District overview
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
Ouray School District R-1 is a small rural district of about 170 students in Ouray County, with one combined PK-12 school. Most operating money comes from the state school finance formula, which pays per student, plus local property taxes including a voter-approved override. A five-member elected Board of Education sets policy, adopts the budget and hires the superintendent, Tod Lokey. Directors serve four-year terms; two seats were filled in the Nov 4, 2025 election.
The 2026-27 budget expects about $3.86 million in total program funding, about $23,109 per funded student, based on 165.5 funded students (169.5 counted in October).
The total mill levy is 31.126 mills in 2026-27, up from 30.126, including 24.931 general fund, 4.330 override and 1.702 bond mills.
The general fund starts the year with about $3.18 million and ends with about $3.0 million; $180,148 moves to the capital reserve fund.
General obligation principal outstanding is $1.4 million at the end of 2026-27, against $22.8 million of debt capacity.
With so few students, one or two enrollment changes move the budget noticeably; the documents reviewed show a balanced budget and a clean on-time audit for 2024-25.
The board accepted a master plan from RTA Architects in February 2026. The gym building needs about $3 million to correct deficiencies, per the 2024 assessment.
Not yet identified
The PK-8 principal resigned effective July 1, 2026. An interim principal serves for the 2026-27 year only, and a permanent search begins in February 2027.
General fund
Ouray School District R-1
Directors serve four-year terms and Colorado school board elections are held in November of odd years. Two seats (Meruelo, Fagrelius) were filled on Nov 4, 2025. The next regular election is Nov 2, 2027; the seats up were not confirmed.
Official source · verified Nov 7, 2026
Ouray School District R-1
The board's legislative report (May 18, 2026) noted an amendment on the fall ballot to raise the TABOR cap and direct the increase to schools. No Ouray-specific ballot question was found. Results were not verified from an official source.
Official source · verified Nov 7, 2026
Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Built from board agendas, minutes, meeting packets, the FY 2026-27 budget book and policy JICJ, collected from the district's public Google Drive board folders, November 2025 to November 2026.
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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