District overview
Jefferson County School District No. R-1 (Jeffco Public Schools)
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How is Jeffco Public Schools paid for?
Jefferson County School District R-1 is Colorado's largest-by-area suburban district west of Denver, with about 72,500 students in district-run and charter schools. A five-member board elected by district hires the superintendent (currently interim, Dr. Rob Stein) and adopts the budget. Funding comes mostly from the state school-finance formula (state share plus local property taxes) and from mill levy overrides that voters have approved. The district is shrinking, so the formula pays it less each year.
2026-27 budget
About $1.41 billion appropriated across all funds; general fund revenue about $977 million, down about $1 million.
Use of savings
The budget uses about $13 million of savings, after $49-51 million the year before; forecast reserves run very low by 2028-29.
November 2026 ballot
Issue 5A asks for $73 million a year for staff pay and career education; Issue 5B asks for $60 million a year for repairs and technology.
If voters say no
The budget plan lists salary freezes, shorter work calendars, staff cuts and more school closures as options.
The results of Issues 5A and 5B are not in the collected record, so whether they passed is not established here.
Where the district stands
Major projects
November 2026 mill levy ballot questions (5A and 5B)
on the November 3, 2026 ballot; result not in record5A would raise pay and fund career and technical education; 5B would pay for roofs, heating and cooling, technology and safety upgrades, with a citizens committee reviewing spending.
- Board retreat on mill levy options
- Retreat reviews polling and ballot options
- Board approves ballot language and election resolution
- Election day
Funding
Voter-approved property tax, $73 million plus $60 million a year
Recent news
View the news feed →Resources
Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Built from the board's agendas and attachments on the district's public Diligent Community portal and 32 meeting recordings (auto-captions), November 2025 to November 2026. Agendas and key budget, ballot, enrollment and charter records were read; the many other attachments were collected but not all read in detail.
Get alerts for Jefferson County School District No. R-1 (Jeffco Public Schools)
We read every agenda, packet, recording, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
Copy the RSS link into your feed reader to get new published alerts.