For months, Jefferson County Public School administration has hosted budget labs, conducted a community priorities survey, and spoken to the school board about the need to cut $45 million from the district budget.

But it wasn’t until two weeks ago that Chrissy Norton and other Golden High School parents realized these cuts could mean the softball team they love could be eliminated.

“We’re a little bit late to the party on what has been taking place over the past several months,” Norton admitted to board members earlier this month. “It came to our attention over the past two weeks,” through conversations at their school, that athletics programs could lose $2 million.

The Nov. 13 school board meeting marked the first time district officials detailed specific cuts. The plan eliminates about 160 positions, with reductions ranging from 2 to 15 percent across departments.

For dozens of parents, coaches and students who packed the meeting, it was also the first time many grasped that the broad budget discussions they’d ignored or missed could mean the end of programs their children depend on.

How the cuts break down

According to Chief Financial Officer Brenna Copeland, the district’s reduction plan follows a tiered approach designed to protect classroom instruction.

Department cuts totaling as much as $27 million will include a 15% reduction in general administration, including the deputy superintendent position; 8-11% cuts to central and compliance functions; 4-8% reductions in indirect student support; 2-4 % cuts to direct student services; and no reductions to safety and security.

School-based cuts totaling $14 million will range from 1.5% reductions for small schools with high at-risk populations to 4.5% for large schools with lower at-risk populations, with a district average of 2.5%. Evergreen High School will be exempt following the recent shooting tragedy.

According to the district’s presentation, 8,271 survey responses and 3,320 comments shaped reduction priorities. The feedback consistently emphasized preserving resources closest to classrooms.

Parents call athletics cuts ‘disproportionate’

Norton argued the athletics department is absorbing more than its share. She calculated that athletics and activities, which account for roughly $21 million in annual spending, face $2 million in cuts. That works out to nearly 10 percent of the department’s budget, she said, while most direct student services face cuts of just 2-4 percent.

“We understand that potentially $2 million of the $60 million budget balance share is expected to come from the athletics and activities departments,” Norton said, noting this figure came from school-level conversations and remained uncon- firmed by the district.

She presented data showing Golden’s softball program rebounding strongly since the pandemic, with record participation across nearly all age groups and strong retention rates year over year.

“This upward trend demonstrates that a sustainable and growing pipeline of athletes is in place,” she said. “We fear that cutting this program now would be short-sighted.”

Norton wasn’t alone. Monica Grow, a Golden Softball Association board member and 10-year coach, asked the young athletes in attendance to stand.

“Let’s get our wiggles out a little bit, raise our hands, shake ourselves around,” she told them, encouraging high-fives after a long evening of waiting to speak. “We love these kids. We absolutely love them.”

For female athletes especially, Grow argued, sports provide crucial empowerment, teaching girls “to use their bodies in strong purposes and not just sexual purposes.”

A longer-term fix on the horizon

Even as families brace for immediate cuts, district officials are looking toward a longer-term fix.

A committee will form in January to develop a potential 2026 ballot measure. The Partnership for Fiscal Sustainability, which includes community members, parents, educators and business leaders who have been meeting since September, will resume monthly meetings after Thanksgiving to shape the proposal.

The timing is critical. The board must certify any ballot measure by August 2026 for it to appear on the November 2026 ballot. But even if voters approve new funding, programs cut now may be difficult to restore.

The push highlights Jeffco’s funding gap compared to neighboring districts. Jeffco receives $2,120 per student in voter-approved mill levy override funding, compared to $3,407 in Denver, $3,115 in Boulder and $3,004 in Cherry Creek.

Parents’ plea

Norton asked the board to halt any budget decisions affecting current athletic programs and to give threatened programs time to make their case for survival.

“Keep budget cuts as far away from students as possible,” she said.

She also called for equity in any cuts that do happen, suggesting that rather than eliminating entire programs, the district spread reductions across sports at each school.

Cutting programs now “would be short-sighted and risk undoing years of investment in developing girls athletics and leadership opportunities within our community,” she said.

Final reduction plans and service impacts will be published Dec. 18. For parents like Norton, that leaves just a few weeks to convince the board that programs built over generations shouldn’t disappear in a single budget cycle.