Amid reports that the city of Grand Junction’s marijuana revenue fell short of projections by $800,000 and that statewide marijuana revenue has declined by more than 41 percent since its peak in 2020-2021, The Business Times reached out to Melanie Trujillo, chief financial officer of Mesa County Valley School District 51, to understand how the shortfall might affect the district
Trujillo said local marijuana-sales-tax revenue does not directly fund the district and addressed misconceptions about how much and how often marijuana revenue has been distributed to the district since legalization, despite public expectations.
Since recreational marijuana was legalized, Trujillo noted funding from marijuana tax revenue has largely been supplemental, coming in the form of one-time state grants rather than ongoing support for operational costs or teacher salaries.
One of the primary sources of marijuana tax revenue for the district is the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant program. This competitive grant program, partially funded by marijuana excise taxes, also draws from other revenue streams, such as lottery funds and mostly state-land-board revenues.