Roaring Fork School District faces potential budget shortfall as fund balance declines

The Roaring Fork School District is preparing for financial challenges. A combination of declining revenues and rising expenditures has put pressure on the district’s financial stability and led to a projected $1 million budget shortfall.
Chief Financial Officer Christy Chicoine provided a financial update during Wednesday’s first board of education meeting of the new year, explaining that the district’s fund balance is projected to drop significantly by the end of the 2025 fiscal year. Without adjustments to spending, the fund balance is expected to decline from $16.2 million to $11 million, falling $1 million below the estimated minimum fund balance of $12.1 million.
“You’re below your minimum fund balance if nothing else was to change at this point in time,” Chicoine said. “We’ve got a little bit of room, but not a lot, and this doesn’t allow for any error.”
A key driver of the shortfall is an $830,000 deficit caused by a mill levy override miscalculation. Additionally, a 77-student enrollment decline, despite earlier projections of growth, resulted in a $721,000 funding reduction. Other revenue sources, such as mineral lease revenues and interest earnings, have also fallen short of expectations.
Health insurance costs are another significant challenge, with a $3.3 million overage projected for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The district has allocated $2.4 million from its fund balance to stabilize employee rates and address this financial strain.
“And what that’s going to do is it’s going to help to pay for the monies to keep the rates the same for employees through through the remainder of the year, given all the changes in that insurance plan, that’s how we’re we’re shoring that up and trying to make that or actually complete that financially,” Chicoine said.
Amid these challenges, the district has reported some positive developments. The Meadowood project was completed $3 million under budget, with $1.5 million applied to the 2023-24 fiscal year and another $1.5 million allocated to the first quarter of 2024-25.
“That project was a real super positive bright spot,” Chicoine said. “We’re starting to see some of these bright spots come to pass as well, and we could talk a little bit about both.”
Cost-saving measures have also helped reduce the district’s projected 2024-25 shortfall, initially estimated at $2.5 million. Efforts such as eliminating unfilled positions and tightening discretionary budgets have reduced that to $813,883.
“We’ve been pretty successful thanks to the executive leadership team and other leadership within the district in moving that down from a pretty high point at the start of the year,” Chicoine said.
Despite progress, Chicoine cautioned that challenges remain.
“We think we’ve captured all the big picture issues, but I can’t promise that there isn’t going to be something else out there,” she said. “This doesn’t allow for any error, so we have to remain thoughtful as we move forward.”
A supplemental budget addressing the remaining shortfall will be presented to the board on Jan. 29, with final approval required by Jan. 31. The budget will outline a detailed plan to maintain financial stability while resolving the district’s fiscal challenges.
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