DENVER – Colorado’s three largest school districts asked voters this year for more money, two are on track to fail. For two of them, their school boards will need to regroup and figure something else out, as voters in their districts appear on track to reject new taxes.
Denver Public Schools, however, was overwhelmingly successful in its bid to up taxes in the district by $44 million a year. By 8 a.m. Wednesday, ballot issue 4A was winning with 68 percent of the vote.
The mill levy increase will increase property taxes on a home by $11.50 per every $100,000 in value of a home. With the median home price at $625,000 that comes to about $72 per year, or $6 month. Of that money, $25.8 million will go toward raises. Another $4 million is earmarked for career and technical education, $2.9 million for student mental health and $2 million for special education. State law requires the district to share override revenue with its charter schools, which will receive $9.3 million.
Denver voters have a history of approving new taxes, having approved seven overrides over the past four decades.
The state’s two other largest districts were not faring as well, with the Douglas County schools mill levy increase failing by nearly 55 percent. That mill levy was predicted to generate an estimated $54 million a year, to be used on such things as teacher salaries, school security, career and technical programming, and restoring programs previously cut such as music.
The largest piece, $21.4 million, would have paid for a 4 percent raise for teachers and staff. Another $12 million was slated for charter schools. Homeowners would have paid about $33.70 a year for every $100,000 in home value. The school board voted unanimously in August to send the measure to voters after district polling showed 55 percent support for the added increase.
And in Jefferson County School District R-1 the decision wasn’t quite as clear. Jeffco had two measures before voters. The first a mill levy override that would generate $73 million the first year for teacher retention, college preparatory instruction and career and technical education programs, as well as a second mill levy override that would generate $60 million in the first year for what the district labeled as “critical” upgrades and maintenance of schools.
Although both measures were losing, it was a much tighter race. Ballot issue 5A was down by just .66 of a percent with 127,697 against and 126,024 for. Opponents of ballot issue 5B had a little more breathing room with that issue failing by 51.49 percent of the vote.
In addition to the 3.9 mill increase, 5B would also have risen with inflation and had no end date, something opponents were vocal about. If the measures fail, the district that has lost more than 12,000 students in the past decade and cut 350 jobs earlier this year, is in trouble, as it wagered its $1.41 billion budget on the assumption the override would pass.
Nearly two dozen Colorado districts asked voters for property tax increases tied to either teacher recruitment and retention or bricks and mortar. And while Colorado voters were willing to pay for school buildings Tuesday, most drew the line at new taxes to run them.
Returns early Wed. morning showed most bond measures passing, while mill levy overrides aimed at staff pay were failing in nearly every district that had reported results.
In Colorado Springs School District 11, voters appear ready to approve a $775 million bond to upgrade every school in the district. Ballot issue 4A had 51.41 percent of the vote. If it holds, it would be the district’s first successful bond since 2004.
Cheyenne Mountain District 12’s $80 million bond, ballot issue 4B, was leading with 61.14 percent. The money would rebuild Skyway Park Elementary and pay for facility upgrades and a new high school athletic field, with the district’s tax rate staying at 55 mills.
Requests for operating money did not fare as well. In Hanover School District 28, 75.46 percent of voters rejected four new permanent mills for staff pay. In Teller County, a quarter-cent sales tax for Woodland Park School District RE-2 was losing 66.95 percent to 33.05 percent.
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