District overview
Telluride School District R-1
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
How is Telluride R-1 paid for?
Telluride R-1 serves about 800 students in San Miguel County, with an elementary, intermediate and combined middle/high school. Funding comes from the state school finance formula and local property taxes, including an existing mill levy override. A five-member elected Board of Education governs using a policy-governance model, with Superintendent John Pandolfo. The district expects state funding to decline under the new state formula and asked voters on Nov 3, 2026 for a new override.
Falling state funding
The adopted budget projects total program funding plus the existing override falling by about $3.88 million over six years starting in 2027-28.
Override on the ballot
A $2,674,059 a year override (about 1.65 mills, about $115 a year per $1 million home) went to voters Nov 3, 2026; results were not found.
Flood costs
Flood remediation and repair added an estimated $3.4 million to the 2025-26 general fund appropriation, partly offset by insurance.
Housing
The district is also working on staff housing sites and an affordable housing fund.
The flood and state funding changes are described in board packets; the documents reviewed do not give a final cost after insurance.
Where the district stands
Major projects
2026 mill levy override
on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot; result not verifiedVoters were asked to approve about $2.67 million a year for teachers, class sizes and programs.
- Board reviews ballot resolution and fact sheet
- County agreements for the ballot measure
- Election day
Funding
Local property tax
Flood remediation and school repairs
repairs continuingFlooring and walls are being repaired in the intermediate and middle/high school buildings, with the focus moving across buildings through April 2027.
- Summer projects and flood update to board
- Board considers adjusted appropriation
- Floor repair plan reported: classrooms between December break and April break
Funding
General fund, with insurance proceeds
Recent news
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Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Built from board meeting packets, signed minutes (scanned PDFs read with OCR), and monitoring reports posted on the district's Agendas & Minutes page, November 2025 to November 2026.
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