Operations and Finance Cohort

Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who joined our January Operations & Finance cohort meeting for a timely legislative and policy update as the 2026 session gets underway. The discussion helped ground schools in the current political landscape while highlighting what to watch closely in the months ahead.

A special thank-you to our guest speaker: Kyle DeBeer, Vice President of Civic Affairs at CLCS Action, shared an overview of the Governor’s budget proposal, the broader political environment, and the League’s 2026 legislative priorities impacting charter school finance and operations.

Key Takeaways:
1/ Budget context matters: While state leaders are signaling an intent to protect K–12 funding, the projected budget shortfall and continued implementation of the new funding formula create uncertainty schools should factor into financial planning.
2/ Charter priorities are clear: The League’s 2026 agenda focuses on funding equity, equitable bond access, regulatory relief, accountable authorizing, and defending hard-earned policy wins.
3/ Engagement is critical: With an election year dynamic and numerous ballot initiatives in play, schools should stay informed and engaged with advocacy efforts to ensure charter voices are represented.

Share Your Facilities Story
As part of the League’s focus on Equitable Bond Access, Kyle encouraged schools to share real-world facilities stories that illustrate the challenges charter schools face in securing financing, supporting expansion, or maintaining affordable facilities. If your school has a facilities story you are willing to share, please reach out directly to Kyle at [email protected] to help inform and strengthen this advocacy effort.

Stay Connected on Legislative Issues
As the legislative session moves forward, staying informed and engaged will be especially important as policy and budget decisions take shape at the Capitol. The League’s Legislative Updates webpage is a central hub to stay connected, sign up to receive regular advocacy newsletters, and access timely information throughout the session:
https://coloradoleague.org/advocacy/legislative-updates.html

Meeting Resources:
- Recording: View Recording
Passcode: w2.Cx5e2
- Slides: Both slide decks are posted in the Documents tab

Next Up:
- Feb 10 - Operations & Finance Monthly Meeting: Staffing and Compensation
- Feb 19 - Business & Operations Networking: Tech & AI in the Back Office
- Feb 26 - Operations & Finance In-Person Meetup at the Annual Conference (details coming soon!)

We appreciate your continued participation and encourage you to reach out if you have questions or would like support navigating legislative or policy impacts on your school.

Created: January 15, 2026 11:01:58 AM