Northern Colorado's Poudre School District cuts staffing while offering raises to others

Northern Colorado's Poudre School District is reducing staffing across multiple employee groups while also providing salary increases for employees as it works through ongoing budget challenges.

The district did not renew 110 probationary licensed teaching positions and eliminated 72 classified positions at the end of the 2025-26 school year, according to a district spokesperson.

The district said the impact of budget constraints extends beyond those reductions. In some cases, positions left vacant by retiring or resigning employees were not filled.

District officials said staffing and budget decisions are made at the school and department level by building and department leaders based on the needs of individual schools and departments.

The final number of staffing reductions could change as the district transitions between fiscal years, according to the district.

At the same time, Poudre School District approved compensation increases for employees for the 2026-27 school year through its negotiations process with the district's three employee associations: the Poudre Education Association, the Association of Classified Employees and the Poudre Association of School Executives.

The negotiations process concluded in late May. The district allocated $5.4 million toward compensation increases, resulting in an approximate 1.81% increase for licensed and classified employees and 1.62% for administrative and professional staff.

District officials said compensation increases for all employee groups were approved together as part of the same negotiations process.

Actual salary increases will vary among employees because some of the funding is being used for market adjustments, and employee compensation is also determined by placement on the salary schedule, according to the district.