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Dear Weld RE-4 Community,
In our commitment to transparency, we wanted to share a high-level overview of the 2026 - 2027 Budget with you as we begin this new fiscal year.
State Funding Climate
Keeping pace with rising costs is incredibly difficult when state funding for K - 12 education falls short. For the upcoming 2026 - 2027 school year, we are focused on making every dollar count. We enacted more than $500,000 in budget reductions, including in-depth, line-item scrutiny of every district department budget, staffing realignment at the District Office, re-allocation of school staff based on enrollment, and not filling some staff vacancies.
After listening closely to our community’s feedback regarding the current economic climate, the Board of Education has advised staff to pause plans for any 2026 ballot measures. Please know that we will not stop advocating with state legislators for the funding our students deserve, and we will continue looking into both future revenue options and creative cost-saving measures.
Overview
Each year we work to align our budget with our strategic plan and our vision to Engage, Educate, and Empower our students and staff:
Revenue
- Per Pupil Revenue — The state legislature increased our main source of funding, Per Pupil Revenue, from $11,045 to $11,349, a 2.7% increase, slightly above the required increase for inflation (2.4%). Many other districts received more funding than inflation due to the phased-in approach of the School Finance Act. We continue to be the lowest funded district in the entire state. The gap between our funding and other districts continues to grow.
- 2022 Bond and Mill Levy Override — We continue to collect locally-supported tax revenue in the “Debt Service Fund” to support bond debt repayment. Thank you to our community for investing in our schools. Your investment has been realized. As of June, the 2022 Bond is considered complete, and we are working on closing out projects funded through bond premium, interest, and project savings.
Expenditures
- Instructional Support — Sixty-eight percent of our total program expenses are allocated directly to instruction and instructional support (including staff salaries), while management / administrative costs represent 1%.
- Salary & Benefits — The majority of our General Fund expenses continue to be in the form of staff salary and benefits (85.5%). Expenses across the district escalated beyond inflation, including medical insurance premiums increasing at 9%, while we were provided a 2.4% revenue increase for inflation.
We recognize that School Finance is a complex topic, and we look to break down these layers in a variety of ways this fall through our website, social media, and a video series. For complete information on our budget and school funding, visit our Financial Transparency or School Funding pages.
Sincerely,
Michelle Scallon Superintendent
Nikki Schmidt Chief Financial Officer