In the small mountain town of Cripple Creek, widely known across Colorado for its casinos, donkey herds and mining history, sits a fittingly humble school district faced with rising costs and limited resources to address them. During the district’s spring break in late March, a high school teacher could be found alone in her classroom preparing for her students’ return the following week. The need to stay on top of workloads is nothing new in Cripple Creek-Victor District RE-1, which faces challenges with staffing gaps and attrition, aging facilities and long travel distances. But skyrocketing home values, insurance premiums and gas prices, along with new factors affecting state funding, may trickle down to their own shortfalls in future budgets. “You talk about the struggles in public education, this just feels like a perfect storm right now,” said Superintendent Dan Cummings.…