School Funding Projection
Last updated 20 August 2026 — formula mechanics on both legs brought in line with the reconciled CSF engine (online/EHS netting and weight caps, membership-based 1994-leg at-risk, per-pupil rural sharing, three-condition concentration).
Projected funding from FY 2025-26 baseline through FY 2031-32, under HB25-1320 and SB26-023. Monarch Montessori is district-authorized (Denver County 1). This model provides a defensible, third-party calculation the school can bring to its authorizer.
01 · INPUTS & PROJECTION
FY26 baseline, editable FY27-FY32 inputs matrix, 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 and CDE pupil membership records. FY28-FY32 default to FY27 values — set separate growth rates for enrollment, at-risk, ELL, and SPED, or edit any cell directly.
Authorizer: Denver County 1 (district-authorized) · Accounting district: Denver County 1 (0880) · CDE code: 5621
5% admin retention (district-authorized).
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.
02 · TRAJECTORY
Gross total program from FY26 actual through FY32 projection. The dotted line shows full new-formula value each year; the gap closes through the phase-in schedule.
FY26 estimate → FY32 projection
Gross total program — applicable amount each year, with FY26 as the estimated starting point (placeholder pending actual receipt).
03 · PLANNING IMPLICATIONS
Plain-language interpretation for school leaders, boards, and the Denver County 1 finance office. Monarch Montessori is a mid-sized elementary school (283 FY26 K-12 funded count) with an at-risk share above its district, an elevated ELL share, and a SPED share modestly below the district average. The model provides the basis for passthrough conversations.
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). Monarch Montessori's at-risk share (70.3%) is above the district's 65.4%, its ELL share (24.7%) exceeds the district's 19.0%, and its SPED share (12.7%) sits below the district's 14.7% — on balance the school's students generate slightly more funding per pupil under the new formula than the district average reported in CDE summaries.
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): —Monarch Montessori is 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 Monarch Montessori a defensible, third-party calculation of what its students generate under HB25-1320 / SB26-023 — a concrete basis for conversations with the district about passthrough amounts.
The school-vs-district comparison in Section 01 is the foundation. Where Monarch Montessori's demographic profile diverges from the district, the per-pupil funding the school generates diverges from district averages. The school can point to specific line items (at-risk supplement, ELL supplement) to demonstrate the dollar value its population generates, independent of how the district distributes.
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 the old-formula leg for high-at-risk schools and therefore the FY28–FY31 hold-harmless floor.
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 Monarch Montessori 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
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. Monarch Montessori is district-authorized (Denver County 1, §22-30.5-112); no published district estimate exists for reconciliation — independent verification is pending.
Every figure in this tool belongs to one of four categories.
Set by enrolled bill text. Not adjustable.
Finalized administrative implementation of the charter funding formula. Authoritative for actual distributions.
From primary source files. Updates require new source publication.
User-adjustable. Defaults provided where source data exists.
FY26 is an estimate: Denver County 1's FY26 adjusted in-school per-pupil funding ($12,218.50, CDE FY25-26 district funding worksheet) × the school's FY25-26 K-12 funded count (283). It is an editable input — overwrite with the verified receipt from Denver County 1. The FY27 hold-harmless floor is this figure × 1.01, and FY27 year-over-year changes are calculated against it.
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%. Monarch Montessori does not qualify (Denver County 1's funded count far exceeds 7,000); locale and size are zero for Denver County 1.
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.
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.
Both legs follow the reconciled reading settled with CSI and CDE in August 2026. Multi-district online, P-Tech and TREP pupils are funded at their flat rates only: their FTE is netted out of the base and out of every factor base, and the at-risk, ELL and SPED counts are capped at the netted FTE (schools with no such pupils are unaffected). Concentration requires all three conditions — district under 7,000 funded, district above 70% at-risk, and this school above 70% at-risk. The $100,000 remote add-on and the district's actual rural funding are shared per pupil rather than paid per charter. On the 1994 leg the at-risk-at-average count is measured on membership, the result is the greater of the banded amount and the two flat 12% branches, and the state minimum runs on the netted count. These mechanics match the engine behind the CSF school-funding check.
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.
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.
YoY $ and % change are calculated on Per-Pupil Revenue, isolating formula and demographic-composition effects from raw enrollment growth.