’ projected budget deficit for the current academic year grew to $49 million as K-12 enrollment dropped more than expected in the fall, according to a district leaders gave to the Board of Education on Wednesday.
The $10 million increase — the deficit had been estimated at $39 million — comes as Jeffco Public Schools notified 50 employees last month that their jobs will be eliminated at the end of the school year as part of the districtap efforts to trim $45 million in spending.
Overall, Jeffco Public Schools cut 139 full-time equivalent positions in the districtap central office — most of which were made via retirements and other turnover.
“This is not easy, but it is necessary for us to maintain financial well-being for our district in the future,” Superintendent Tracy Dorland said of the budget cuts made so far. “…We cannot bring to the board another $30 (million), $40 (million), $50 million deficit in June.”
The district is expected to make further cuts in the coming months as the total budget allocated to individual schools is reduced by a combined $14 million, according to a separate Jeffco Public Schools leaders gave Wednesday.
Dorland warned school board members that the next round of cuts will affect students as the reductions are likely to include health aide positions, social-emotional specialists and classroom teachers.
“It is going to begin to be more impactful to the student-facing supports and student-facing services,” she said.
Principals will notify employees if they plan to cut jobs at individual schools between January and March, with the reductions going into effect in June, according to the presentation.
District officials have not said how many additional jobs will be cut, but a majority of schools can expect their budget to be reduced by no more than 3%, according to the presentation.
The budget reductions are expected to improve Jeffco Public Schools’ financial situation, with district leaders forecasting a much smaller $3 million deficit for the 2026-27 academic year, according to preliminary numbers.
Jeffco Public Schools, the state’s second-largest K-12 system, has operated at a loss for several years, requiring district officials to pull money from reserves to balance the district’s nearly $1 billion budget.
“I’m a little bit concerned, or nervous, about pulling the money from the reserves again,” school board member Denine Echevarria said during the meeting. “It doesn’t sit well with me to continue pulling money out of an emergency savings account that we need in case there might be an emergency.”
ճfinancial crisis stems from Jeffco Public Schools being among the first K-12 systems to experience significant enrollment declines as fewer people have babies. Districts receive less per-pupil funding from the state when there are fewer children in their classrooms.
K-12 enrollment is falling statewide, but metro Denver districts received a surprise in the fall as they discovered fewer students in their classrooms than expected — a trend districts have attributed to the Trump administration’s mass deportations.
The influx of immigrant students had provided a buffer for districts experiencing falling enrollment in recent years.
Jeffco Public Schools, which has 74,191 pupils, expected K-12 enrollment to drop by 933 students this year. Instead, the district lost 1,530 students, resulting in a $5 million funding drop, according to the presentation.
District officials also revised their 2025-26 budget to include an additional $5.6 million in expenses, which primarily went to pay employee salaries and benefits, such as for special education paraprofessionals, according to the presentation.
Dorland and former school board members have also attributed the district’s financial woes to officials continuing to approve teacher raises despite not having enough money to pay for them.
Still, Dorland said the raises were needed to recruit and retain employees post-lockdown and remain competitive with other districts in the metro area.
“I want to make it very clear: We are happy to be paying our employees more,” she told the school board Wednesday. “It has been a priority of mine… to invest in our people.”
Districts are required by the state to revise their budgets each January. Changes are typically made as actual spending changes from projections made in the summer and as the statewide October enrollment count, which is used to determine per-pupil funding, is finalized in December.
As part of the budget reductions, the district eliminated jobs in multiple departments, including human resources, food and nutrition services, information technology, and those that serve early-childhood education and children with disabilities, according to the districtap presentation.
Jeffco Public Schools also eliminated the deputy superintendent job and an executive assistant position.
The budget reductions mean that schools will have less support for providing social-emotional learning and restorative practices. The district reduced the number of custodian positions, meaning employees have to cover more spaces, while “non-health” related cleanings will happen less frequently and repairs take longer, according to the presentation.
Other impacts of the cuts include fewer meal options for students and slower response times for schools seeking substitute teachers, according to the presentation.
District officials plan to ask voters in November to approve a $15 million mill levy that would increase revenue by raising property taxes. Dorland has previously said the district will have to make more cuts if the ballot initiative fails.
