Miner's Minutes - February 2025

Dear Telluride School Community,

 

In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, I find hope and optimism when I reflect on our schools and the incredible work happening within them. Recently, I had the privilege of swearing in three of our new Student Ex-Officio Board Members: Isabel Morgan, Vivian Trommer, and Maya Santa Anna. Although Eli Ellison was unable to attend due to illness, we look forward to swearing him in at our next meeting. This initiative represents a meaningful step in staying connected to the pulse of our student body, and I’m excited about the perspectives these students will bring. Link to article in Planet here.

 

On another positive note, our Winter PE program has once again been a success. This unique program is a cornerstone of our community’s identity, and despite rising costs and logistical challenges, we managed to pull it off. I want to extend my gratitude to everyone whose hard work made this possible.

 

Additionally, our Superintendent recently shared a thoughtful message with the community, emphasizing our commitment to supporting every student with factual, action-oriented strategies. Messages like this reinforce my confidence in the direction we are heading.

 

When I look at our schools, I see dedicated teachers and staff focused on achieving the best outcomes for our students. Their efforts to expand on successful practices and tackle new challenges—such as bringing our Inclusion Statement to life—are commendable. This is not a one-time task but an ongoing process, and while it may be daunting, it is undeniably worthwhile.

 

The systems we’ve put in place over the past few years have prepared us to adapt to the ever-changing landscape. By relying on data, we can discern fact from fiction, update our plans to meet current needs, and develop new strategies where necessary. Throughout all this, our primary focus remains: creating the best possible learning environment for our students.

Thanks to the support of our school district voters, we’ve acquired nine additional housing units in the past year using bond funds. This meets our immediate needs, and we’re actively working to expand our housing inventory to address future demands. Facility upgrades and repairs for Summer 2025 are nearing finalization and promise to be impressive, with further projects planned for 2026 and 2027. Some of these improvements will be visible, while others will enhance the experience in more subtle ways.

 

Our facilities span a historic elementary school from the 1890s, a middle-high school from the 1990s, and an intermediate school built between the 2000s and 2010s. Having witnessed many of these buildings being constructed, it’s hard to believe our newest building is approaching its 10th anniversary. We’re committed to ensuring these facilities continue to meet the highest standards.

 

Once again, thank you to the voters of the Telluride R-1 School District for your ongoing support—it is deeply appreciated.

 

We encourage you to stay informed and engaged as we navigate challenges and celebrate achievements together. With your partnership, we will continue to thrive.

In appreciation,

Cheryl Carstens Miller

Dear TSD Community,

Following two years of significant increases in educational funding driven by state inflation data, we are now facing challenging budget years for 2025-26 and beyond. Several factors contribute to this situation.

 

First and foremost, it is essential to understand that our annual education funding is determined by a state formula and does not rise at the same rate as local property taxes. For example, even if local property taxes increase by 20%, our funding does not see a corresponding 20% increase.

 

Second, the inflation rates of 8.0% in 2022 and 5.2% in 2023—which were used to set funding increases for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years—were the highest recorded since 1984. However, the current projection for the final 2024 inflation rate is just 2.4%. This lower rate, combined with legislative changes to the funding formula and additional proposed modifications by the Governor, could result in a decrease in educational funding of up to $1.4 million for the next fiscal year. Further details can be found in the January 27 District Accountability Presentation.

 

A significant portion of this potential reduction stems from the Governor’s proposal to alter the funding formula. Currently, the formula allows for up to five years of enrollment averaging to determine funded student counts. The proposed change would shift to using only the current year’s enrollment, a drastic adjustment aimed at helping the state address a projected $1 billion shortfall for 2025-26.

 

At the same time these cuts are being proposed, our General Assembly has received two separate Adequacy Studies indicating that education in Colorado is underfunded by at least $3.5 billion. The General Assembly invested in these studies, and now they must be held accountable for developing a plan to adequately fund our children's education, rather than seeking ways to reduce funding further.

 

It is crucial that all stakeholders in our district stay informed on this issue, as your support will be vital in advocating for the funding our students deserve. Please watch for additional information and feel free to reach out to our legislators in Denver: Representative Don Suckla and Senator Cleave Simpson.

 

Thank you for your attention and support.

 

In our close-knit community, school board members are people you know: your neighbors, fellow parents and friends. They’re also unpaid volunteers who devote countless hours to making sure our district is the best it can be. January was school board appreciation month, and we hope that you’ll join us in showing appreciation for our five board members (Stephanie Hatcher, Cheryl Carstens Miller, David Lavender, Jill O'Dell and Ryan Robinson) who are dedicated to the success of each student in our district. Next time you see them be sure to thank them for all that they do.

Please find below links to the 2025-26 and 2026-27 draft calendars. These can be found on the TSD website. The 2025-26 calendar will be finalized in February; but we do not expect it to change in any significant way from the draft linked here. The 2026-27 calendar represents a first draft, and will be finalized next year around this time. Any input on these calendars is always welcome. 

As we embark on a new year of scholastics and athletics, we have been working with the Booster Club to come up with ways to raise funds for our student-athletes for things that are beyond the allocated budget. To that end, we had to start with basic fundraising initiatives that are common practice in most schools: Concessions & Admissions.  

With the help of our Booster Club, a consistent offering of concessions at our basketball games is now available and appreciated. Boosters will continue to do this throughout the season to help raise money & provide a much-needed amenity to the teams and families.  

Starting on Saturday, January 11, we will re-introduce the pre-pandemic practice of charging a nominal admission fee ($5 per adult, students and kids are free) for our home games. This Saturday’s games will be an optional donation and then we will move forward with making it a standard fee for entry for the remainder of our home games.  

We appreciate your understanding and acknowledging the efforts of our Booster Club on behalf of our student-athletes. ALL of the money raised goes back to help support your child’s student-athlete experience.

Thanks for your support, 

Telluride Athletic Department

 

The Athletic Game Schedule and more athletic information can be found at tellurideathletics.com.

You can follow TMHS Athletics on Instagram and Facebook.

Live Streaming for all home games can be found here.

 

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