Cherry Creek, Poudre among Colorado districts flagged for draining reserves
By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
For years, the story of a Colorado school district in fiscal trouble has looked the same. Small. Rural. A few hundred students on the plains or up a mountain valley, squeezed by declining enrollment and a thin local tax base.
This year the Office of the State Auditor put three very different names on that list: Cherry Creek, Colorado Springs 11, and Poudre. Three of the largest, most visible districts in the state, each newly flagged after missing two benchmarks tied to operating margins and a shrinking fund balance.
The report, dated July 30, tracks the financial health of all 178 Colorado school districts across the three years ending June 30, 2025. It runs six ratios against each district. Miss two or more and you l...