Prepared by VAO CollaborativeCommissioned by Colorado Schools Fund
Prepared for
Highline Academy — Northeast & Southeast
Network Funding Projection
Highline Academy Northeast & Southeast
Last updated June 15, 2026 — reflects CDE’s new clarification around the “< 459” at-risk provision.
Projected funding from FY 2025-26 baseline through FY 2031-32, under HB25-1320 and SB26-023 — Northeast and Southeast campuses with a network rollup. Both campuses are district-authorized (Denver County 1). This model provides a defensible, third-party calculation the network can bring to its authorizer.
FY26 Estimate—Placeholder · district PPR × FPC
FY27 Projected——
FY32 Projected—Full new formula
FY26 → FY32 Change——
Scenarios run from CSF-sourced defaults · adjust inputs below to model alternatives
Using this tool
Both Highline campuses are district-authorized through Denver County 1. No published district estimate exists to reconcile against — the reconciliation badges below reflect this. FY27 defaults are sourced from CDE district data, CDE 2025-26 pupil membership records, and CDE 2024-25 FRL eligibility, held flat through FY32. Edit any cell directly, or use the per-campus growth-rate controls to model trajectories. Each campus's FY26 total program is an editable input prepopulated with an estimate — overwrite with the verified actual passthrough receipts from Denver County 1. Print to share a documented scenario with the authorizer or finance committee.
District-authorized context: Denver County 1 retains up to 5% of each campus's generated total program before passing through (§22-30.5-112). The "Net to School" lines reflect this 5% admin retention. This model gives Highline a defensible calculation of what each campus's students generate under the new formula — a concrete basis for passthrough conversations with the district.
01 · INPUTS & PER-CAMPUS PROJECTION
Highline Academy — Northeast & Southeast
Each campus shows its FY26 estimated baseline, an editable FY27-FY32 inputs matrix, the gross-net-PPR projection with year-over-year change, and a breakdown of where the funding comes from in any selected year. FY27 defaults from CDE district data, CDE 2025-26 pupil membership records, and CDE 2024-25 FRL eligibility. FY28-FY32 default to FY27 values — set separate growth rates for enrollment, at-risk, ELL, and SPED, or edit any cell directly.
NORTHEAST CAMPUS · DENVER
Highline Academy Northeast
Authorizer: Denver County 1 (district-authorized) · Accounting district: Denver County 1 (0880) · CDE code: 4049
Pre-K–5 campus, 503 K-12 funded count (FY25-26). At-risk share (75.5%) sits well above the Denver County 1 average (65.4%), so both the old-formula upper at-risk band and the new-formula at-risk weights matter here. FY26 baseline is an estimate — replace with the actual passthrough receipt.
FY26 estimated baseline ⚠ Placeholder estimate — replace with actual receipt
Model default: $6,145,906 · Estimate: FY26 Denver County 1 adjusted per-pupil funding ($12,218.50) × 503 K-12 FPC — replace with actual receipt
FY27-FY32 inputs (editable)
Annual growth rates · FY28 → FY32 (compounded from FY27)
%
%
%
%
FY27→FY32: flat
Projection · gross, admin, net, per-pupil, YoY on PPR
Where the funding comes from
⚠ District-authorized — independent verification pending. Highline Northeast is district-authorized through Denver County 1; no independently published FY27 estimate exists to reconcile against. The FY26 total is a placeholder estimate (FY26 district adjusted per-pupil funding × 503 K-12 FPC), not an actual receipt. Overwrite it with the verified FY26 passthrough before board-level or authorizer use — the FY27 hold-harmless floor depends directly on this figure.
▶ Enrollment Smoothing
No historical FPC data available (FY23–FY25 FPC not sourced from Denver County 1). Enrollment smoothing is not applicable until multi-year FPC history is populated. For a district-authorized school, the district holds these records — request FY23–FY25 FPC from Denver County 1 to enable smoothing analysis.
SOUTHEAST CAMPUS · DENVER
Highline Academy Southeast
Authorizer: Denver County 1 (district-authorized) · Accounting district: Denver County 1 (0880) · CDE code: 3987
K–8 campus, 587 funded count (FY25-26). At-risk share (55.7%) sits below the Denver County 1 average (65.4%). At default inputs the FY27 floor trails the phase-in by only about $54K, so the FY26 actual receipt materially affects the FY27 figure. FY26 baseline is an estimate — replace with the actual passthrough receipt.
FY26 estimated baseline ⚠ Placeholder estimate — replace with actual receipt
DemographicsFPC —At-Risk 327ELL 145SPED 58HC (K-12) 587FY26 TOTALReset to default
Model default: $7,172,260 · Estimate: FY26 Denver County 1 adjusted per-pupil funding ($12,218.50) × 587 K-12 FPC — replace with actual receipt
FY27-FY32 inputs (editable)
Annual growth rates · FY28 → FY32 (compounded from FY27)
%
%
%
%
FY27→FY32: flat
Projection · gross, admin, net, per-pupil, YoY on PPR
Where the funding comes from
⚠ District-authorized — independent verification pending. Highline Southeast is district-authorized through Denver County 1; no independently published FY27 estimate exists to reconcile against. The FY26 total is a placeholder estimate (FY26 district adjusted per-pupil funding × 587 K-12 FPC), not an actual receipt. Overwrite it with the verified FY26 passthrough before board-level or authorizer use — at defaults the FY27 floor sits within ~$54K of the phase-in, so this figure can flip which basis binds.
▶ Enrollment Smoothing
No historical FPC data available (FY23–FY25 FPC not sourced from Denver County 1). Enrollment smoothing is not applicable until multi-year FPC history is populated. For a district-authorized school, the district holds these records — request FY23–FY25 FPC from Denver County 1 to enable smoothing analysis.
Base PPR inflation · FY28–FY32
FY27 base PPR is set at $8,900.40 (the appropriated rate — a 2.4% increase over FY26's $8,692). This input controls the assumed annual growth rate for FY28 onward, compounding through FY32. Default is 2.0% as a conservative planning baseline.
% per year
02 · NETWORK ROLLUP
Network total — Northeast plus Southeast
The network total is a sum of two independent calculations. Each campus is funded on its own demographics and floor mechanics — the rollup just adds the results.
Gross total program — applicable amount each year, with FY26 as the estimated starting point (placeholders pending actual receipts). The dotted line shows the network's full new-formula value each year; the gap closes through phase-in.
Plain-language interpretation for school leaders, boards, and the Denver County 1 finance office. Highline Academy operates two Denver campuses — Northeast (503 K-12 funded count) and Southeast (587) — with materially different demographic profiles. Each campus is funded on its own demographics; the network rollup is the sum.
Net effect on funding
The new formula adds explicit per-pupil weights for at-risk, ELL, and SPED populations (about $2,225 per identified student in FY27, rising with base PPR inflation). The two campuses sit on opposite sides of the district average: Northeast's at-risk share (75.5%) is well above Denver County 1's 65.4%, while Southeast's (55.7%) is below it. Both campuses carry ELL shares (26.2% and 24.7%) above the district's 19.0%; Northeast's SPED share (22.1%) is far above the district's 14.7% while Southeast's (9.9%) is below it.
The phase-in runs in 15-percentage-point increments: 30% new formula in FY27, then 45%, 60%, 75%, 90%, and 100% by FY32.
FY26 → FY32 trajectory under current inputs: —Bill benefit at full implementation (FY32 new-formula PPR vs full old-formula PPR): —
Passthrough advocacy
Both campuses are district-authorized. Denver County 1 calculates and passes through the school-generated funding under §22-30.5-112, retaining up to 5% for administrative overhead. This model's purpose is to give Highline a defensible, third-party calculation of what each campus's students generate under HB25-1320 / SB26-023 — a concrete basis for conversations with the district about passthrough amounts.
The school-vs-district comparisons in Section 01 are the foundation. Because the two campuses diverge in opposite directions — Northeast generates more per pupil than the district average, Southeast closer to it — campus-level calculations are more defensible than a blended network number in passthrough conversations. Each campus can point to specific line items (at-risk supplement, ELL supplement) to demonstrate the dollar value its population generates.
Denver County 1's COL factor is unchanged between the old (0.23) and new (0.23) studies, so there's no COL divergence risk. Denver is Colorado's largest district (FPC ~83,700), so no size or locale factors apply — but district size does change the old-formula at-risk calculation: districts over 50,000 FPC use the steeper 0.36 concentration slope per §22-54-104(5)(f)(II), which raises Northeast's old-formula leg and therefore its FY28–FY31 hold-harmless floor.
Risks to watch
FY26 baselines are estimates, not receipts. The prepopulated FY26 totals ($6,145,906 Northeast, $7,172,260 Southeast) are Denver County 1's FY26 adjusted per-pupil funding ($12,218.50) × each campus's K-12 funded count — planning placeholders. The FY27 hold-harmless floor is FY26 actual × 1.01, so these figures directly drive FY27 protection. Overwrite both with verified passthrough receipts as soon as they are available.
Southeast's FY27 floor margin is thin. At default inputs Southeast's FY27 phase-in exceeds its floor by only about $54,000. A modestly higher FY26 actual receipt — or any softening in FY27 counts — flips Southeast onto the floor basis. Northeast's margins are comfortable at defaults (FY28 gap ≈ $145K).
FY32 floor falls away. The hold-harmless floor expires after FY31. If actual demographics come in below projections in FY28–FY31, FY32 funding will reflect only the new formula with no minimum guarantee. Verify annually as actual counts are certified.
Demographic counts need district confirmation. ELL and SPED defaults are CDE 2025-26 IPST counts, which are PK-12 based; Northeast enrolls 86 preschoolers, so its counts were scaled to the K-12 funded base (×503/589). Southeast enrolls no preschoolers. At-risk defaults are actual FY25-26 K-12 FRL counts (NE 380, SE 327) from CDE's 2025-26 school-level FRL data. Replace the ELL and SPED figures with K-12 counts from Denver County 1's charter funding worksheets when available.
Based on current statutory understanding. These figures reflect the statute as written. CDE is expected to publish implementation guidance shortly that will affect district-authorized schools — pass-through mechanics, the funding source for hold-harmless payments, and administrative-retention authority post-FY26 — and we will update this analysis once it is released. These determinations may affect the amounts Highline actually receives from Denver County 1.
Enrollment projections are assumptions. FY27 defaults are FY25-26 actual counts held flat through FY32; actual funding will reflect the October 2026 certified count (trued up in January 2027). FY28–FY32 figures are planning projections, not guarantees.
Floor status under current inputs: —
Out of scope
This tool models total program funding under HB25-1320 / SB26-023. Not modeled: federal and state non-formula revenue (Title I, IDEA, ELL grants, MLO override revenue), cash-flow timing, or the specific mechanics of how Denver County 1 calculates its passthrough to each Highline campus under §22-30.5-112. The 5% retention rate is the statutory maximum for district-authorized charters — the actual rate may be lower depending on the district's charter contract.
COL factors beyond FY28 are held constant at the FY28 level (no future biennial study has been conducted). FY29–FY32 figures repeat the FY28 COL factor as an explicit assumption.
04 · METHODOLOGY & CAVEATS
Calculation methodology
The funding model implements the new-formula charter funding methodology established by HB25-1320 and the FY28-FY32 phase-in schedule, with CDE's authoritative FY28+ cost-of-living factors. Both Highline campuses are district-authorized (Denver County 1, §22-30.5-112); no published district estimate exists for reconciliation — independent verification is pending.
Data classification
Every figure in this tool belongs to one of four categories.
Finalized administrative implementation of the charter funding formula. Authoritative for actual distributions.
ExamplesAt-risk % denominator (headcount); old-formula at-risk = 12% × PP7 × FRL below the 46.75% threshold; above it, the upper band uses 12% + 0.36 × (school AR − 46.75%) — the steeper slope for districts over 50,000 FPC per §22-54-104(5)(f)(II) — capped at 30%.
Sourced
From primary source files. Updates require new source publication.
User-adjustable. Defaults provided where source data exists.
ExamplesFY27-FY32 enrollment, FRL/ELL/SPED counts; growth rates; base PPR inflation; FY26 actual total program.
Summary
The bill phases in over six years (as written). FY27 is only 30% of the gap between old and new formula. FY32 is the first year at full new-formula amount.
Each at-risk, ELL, and SPED student is worth ~$2,225 in FY27. That dollar weight rises with base PPR inflation each year through FY32.
FY27 figures will move in January 2027. The certified October 2026 count triggers a true-up.
The hold-harmless floor protects through FY31. You receive the greater of the phase-in calc or the same-year old-formula × 1.01. FY32 has no floor.
Admin retention is 5% (district-authorized). The "Net to School" lines are what actually arrive after Denver County 1's retention.
Year-over-year change on Per-Pupil Revenue isolates formula and composition effects from raw enrollment growth.
FY26 baseline
FY26 is an estimate for each campus: Denver County 1's FY26 adjusted in-school per-pupil funding ($12,218.50, CDE FY25-26 district funding worksheet) × each campus's FY25-26 K-12 funded count (503 NE, 587 SE). Both are editable inputs — overwrite with verified receipts from Denver County 1. Each campus's FY27 hold-harmless floor is its FY26 figure × 1.01, and FY27 year-over-year changes are calculated against it.
New-formula components
Base PPR × FPC, plus at-risk / ELL / SPED at 25% of base PPR per pupil, plus cost-of-living, locale, and size factors. Concentration factor requires school AR > 70% in a district under 7,000 funded count with district AR > 70%. Neither Highline campus qualifies (Denver County 1's funded count far exceeds 7,000); locale and size are zero for Denver County 1.
Phase-in schedule
FY27-FY31 funding is a blend of the prior (1994) formula and the new formula, weighted 30% / 45% / 60% / 75% / 90% to the new formula. FY32 is 100% new formula.
Hold-harmless floor
FY27 floor = FY26 actual × 1.01. FY28-FY31 floor = same-year prior-formula leg × 1.01 (current-year basis). FY32 has no statutory floor. School receives the greater of phase-in or floor.
Cost-of-living factors
FY27 uses the older (2023) COL study; FY28 onward uses CDE's rebased April 2026 study. No study exists beyond the FY28 biennium, so FY29-FY32 hold the FY28 factor constant — an explicit assumption, not a projection. Future biennial studies have not yet been conducted.
Admin retention
District-authorized charters: up to 5% (statutory maximum). The actual retention percentage may vary by contract with Denver County 1. This model uses 5% as the conservative assumption.
Year-over-year change basis
YoY $ and % change are calculated on Per-Pupil Revenue, isolating formula and demographic-composition effects from raw enrollment growth.
