Stone Creek Charter Sets $55,000 Jog-a-Thon Goal Amid Funding Gaps

Aspen —$55,000. That is the target for Stone Creek Charter School’s 20th annual Jog-a-Thon, a figure that sounds modest until you break it down against the reality of running a K-8 public school in Eagle County. The event is set for Friday, September 25, at the Edwards Rec Center.

According to a report in the Vail Daily, Stone Creek Charter opened its doors in 2006. In that first year, the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) realized a stark financial truth: charter schools in Colorado operate with public funding, but that money often falls short of what traditional district students receive for enrichment.

“The first Jog-a-thon was born out of the need to raise funds because we did not receive equitable funding from the Eagle County Mill Levy,” recalled Dr. Siri DeForest Reynolds, Stone Creek Charter’s principal and one of the institution’s original members.

Let’s do the math on that equity gap. For nearly two decades, the school has relied on this annual run to bridge the difference between its budget and the cost of field trips, extracurriculars, and other activities that district students take for granted. The Vail Daily notes that the event has evolved from a humble beginning in a local park, where students ran as many laps as they could to collect per-lap donations from family and friends, into a significant fundraising engine.

The funding model for charter schools like Stone Creek is often misunderstood by locals. As the paper explained, these are public institutions, not private ones. They do not charge tuition. However, they operate with a degree of independence and flexibility overseen by the Colorado Charter School Institute (CSI). This autonomy allows for specialized programs but also means the school must hustle harder to cover costs that a traditional district might absorb through broader tax bases.

Here is the rub: Stone Creek has been left out of the upcoming Mill Levy Override proposal for November. That ballot measure offers additional, exclusive funding in exchange for a property tax increase in the county. For Stone Creek, exclusion from that specific revenue stream means the Jog-a-Thon isn’t just a fun day of running; it is a critical financial lifeline.

“Jog-a-Thon provides the additional funds needed for enrichment activities that are outside of our everyday educational experience,” Dr. DeForest Reynolds continued in the Vail Daily piece.

The school is a 501(c)(3) organization, which allows it to accept tax-deductible contributions. Dr. DeForest Reynolds invited the community to reach out directly if they wish to contribute in ways other than attending the event on September 25.

For neighbors in the Edwards and Vail areas, the practical impact is straightforward. If you have children in the K-8 range at Stone Creek, or if you simply value a public education system that isn’t starved for field trip money, your participation on Friday directly translates to dollars in the school’s operating budget. Without that $55,000 target being met, the gap between what charter students experience and what district students experience widens. The property tax hike on the November ballot will fund other parts of the system, but Stone Creek is betting its enrichment program on you showing up to the Rec Center.