Momentum Is a Choice

Across Colorado, school districts are preparing for financial pressure in the 2026–27 budget cycle. Revenue forecasts are tightening. Funding formulas are under review. Enrollment trends continue to shift.

We are watching those developments closely. But in Garfield Re-2, we are not waiting for uncertainty to dictate our direction.

Momentum is a choice, and we are choosing to move forward.

If you want to understand our priorities, look at where we are investing.

Career and Technical Education pathways across our high schools are expanding. These are not add-ons. They are intentional, emerging systems designed to prepare students for real careers.

Agriculture remains our certified pathway and a model of excellence. Now we are building layered pathways in business and marketing, engineering, exercise science, and outdoor recreation leadership, while exploring a future teacher education pathway in partnership with Colorado Mountain College. This work takes time, expertise, and commitment, and our staff is fully invested.

At Rifle High School, students relaunched the school store and have generated more than $7,000 in sales while applying real-world business principles. They are not completing simulations. They are running an actual enterprise.

Through a $75,000 Nathan Yip Foundation grant, we are strengthening our engineering pathway with upgraded equipment, expanded Project Lead The Way training, and a stronger 6–12 STEM pipeline. Students will work with industry-level tools that reflect the careers they are preparing to enter.

These pathways reflect our Strategic Plan and Graduate Profile. They ensure students leave our schools prepared academically, technically, and personally.

Responsible Stewardship in Real Time

We are equally deliberate about how we fund this work.

Garfield Re-2 ranks 151st out of 178 Colorado districts in per-pupil funding. That reality requires discipline and creativity.

We have leveraged Building Exceptional Schools Today (BEST) and Garfield County Federal Mineral Lease District grants to upgrade school security systems. We are preparing additional grant applications to address roof repairs and playground improvements. The Counselor Corps Grant is expanding mental health services across our district. We continue pursuing outside funding so local dollars stretch further.

Fiscal responsibility is not just a phrase. In Garfield Re-2, it is daily work.

Even amid statewide financial uncertainty, our student outcomes continue to move in the right direction.

Our four-year graduation rate rose to 87.7 percent, above the statewide average and leading neighboring districts. Our dropout rate remains below the state average.

These numbers represent more than percentages. They represent students who feel connected. Students who see purpose in their learning. Students who believe graduation is within reach, and the staff who inspire them every day.

Meeting Housing Challenges Head-On

We would be unrealistic not to acknowledge the ongoing housing challenges affecting our region.

Recruiting and retaining educators in Western Colorado remains difficult. Garfield Re-2 currently has approximately 56 open positions, many in special education. Housing costs and salary competitiveness are real factors in that equation.

Yet even within those constraints, our schools are adapting.

When Rifle Middle School was unable to secure housing for a mid-year band hire, leaders launched a Forensic Science course to ensure students continued to receive meaningful, hands-on instruction. Our high school band instructor also stepped in to provide additional after-school support.

Housing pressures are not easy topics to address, but they affect families, employers, and classrooms alike. Our response has been consistent. Adapt where we can. Innovate when necessary. Keep students at the center of every decision.

There is no denying that the state funding environment requires vigilance. We will continue to monitor revenue forecasts and legislative action carefully. Uncertainty does not change our purpose.

We will continue stewarding taxpayer dollars responsibly.
We will continue building pathways that connect learning to opportunity.
We will continue strengthening outcomes for students across every group.
We will continue addressing housing challenges with persistence and resolve.
We will continue to use the community-driven strategic plan drive the direction we go.

Momentum does not happen by accident. It happens when a district commits to steady, disciplined work focused on students, supported by staff, and grounded in community.

Garfield Re-2 will continue moving forward, strategically and responsibly, with an unwavering commitment to every student entrusted to our care.