s School Funding Formula?

In this episode of The West Steps, we’re discussing Colorado’s school funding formula, which is used to allocate billions of dollars annually to educate kids across the state’s 178 school districts. For the first time in 30 years, the state legislature is seriously considering updating this formula. If they can pull it off, Colorado will have a more equitable, student-centered approach to funding its schools. 

Madi Ashour, Director of Youth Success at the Colorado Children’s Campaign; Lorelei Jackson, Student Services Coordinator at Denver Language School; and Dan Snowberger, Superintendent of Elizabeth Schools join us to talk about how prioritizing funding based on student-centered factors like the number of students in a district who are living in poverty, learning English, or who have special needs could help make Colorado’s education system more equitable and effective. 

You can contact Madi Ashour at madeleine@coloradokids.org, Lorelei Jackson at loreleimjackson@gmail.com, and Dan Snowberger at dsnowberger@esdk12.org. Learn more about our work by visiting our website and social media (@coloradokidsorg).     

Resources:     

2024 Policy Priorities [2024 Legislative Session - Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

The KidsFlash Blog [KidsFlash - Child Advocacy News | Colorado Children's Campaign (coloradokids.org)]

School finance task force background and report [School Finance Task Force | CDE (state.co.us)]