Funding is up and spending is below average. Both are true.
These are two different measures, and they are never drawn on one axis. One is the state funding formula. The other is all current spending divided by fall enrollment, which is how the federal government compares states.
The measure changed part-way through this series. FY 2025-26 is the first year of the new school funding formula (HB24-1448), phased in until it applies in full from FY 2031-32 (HB25-1320's final fiscal note). On the old formula the year works out to $11,708.60 per pupil; it was funded at $11,876.12.
The money section, with both measures side by side
Where these figures come from
- Colorado Department of Education — FY2025-26 District Funding Calculation Worksheet - HB25-1320 Updated January 14, 2026 (XLS) (opens in a new tab)
- National Center for Education Statistics — Digest of Education Statistics 2025, table 236.75 (total and current expenditures per pupil in fall enrollment, by state, 2022-23) (opens in a new tab)
Data as of 15 October 2026. Every figure here is read from the checked Colorado dataset when this page is built, so a correction to the data corrects this page. Nothing on it was typed by hand.
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