What Roaring Fork School District does

Roaring Fork School District (doing business as Roaring Fork Schools) is a Colorado public K-12 school district headquartered at 400 Sopris Ave, Carbondale, CO 81623. The district serves over 5,300 students across 14 schools spanning the communities of Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Basalt, operating a full PreK-12 continuum in each community. Core instructional offerings include early childhood education (including Universal Preschool Colorado), K-12 academic programs, and dual language and biliteracy pathways. Support services include transportation (covering portions of Garfield, Eagle, Pitkin, and Gunnison counties), food and nutrition programs (with a Summer Food Program), mental health and counseling (delivered in partnership with Aspen Hope Center), a Family Resource Center, and a Parent Portal built on Infinite Campus.

The district operates under a 2024-2029 Strategic Plan organized around five priorities — Students First, Rigorous Learning for All, Operational Excellence, Student-Centered Partnerships, and Thriving Team. The technology stack is standard K-12 edtech: Infinite Campus for student information, ParentSquare for family communications, Panorama Education for survey analytics, Applitrack for hiring, Okta for staff SSO, Google Workspace for collaboration, and SchoolBlocks/SchoolFeed for the public website. There is no disclosed proprietary technology platform or in-house AI capability.

Funding is sourced primarily through the Colorado Public School Finance Act (state per-pupil funding) and local property taxes. The district is exploring a November 2026 voter-approved Mill Levy Override of approximately $5 million, with a proposed 80/10/10 allocation across salaries and benefits, recruitment/retention, and charter school share. Approximately 85% of the current operating budget supports salaries and benefits, and the district has publicly disclosed that experienced teacher salaries run $11,000+ below peer districts, with average teacher salaries $5,500 below peers — the primary financial pressure driving the MLO. As a government state entity, the district is publicly owned and governed by an elected Board of Education chaired by Lindsay Defrates; leadership includes Superintendent's team with Christy Chicoine as Chief of Finance and Aimee Brockman as Chief of Human Resources and Talent.

Name

Roaring Fork School District

Legal name

Roaring Fork School District

Website

https://rfsd.k12.co.us

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Roaring Fork School District is a Colorado public K-12 school district serving over 5,300 students across 14 schools in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Basalt. Funded by state allocations and property taxes, it provides a full PreK-12 continuum, dual-language programs, and student support services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Public Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC), Positive Discipline & Behavior Support Programs (EDACALAD)

Keywords

• K-12 public education
• PreK-12 school continuum
• Dual language programs
• Student support services
• Public school district

Headquarters

HQ city

Basalt

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Roaring Fork Schools is a public school district delivering comprehensive PreK-12 education to over 5,300 students across 14 schools in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Basalt, Colorado. The district provides dual language and biliteracy programs, transportation services across four counties, food and nutrition services with summer meal support, mental health and counseling services, and a Family Resource Center. Programs are publicly funded through state allocations and local property taxes at no direct cost to families.

Product overview

Roaring Fork Schools is a public school district offering comprehensive educational services through 14 schools serving over 5,300 students in the communities of Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Basalt, Colorado. The district operates a PreK-12 school continuum with Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs, K-12 academic instruction, and Dual Language/Biliteracy options. Beyond core academics, the district provides essential support services including Transportation, Food and Nutrition Services (with Summer Food Program), Mental Health and Counseling, and a Parent Portal for family engagement. The district operates under a 2024-2029 Strategic Plan with five key priorities and is currently proposing a 2026 Mill Levy Override to address teacher recruitment and retention challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early Childhood Education (ECE) Early childhood education programs serving preschool-age children, including Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado which offers up to 30 hours of free preschool for eligible families.
• K-12 Education Comprehensive PreK-12 educational programs across 14 schools in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Basalt communities, each offering a school continuum from elementary through high school.
• Dual Language and Biliteracy Programs Bilingual education options providing dual language instruction and biliteracy development, leveraging the rich diversity of the student population.
• Transportation Services School bus transportation serving students within attendance boundaries, covering portions of Garfield, Eagle, Pitkin, and Gunnison counties. Includes special needs transportation and extra-curricular transportation for sports and activities.
• Food and Nutrition Services School meal programs including breakfast, lunch, Farm to School initiatives, and School Garden programs. Also provides Summer Food Program with bulk meal packs during summer months (June 16 through August 6).
• Mental Health and Counseling Services School counselors, social workers, and psychologists providing social-emotional support, college and career counseling, and partnerships with Aspen Hope Center for targeted mental health services.
• Family Resource Center (FRC) Connects families to critical resources, reduces barriers, and provides support through Family Liaisons trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid and Motivational Interviewing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,300 students served across 14 schools
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Colorado Gives Day / Colorado Gives FoundationsupportingOthersMonetary donations to the Family Resource Center (FRC) can be made through the Colorado Gives Day portal, which helps continue offering emergency assistance to families in need across the Roaring Fork community
• Lift-UPsupportingOthersActive partner supporting families across the Basalt and greater Roaring Fork community through direct services and support
• SANAsupportingOthersActive partner supporting families across the Basalt and greater Roaring Fork community through community support initiatives
• Aspen Hope CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMost schools have partnerships with Aspen Hope Center (AHC) to have school-based clinicians, which strengthens access to targeted mental health services for students who require additional support. Grant-funded partnership for mental health crisis response and suicide screening
• Colorado Department of EducationcoreOthersPublic School Finance Act oversight; state-level funding and regulatory oversight of district operations and student enrollment
• Safe2TellcoreOthersAnonymous reporting system for students to report safety concerns, threats, or concerning behavior

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Eagle County School District (RE-50): Neighboring Colorado mountain school district of comparable size serving Vail Valley communities with similar PreK-12 offerings and resort-area economics. Directly competes for students and teaching talent along the I-70 corridor.
• Aspen School District: Immediately adjacent mountain Colorado district serving Aspen and Snowmass Village. Comparable in scale and demographics, competes for enrollment and instructional staff within the same regional labor and housing market.
• Garfield County School District 16: Adjacent Garfield County district serving Parachute and Battlement Mesa. Comparable rural Colorado public school district serving a similar western slope population.
• Garfield Re-2 School District (Rifle): Same county as Roaring Fork but covers Rifle, Silt, and New Castle with a comparable PreK-12 structure and rural/mountain demographic. Operates under the same Colorado Public School Finance Act funding model.
• Summit School District: Mountain resort-area Colorado district serving Dillon, Frisco, and Silverthorne. Highly comparable in size, resort economy exposure, and rural K-12 operating model.

Regional players

• Mesa County Valley School District 51: Larger western Colorado public school district serving the Grand Junction area. Comparable in public K-12 delivery but operates at meaningfully larger scale and serves a different sub-region.
• San Miguel County School District (Telluride): Mountain resort-area Colorado district serving Telluride and surrounding communities. Similar in scale and resort-economy dynamics but geographically distinct from the Roaring Fork Valley.
• Durango School District 9-R: Western slope Colorado public school district serving the Durango area. Comparable in rural Colorado K-12 delivery model and demographic mix, though operates in a different sub-region.

Broad incumbents

• Boulder Valley School District: Larger, established Colorado public school district with similar strategic priorities around equity and dual language programming. Comparable as a public K-12 operator but with materially greater scale and a different demographic base.
• Cherry Creek School District: Large, established Colorado public school district. Comparable as a public K-12 operator with comprehensive programming, but operates in the Denver metro area at substantially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3qwq39csHEcWCK3Jb-2tgg
• Xx.com/rfsdweb
• Facebookfacebook.com/RoaringForkSchoolDistrict

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Roaring Fork School District