Amid tight budgets and wait times for funding, some Western Slope school districts are using interest-free loans to keep classrooms running through cash-flow gaps.

The Colorado Department of the Treasury announced on Sept. 3 that it had completed a $475 million sale that would be distributed as interest-free loans among 27 participating districts — including Aspen School District, Eagle County RE-50, Roaring Fork Schools and Summit County RE-1.

The department issues Education Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes twice a year to fund interest-free loans for K-12 school districts, which must be paid back within a given fiscal year, according to a news release from the treasurer’s office.

Because property taxes are collected in the spring, Colorado State Treasurer Dave Young said the interest-free loans can help school districts bridge temporary funding gaps that occur when daily operational costs outpace the seasonal timing of incoming state revenues. For some school districts, this means not having to dig into emergency reserves to pay staff on time and keep classrooms running smoothly year-round.

Summit School District, one of the districts to approve its participation in the interest-free program as part of its 2026–27 budget planning, said the loan allows the district to alleviate temporary deficits without draining its reserve funds. Board policy requires that the district maintain a minimum reserve fund balance to cover unexpected costs.

“(The loan program) supports the district’s ability to continue delivering educational services and meeting ongoing financial obligations when the timing of revenues and expenditures creates temporary cash-flow needs,” said Kerstin Anderson, Summit School District’s communications director.

Because the loans are a cash-flow tool rather than a new source of ongoing revenue, they do not impact the total 2026-27 funding amounts for Western Slope school districts, which were lower than expected for some districts under the Colorado School Finance Act.

“(Education Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes) ensure that school districts across Colorado can focus on educating students rather than worrying about temporary funding shortfalls,” James Eke, director of Capital Finance for the Colorado Department of the Treasury, said in the release. “By securing these funds at the state level, we can deliver the lowest-cost financing possible, saving schools money and keeping more resources in the classroom.”