Colorado
Colorado schools get extra $24 million for migrant enrollment – Washington Examiner
Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) signed a bill Thursday that would give public and charter schools affected by the recent rise of undocumented migrant students enrolling in them a one-time $24 million boost from the state education fund.
The Colorado Department of Education will determine how much school districts receive using a multitiered funding model that’s based on how many new students enrolled following an annual October headcount that sets each district’s state funding.
“Schools are scrambling to ensure that they have the funds to be able to support both our new students and the needs that they have with paraprofessionals, folks who can help with English language acquisition and all of the wraparound services that they need, as well as supporting all of the students who were already in our schools and as we face some overcrowding of classrooms,” Denver Rep. Emily Sirota, a Democrat, said during the bill-signing ceremony.
Sirota, who sponsored the legislation, called the unprecedented situation of asylum-seekers overwhelming city and state resources “quite substantial and unusual in terms of scope.”
By law, public schools are required to enroll minors regardless of immigration status.
“It is our obligation still to make sure everybody entering our public schools is getting an education,” Sirota said. “There is more need for more paraprofessionals, more teachers, more English language services, more wraparound services.”
Funding for districts and charter schools will come in two forms. First, they will receive a fixed rate between $15,000 and $750,000 from the Colorado Department of Education based on how many new students have been enrolled. Second, they will receive $4,500 per either their total net student population or the number of new arrivals.
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While funding is available for all Colorado schools affected by the migrant crisis, Denver, a self-described “sanctuary city,” has recorded the lion’s share, 41,055, of new arrivals. Of those, thousands have been enrolled in Denver Public Schools since the October funding deadline.
“Our system was never built to handle this kind of challenge,” said Rob Gould, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. “You’re taking an already stressed system and applying more stress to it.”
The Town of Windsor has closed a Northern Colorado lake to motorized boating for 2026 as officials project rapidly declining water levels in the months ahead.
Windsor Lake, a popular destination for outdoor recreation, is currently full. However, town officials say that is expected to change quickly as water is sent downstream for irrigation and other uses.
“With the unknown water levels we are going to have at Windsor Lake, we didn’t feel it was safe to have any kind of motorized boating,” said Kendra Martin, the town’s operations and facilities manager.
The town’s recreation department made the decision to prohibit motorized boating because of concerns surrounding projected low water levels throughout the season.
“We love activity on this lake; it is a super bummer for those who have been on motorized boats on Windsor Lake,” Martin said.
Despite the lake appearing full now, officials say much of the water currently visible is not expected to remain through the summer.
“Due to the low snowpack this year, when water wasn’t yielding in here, only water would be coming out,” said Leif Lesoing, water resource manager for Windsor.
Lesoing said Windsor Lake operates in coordination with the New Cache La Poudre Irrigation Company and plays an important role in irrigation deliveries.
“We operate this reservoir with the New Cache La Poudre Irrigation Company. It is used to equalize their ditch deliveries,” Lesoing said.
According to officials, much of the water currently near the top of the reservoir is already expected to be drained in the coming weeks.
“While it does look full, their water is on the top of the reservoir,” Lesoing said, adding, “This reservoir works every day to make replacements for augmentation and return flows.”
Lesoing said the lake is expected to continue dropping throughout the irrigation season.
“This isn’t in here for the summer. It will be drawn down to make irrigation deliveries through the season,” Lesoing said.
With projections showing more water flowing out of the reservoir than into it for the remainder of the season, town officials said the lake’s boat ramp would not be safe for motorized boating operations.
Colorado
From home insurance to vacancy taxes: Bills that passed — and failed — this legislative session that western Colorado should know about
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