The drop in enrollment at traditional public schools in Denver could cost the district nearly $8 million next year, which has principals struggling to save as many teacher positions as possible.
When costs associated with increased payments to the Denver Public Schools retirement system and teacher raises are included, the district is facing a total deficit of about $16.4 million next year, officials said Thursday.
At Thomas Jefferson High, an assistant principal position will be converted to teaching jobs. At Remington Elementary, paraprofessional positions will be traded for a teaching slot to preserve small class sizes.
Richard Allen, an assistant superintendent for finance, said there could be 100 fewer teachers this fall based on enrollment declines that may cost the district $7.7 million.
“It’s very, very complicated,” said Veronica Benavidez, principal at Remington Elementary. “But the good news is that I think we’ve created a design here that keeps class sizes … fairly low.”
A confluence of factors has made it particularly hard on the 1,067 teachers who have already been affected by building changes. In addition to the declining enrollment, those factors include a plan to increase the number of math and English classes to help middle school students and ninth-graders who perform below grade level.
Almost 300 of those teachers have found new positions in the same school, but another 700 or so will have to interview at schools elsewhere, officials said. Because of retirements and other factors, district officials anticipate that most of those people – especially if they’re highly qualified – will get jobs in other Denver schools.
Superintendent Michael Bennet and his budget team have worked to keep the effects of the district’s budget deficit away from schools.
District headquarters will take a $7.5 million cut, but officials said they hadn’t worked out what the cuts will be. Although school budgets were pared by $5.2 million, budget leaders have channeled money from elsewhere to the schools – particularly the poorest ones.
Overall, schools have $1.3 million more this year than they did last year.
“We’ve done everything we could do” so that schools won’t be harmed, Bennet said.
Other causes for the budget shortfall include increased payments to the DPS retirement system and a $7.5 million projected increase in teacher pay. That includes a 2 percent projected cost-of-living increase.
While those costs may be beyond the control of district officials, they say declining enrollment is not. The key is making traditional schools more attractive.
“I’m trying to get our kids back,” said North High principal Darlene LeDoux. “More kids leave than come, and that is not OK.”
In 2002, DPS had 70,038 students in traditional seats. In October, traditional enrollment totaled 62,555. Officials project that number this fall will be 61,487.
Each student in DPS is worth roughly $6,600 in state and federal funding to the district.
DPS has seen more kids in charter schools, but that doesn’t help its bottom line because charters – which are public but privately run – get to keep most of the per-pupil funding.
Almost 5,000 more students are projected to attend Denver charters this fall than in 2002.
At North, where the current 1,230 student enrollment is projected to go down to 1,107 this fall, LeDoux is losing four positions.
“You have to be creative, and I think we need to keep our focus on the classroom,” she said.
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-820-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
