Dear Team DPS,

I want to first send my well-wishes to you and your families. I know this has been a tough few weeks, and I’m so thankful for the strength and togetherness our team and our community have shown. Please know how much I value the time and effort you continue to put into supporting students, families and each other. 

We are continuing to provide critical support to our families, both in terms of what they need for remote learning and other family resources to help them through this difficult time. We’ve also started to look at what financial implications we may face from the overall impact the COVID-19 crisis is having on our state and national economy. 

Last week, we devoted our Board of Education meeting to a discussion about our DPS budget. We shared the "known"s, the unknowns, and some projections on how the budget may be affected in the coming months. This preview was shared outlining the financial state of the district as an overview of the current situation, as well as many options of how the district may consider handling the financial impact of COVID-19. This is just the start of the process, and there have been no decisions or recommendations made. We welcome any and all ideas for budget savings options. If you have ideas, please reach out to our Chief Financial Officer Jim Carpenter . 

I want to emphasize that we are at the very earliest stages of understanding what the financial picture looks like, what might happen in terms of public-education funding, and how we might consider grappling with what could be a dramatically different budget environment. We remain in close contact with state leaders to ensure we’re getting the latest information on all economic indicators.

And based on the feedback and direction we’ve received from the DPS Board of Education, we have also announced the creation of a Budget Advisory Committee that will bring broad-based staff and community perspectives to our budget discussions and planning. In the coming days, we also will be setting up a webpage where you can share your feedback and suggestions for budget solutions. 

As you know, we recently completed a major overhaul of central support in order to maximize our classroom investments. Please know that I understand that it is difficult for everyone to consider the need to find further efficiencies and cost reductions. The unfortunate reality for us all right now is that we must prepare for a significant reduction in funding resulting from the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 crisis. In doing so, we will look at all options that do not involve a reduction in staff . DPS is made strong by our people, and that strength lifts our kids. We will look at ways to cut costs and streamline in operational areas, and we will look at the possibility of using reserve funds -- which we have as a result of our careful fiscal management -- to offset the anticipated decline in tax revenue coming in.