DAC Memo_ Budget Input (January 7, 2026) FINAL.pdf (321 KB)

To: ​ BVSD Board of Education From: ​ District Accountability Committee Date: ​ January 7, 2026 Re: ​ DAC Budget Input

To fulfill the DAC responsibility: Budget: C.R.S. 22-11-302(1)(a) To recommend to its local school board priorities for spending school district moneys. Whenever the school district accountability committee recommends spending priorities, it shall make reasonable efforts to consult in a substantive manner with the school accountability committees of the school district. The local school board shall consider the school district accountability committee's recommendations in adopting the school district budget for each fiscal year pursuant to article 44 of this title.

Background Every year, the District Accountability Committee (DAC) seeks input from School Accountability Committees (SACs) on the development of the BVSD budget. This year, we asked SACs to analyze alignment between school spending and school Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) goals. We wanted to encourage SACs to provide insights on spending priorities for the coming years that can help advance our school and district improvement priorities and, ultimately, the BVSD All Together for All Students strategic plan. Using a flexible protocol co-designed by DAC and BVSD leadership, we encouraged SACs to review basic information on school finance (to build the background knowledge of parents/caregivers and community members) and discuss three questions: 1)​ Where your school is making good progress toward your school UIP goals, what current/recent investments have fueled that growth/improvement? 2)​ Where your school needs to make more/faster progress toward your school UIP goals, what shifts in strategy (+ resources) could help to accelerate growth/improvement? 3)​ What are the most important investments that your school makes using non-district/supplemental funding (e.g., via PTO/PTA), if applicable? SACs were asked to hold their conversations in October and/or November 2025. We received input from 33 of 56 (or 59 percent) of all schools. School team responses generally reflect the composition of BVSD schools, as illustrated by the analyses included in the appendix.

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Key Findings ●​ The budget input DAC received from SACs is overall well-connected to the BVSD strategic plan and schools’ improvement priorities. In many cases, school teams cited specific data to justify their responses, often drawing from their school UIP goals. ●​ Around half of schools explicitly highlighted differentiated funding in their responses. Notably, differentiated funding was referenced positively by schools receiving High, Targeted, and Flexible support, demonstrating its widespread value. ●​ In the context of declining enrollment, school teams are concerned about sustaining staff whose work is integral to school improvement priorities — priorities that are, in many cases, core to the strategic plan. Positions that SACs highlighted as helping them reach their improvement goals (which may have been subsequently eliminated or shifted to a reduced FTE) include: ○​ Priority 1: No Limits — data and biliteracy coaches, grade-level teachers (elementary schools with mixed-age classrooms due to enrollment v. philosophy), assistant principals (tied to DDI) ○​ Priority 2: Next Best Step — interventionists, credit recovery staff (high school) ○​ Priority 3: Define the Destination — school counselors (middle and high school), college and career/GRAD Plus coordinators (high school) ○​ Priority 4: Valued & Included — community liaisons, school counselors (all levels), mental health advocates (high school), assistant principals/deans (tied to equitable discipline) ○​ Cross-Cutting — Teacher-librarians, whose focal areas and impact varies based on school context ●​ Many schools noted alignment between improvement plan priorities and private fundraising. Others indicated this exercise prompted them to identify the need for greater alignment between UIPs and private spending. There is interest in understanding whether/how updates to Policies KH (Private Gifts) and KHB (Sponsorships) could enable schools to make new, targeted investments in alignment with school and district improvement priorities, while being mindful of equity considerations and other concerns. Below is additional detail on the top responses to our three key questions; where applicable, we have highlighted distinctions between elementary, middle, and high school input. Question 1: What’s Driving Progress at BVSD Schools? ●​ New, Higher Quality Curricula. School teams value new instructional resources and aligned assessment tools, especially literacy curricula that are better aligned to the science of reading and math materials that support deeper conceptual knowledge and inquiry-based learning. As a next step, school teams would value ongoing support in this area as well as broadening best practices to all educators in the building (“every teacher is a reading and math teacher”) — and even to parents and caregivers.

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●​ Data-Driven Instruction (DDI). School teams highlight the value of the professional development and support they have received focused on DDI. Several highlighted the 90-day plans as a powerful tool for prioritization and continuous improvement. ●​ Interventionists. School teams emphasize that interventionists enable them to take action based on what they learn from DDI cycles. Most schools attribute progress they’ve made toward UIP goals at least in part to the work of their literacy and math interventionists. ●​ Educator Collaboration. School teams highlight the critical role of school-based collaboration structures for the preceding investments. Educators need regular time together — in their school buildings — to learn, review data, problem-solve, and co-plan the most impactful ways to meet and be responsive to students’ needs. ●​ Student Support and School-Family Partnership. Several schools (mostly, but not exclusively, Title I schools) highlighted investments that have helped to improve attendance/reduce chronic absenteeism and strengthen school culture. Question 2: What’s Needed to Accelerate Improvement at BVSD Schools? ●​ School Counselors and Mental Health Support. This is the largest gap that SACs identified between the strategic plan priorities and school-level resources at all levels. ○​ Elementary school teams indicate a need for dedicated staffing for social-emotional learning, especially developing students’ executive functioning skills; oftentimes, this work reflects a school UIP priority/goal. ○​ Middle and high school teams highlight the need to maintain staffing for counselors and mental health advocates, who support teen mental health and wellness, and cultivate school cultures that reflect strategic priority 4. ○​ High school teams emphasized the need to reduce school counselors’ caseloads so they can more effectively support students’ postsecondary planning, in alignment with strategic priority 3/GRAD Plus. They also expressed concern about disparities in FTEs for college and career/GRAD Plus coordinators between BVSD high schools, along with a related concern about the distribution of dual enrollment/college credit-bearing courses across high schools. ●​ DDI Support. Overall, schools celebrate the DDI work and are eager to maximize its value for teachers and school leaders. Some schools shared that the district-facilitated DDI training is very time-intensive and requested that strategies and tools be shared in “more manageable chunks.” One school suggested automating data reports to save time. Others questioned the balance of centralized v. school-based DDI support, and wondered whether contracting an external vendor is the best way to sustain the work over time. ●​ Interventionists. Thanks to new, higher quality curricula and enhanced DDI cycles, school teams shared that they are now identifying more kids in need of intervention support at the same time that FTE allocations for interventionists are declining. Many school teams would like to continue or increase intervention support, including from teachers, paraprofessionals, and/or other non-licensed tutors, especially for “on the cusp” kids (all levels) and credit recovery (high school). They need support figuring out how to make that happen.

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●​ Master Schedule. Middle and high school teams would value support addressing challenges related to strategic scheduling and balancing class sizes. Specific needs include: designing/merging electives to maximize FTEs (potentially freeing up FTE for interventionists and/or onsite dual enrollment/college-level courses), scheduling regular collaboration time for grade-level and subject-area colleagues, and ensuring teachers/interventionists (v. tutors, described by middle school teams as less qualified/effective) can support students during study hall. In addition, elementary school teams shared that new literacy and math curricula require an increased number of minutes to teach. Schools need support figuring out how to fit WIN (What I Need) and/or small group instruction in both literacy and math into their daily schedules in this new context. Question 3: How are Private Funds Being Used to Support BVSD Schools? ●​ Paraprofessionals.1 PTO/PTA funds support part-time or full-time paraprofessionals who address distinct school needs, including: ○​ Class-size/adult:student ratio reduction (elementary, especially K-2) ○​ Tutoring and academic intervention (elementary, middle) ○​ Gifted and talented coordinators (elementary) ○​ Behavioral support (especially elementary; e.g., bus paras have helped to address behavioral issues that were negatively affecting the instructional environment) ●​ Learning Experiences, Professional Development, and Classroom Supplies.2 PTO/PTA, boosters, and Impact on Education support school teams at all levels, including via “teacher grants,” for such investments as: ○​ Field trips, including transportation ○​ Community partnerships (e.g., CU-Boulder, Garden to Table) ○​ Classroom supplies, including to support more inclusive learning experiences ○​ Other academic and extracurricular programming (e.g., AP/IB, athletics, student council, clubs, recess programming/supervision, middle/high school electives) ○​ Aligned professional development for school staff and substitute pay ●​ Mental Health Support. Impact on Education funds wellness centers and mental health advocates at high schools. ●​ School Culture. Private funds support a range of community-building investments, including programming and celebrations during and outside of the regular school day. ●​ School Facilities. Other investments highlighted include classroom furniture, playground and athletic equipment, and technology licenses and hardware.

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Some schools have hired exceptionally high-qualified instructional staff to fill these roles, who are paid in full or in part at the paraprofessional rate. 2 In some cases, these investments are for enrichment opportunities, while in others they appear to be core to the school’s educational model. Page 4

Recommendations In reflecting on the input we received from SACs, the many valuable conversations we’ve had with BVSD officials during DAC meetings, and our own experiences partnering with educators and other families in our school communities, we offer the following recommendations: 1) Continue Planned Community Engagement Regarding Declining Enrollment Options. DAC recognizes that full staffing — and robust, aligned programming — at every school is directly connected to enrollment. The concerns we heard from school teams regarding the challenges of partial/inadequate staffing echoes what BVSD officials have shared with DAC regarding the acute challenges facing schools with lower enrollment. While we don’t offer any specific ideas on what the “right” solutions are at this point in time, we recognize the urgent need to co-develop solutions that reflect our budget reality. 2) Continue Prioritizing DDI Investments Across Schools. Across the board, schools would like to maintain and/or invest in additional school staffing to ensure there is dedicated, onsite DDI support (e.g., a DDI coach and/or additional DDI team leads v. periodic district or consultant support) for this vital work. The DAC agrees that investments in DDI are a high-impact strategy for improving teaching, learning, and family partnership, and that prioritizing investments in school-based DDI staff may help sustain this impactful work in the years ahead. 3) Consider Creative Strategies that May Be Budget-Neutral. For example: ●​ Professional Development. Within existing/already negotiated PD time, BVSD officials can consider ways to engage a broader suite of educators in training on instructional strategies that are core to the strategic plan. For example, ensure science, social studies, and specials/elective teachers, at all levels, feel confident knowing how to reinforce literacy and math priorities in their classroom contexts. Also consider PD opportunities for paraprofessionals and other school support staff to help further amplify the strategic plan priorities, like training on Orton-Gillingham or restorative practices. ●​ Hybrid Roles. DDI coaches, interventionists (including for credit recovery at high schools), and school counselors (and college and career/Grad Plus coordinators at high schools) are in-demand and increasingly staffed at partial FTEs. It is challenging for an individual person to provide adequate support when they are onsite for only a limited number of hours and/or are required to split their time across schools. BVSD officials can partner with school teams to co-design hybrid, full-time, onsite positions that comprise multiple roles; collect data on the experiences of staff in hybrid roles to identify what’s working, for whom, and in what contexts, and areas for improvement; share findings with schools to inform future staffing decisions; and analyze the effort to identify and address any ethical issues and/or equity implications. ●​ Master Schedule Bootcamp. BVSD officials can convene educators to revisit and/or get support redesigning their master schedule to maximize existing FTE in support of school improvement priorities noted above. If possible, this ideation can occur during already scheduled/negotiated planning or PD time. As always, BVSD officials can share what’s working to spread effective, innovative practices. Page 5

●​ Strategically Connect Schools At Various Stages of Implementation. Our data reveal a small, but meaningful disconnect across schools with regard to the value of a number of core strategies BVSD has implemented in recent years. Our hypothesis is that those in earlier, more time- and energy-intensive stages of implementation are less enthusiastic than those who are now in a more experienced, effective, and sustainable place. Help school teams to “see around the corner” by learning about the strong results and more manageable practices of colleagues who have more experience with new approaches. ●​ Review Tutoring Programs for Alignment with Research-Backed Design Principles. At the middle school level (with broader possible implications), school teams expressed a desire for licensed staff to work with students during study hall to provide “better academic support” than tutors, which stands in contrast to the input we received from elementary and K-8 schools regarding the value of non-licensed tutors/interventionists. Middle school teams also expressed concerns about alignment between the purpose of study hall and staffing decisions. We believe creative scheduling for teachers and licensed interventionists could address this concern. We also recognize that high-impact tutoring, including from well-trained, non-licensed staff, can be very effective, as noted by the Colorado Department of Education High-Impact Tutoring Program (of which BVSD is a grantee). BVSD officials can evaluate current tutoring programs to understand whether/how they align with best practices, and collaborate with school teams to generate ideas and innovations to improve the effectiveness of existing tutoring initiatives across school contexts. 4) Collect and Use Data on Private Funding Sources to Inform Any Policy Changes. We support a recent proposed revision to Policy KH that would require all gifts to BVSD and our schools be available to the DAC for review. We recommend that any future changes to Policies KH or KHB be accompanied by a thorough projection of the change’s likely impact on district and school-level finances, and that BVSD be prepared to monitor implementation over time to ensure ongoing alignment with the district’s mission, vision, and values, especially with regard to equity. 5) Continue Partnering Closely with DAC to Advance Authentic School-Family Partnership. This year, we shared deeper information with parents and caregivers to build our knowledge and address gaps and misconceptions related to the BVSD strategic plan, improvement goals, and budget. These efforts yielded unexpected and deeply valuable benefits for our school communities, like increasing the use of data in conversations with parents and caregivers (as evidenced by the SAC input we received) and a new desire for stronger coordination between SACs and PTOs/PTAs, boosters, and Impact on Education. When we better understand not only what’s working, but also how things work, we can be more effective advocates for our school and district improvement priorities. Finally, school teams shared that they valued the exercise of analyzing alignment between the strategic plan and budget, and requested additional templates or “turnkey” resources for sharing information on school improvement plans and school budgets in the future. DAC is eager to partner with the Board and BVSD officials to be responsive to this request.

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2025-26 BVSD DAC Budget Subcommittee Members DAC Member

School or Role

Alexandra (Allie) Broin

At Large/Community Member

Megan Arthur

Birch Elementary School

Shannon Jeffries, Nancy Koons

Broomfield High School

Sheridan Budin

Centaurus High School

Kara Roden

Eldorado K-8 School​

Megan Yeretsian

Fireside Elementary School​

Barbara​ Subercaseaux

Louisville Elementary School

Natasha Rigg

Manhattan Middle School

Holly Richardson

Superior Elementary School

Lisa Moller

University Hill Elementary School

Appendix: Additional Resources & Documentation Below are links to information and resources that informed our work to date this year: ●​ BVSD Budget Input Guidance for SACs (Fall 2025) ●​ DAC/SAC/Principal Training (August 2025): Strategic Plan (slides 21-33); Data Dashboards (slides 34-37); Budget Review Process (slides 38-47) ●​ DAC Meeting Slides (October 7, 2025): In-depth session on Strategic Plan, Unified Improvement Plan & Budget Alignment (slides 10-85) ●​ DAC Meeting Slides (November 4, 2025): Budget recap (slides 13-25) Here is the analysis of school teams that responded to the SAC budget input survey:

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