District overview
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
Lake County School District R-1 serves Leadville and surrounding Lake County, Colorado. Colorado pays districts mainly by the number of students, and local property taxes cover part of that. A five-member elected board (President Miriam Lozano) sets policy, adopts the budget each June and hires the superintendent. Enrollment has fallen for about a decade, so the district merged its schools in summer 2026, moving grades 3 to 5 to the elementary school and grade 6 to the high school. The board is now planning for the empty intermediate school building and land, and on November 9, 2026 its agenda lists the superintendent's resignation and a search for her replacement.
The district says fewer students means less revenue and expects the merge to free about $500,000 a year.
Five directors meet on the second Monday of most months at 5:30 p.m., with work sessions on the fourth Monday. Agendas, packets and signed minutes are posted on the district website.
Voters declined a 2023 bond to renovate the intermediate school. The board held off on a 2026 bond election and plans a five-year facilities plan by June 2027.
The November 9, 2026 agenda lists Superintendent Kate Bartlett's resignation and next steps for a search.
The posted records do not give a reason for the resignation or say how the board will vote, and the consolidation is described by the district itself; they do not show how families experienced the change.
Grades 3-5 moved from LCIS to the elementary school and grade 6 to the high school; Project Dream after-school programs moved into LCIS.
Expected annual savings, not a project cost
The board began a process to decide what to do with district-owned buildings and land after the merge. Consultants said no decisions would be asked this fall.
Not stated
The Nov 9, 2026 agenda lists the superintendent's resignation as an action item and a discussion of a search. A proposal from the state school boards association and HYA search firm is in the packet.
Not stated
Colorado holds regular school board elections in November of odd years. Three directors (Contreras, Earley and Snyder) were elected and sworn in after the November 2025 election; the remaining seats come up in the next regular election. Filing dates and candidates are not yet published.
Official source · verified Nov 7, 2026
Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Built from board agendas, meeting packets, signed minutes and machine transcripts of board meeting recordings posted on the district website and its public Google Drive, Nov 2025 to Nov 2026. Scanned minutes were read by OCR.
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.
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