Capital Construction

About Us

A branch of CDE, the Division of Capital Construction has developed a series of programs and resources for capital construction funding and technical assistance for school districts, traditional public schools, charter schools, BOCES, and the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind.

Please join the CCA listserve to receive Division announcements.

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FY2020-21 Grant Cycle Update:

Thank you to BOCES, charter and district schools that participated in the Fiscal Year 20-21 BEST Grant Review meeting. As mentioned during the meeting, this grant round is unlike any other in the past because we do not yet have a definitive dollar amount to award projects.

The number of grants ultimately awarded will depend on appropriations identified in the Long Bill and votes by the State Board of Education (SBE) and Capital Development Committee (CDC). Many projects will also depend on local bond initiatives in November. And, lastly, the number of projects funded through Certificates of Participation (COP) will be subject to appropriations as well as decisions made by the State Treasurer, taking into account market conditions and any subsequent sale of COPs.

As it stands today, the State budget is not set. Below is a draft schedule (subject to change):

Week of May 18: Joint Budget Committee voted to reduce BEST Cash Grants to $25M. Given statute, and the prioritized list, this may affect award of COP projects as well.
May 26: Legislature targeting to return to session
June 1: The CCAB will hold a Special Meeting. (See meeting details below)
June 10-11: The State Board will meet to review and vote to approve the prioritized project list
By June 12 the Legislature should have adopted a budget and School Finance Act which both will then go to Gov. Polis for final signature
July 15: CDC plans to meet to review and vote to approve COP projects on the prioritized list.

Given this timeline, we finished the May Meeting with a prioritized list of projects, with no actual funding line set. We will update the list as often as we can as more information is made available to us. Thank you for your patience.

Opportunities and Announcements:

The CCAB will hold a Special Meeting: Monday, June 1st, 10am. This meeting will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.
- View the meeting agenda.
- Members of the public can listen to the meeting proceedings via phone by calling 1-929-341-4269 , Conference ID: 730 983 741#, or via web here.
FY2020-2021 Grant Cycle update: The full list of recommended projects is now available. Note*: Due to COVID-19 related delays in legislative appropriation, funding levels are not yet known. Grants are recommended for award in the priority order listed in the spreadsheet, as funding allows.
- View the list of recommended projects.
The 2020-2021 BEST Application is now closed. 69 applications were received, totaling over one billion dollars in capital construction needs.
- View the full list of applicants.

BEST Video

Happy ten-year anniversary to the Building Excellent Schools Today grant program!

Since 2008 BEST has awarded approximately $2.5 billion in grants to more than 525 Colorado schools, improving health, safety and security for nearly 300,000 students.

With funding from The Colorado State Land Board, Colorado Lottery, marijuana excise tax, and local matching dollars, BEST continues to improve Colorado's educational environments through capital construction projects helping schools to realize CDE's vision that "All students graduate ready for college and careers, and are prepared to be productive citizens of Colorado."

For more information or if an alternative version of a document is needed, please contact BESTSchools@cde.state.co.us or call 303-866-2153.