Denver Public Schools leaders warn of financial 'catastrophe'

Denver Public Schools is facing a potential financial “catastrophe” that its leaders say could trigger more school closures and job cuts, and require Superintendent Alex Marrero to dip into reserves to balance the district’s billion-dollar budget.

Officials with Colorado’s largest school district are sounding the alarm over what they call a three-pronged threat coming for DPS coffers: declining student enrollment, plus anticipated budget cuts at both the state and federal levels.

So far, only one of those threats has been realized. DPS is down 1,200 students — mostly immigrant children who had offset the impact of falling birth rates — and, in turn, will receive $18.5 million less annually in per-pupil funding. DPS enrolled 90,450 students last year.

A majority of the 1,200 students