District overview
Plateau Valley School District No. 50
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
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Who runs Plateau Valley schools, and how are they paid for?
Plateau Valley School District 50 serves Collbran and the Plateau Valley in Mesa County, Colorado, with roughly 300 students in a K-12 school and a Job Corps high school. Colorado pays districts mainly through a per-student formula and local property taxes. Voters approved a 2023 bond and the state BEST grant paid for most of a new school building. A five-member elected board adopts the budget, sets the mill levy each December and approves policies, and the superintendent runs daily operations.
Funding
In FY26 the general fund took in $6.2 million, spent $5.1 million and added $1.1 million to reserves. The property tax base fell from $172 million to $136 million, and state hold-harmless protection is expected to end after 2026-27.
Enrollment
In August 2026 the district counted 125 elementary, 51 junior high and 73 high school students at Plateau Valley School and 49 at Grand Mesa High School.
Who decides
Five directors: Josh Shepardson (president), Eric Bevan (vice president), Katy Sheffield (secretary), Tilda Evans (treasurer) and Mark Lennon. Trevor Long is superintendent.
Meetings
Regular meetings are the third Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Plateau Valley media center, with work sessions earlier in the day. Agendas are posted at least 24 hours ahead.
The posted records are agendas and minutes; budget books and board packets were not posted, so some figures come only from meeting summaries.
Where the district stands
Major projects
New Plateau Valley PK-12 school building
Open since January 2026; final site work under wayThe new school building held its ribbon cutting on January 12, 2026 and was about 92 percent complete in April. By June 22, $65.5 million of the $68.8 million budget was spent. Remaining work includes the football practice field, shot put area, roads and roof and cafeteria floor repairs.
- Ribbon cutting and grand opening
- About 90 percent complete
- 92 percent complete, 85 percent of budget spent
- $65.5 million spent of $68.8 million
Funding
$40.8M 2023 bond, $26.7M state BEST grant, $1M DOLA grant, $296,546 mineral lease grant
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 minutes in its public Google Drive folders linked from the district website (Nov 2025 to Nov 2026).
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