Elizabeth superintendent reports 175-student drop in neighborhood schools

Elizabeth School District’s neighborhood schools had 175 fewer students in a preliminary October count than a year earlier, while Legacy grew by 95, the superintendent told the school board Nov. 10. He estimated the neighborhood-school decline was associated with about $1.87 million in per-pupil funding; that is not a final calculation of state aid. The superintendent’s update to the board did not identify a final district count.

The reported declines were spread across Singing Hills, Running Creek, the middle school and Elizabeth High School. The superintendent said that if enrollment does not improve, the district will need to operate within its means as a neighborhood-school system of about 1,600 students.

Colorado’s funding formula cushions enrollment swings, but those protections are changing. For the 2026-27 school year, the state’s enacted school-finance law bases a district’s funded pupil count on whichever is greater: current-year enrollment or the average of the current year and the two prior years. The law also provides a separate funding floor. A weighted smoothing formula is scheduled for 2027-28, with 50% weight on the latest year, 30% on the prior year and 20% on the year before that, according to Legislative Council Staff.

The Colorado Department of Education’s Student October schedule lists Nov. 10 as the submission deadline and says the 2026-27 collection remains open through Dec. 4. The preliminary school-level figures therefore do not establish the district’s final funded count or how much state aid it will receive.

The superintendent suggested leadership turnover at Running Creek may be contributing to families’ choices, noting the school had three principals in three years and a midyear principal change. He said the district is reviewing exit-survey information and plans to ask families withdrawing students why they are leaving; he did not present leadership changes as a confirmed reason for departures.