Thirty-three of Colorado’s 178 districts, representing more than half of all Colorado students, went to voters this year asking for nearly $7 billion in tax measures. More than half of the measures passed, including most of the largest districts asking for support.
The totals are still being finalized by the Colorado School Finance Project.
There are two types of measures. Mill levy overrides are property tax increases to pay for district operations and teachers’ salaries. Bonds are used for one-time expenses to build new school buildings or facilities or do major repairs and upgrades. Some of those bonds were matching bonds with the state's BEST grants. Most of the bond requests this year wouldn’t impose new taxes.
Inflation has hit schools hard, COVID relief dollars ran out this fall and the state still funds schools below the national average. What schools are responsible for, including ramped-up security, mental health and career training has increased greatly over the past decade. Schools are aging and school officials say capital needs are urgent in many districts.
Historically, support for mill levy overrides versus bonds is pretty evenly split, with voter turnout in presidential years fairly supportive of the measures, according to Tracie Rainey, executive director of the Colorado School Finance Project. But this year nine mill levy overrides passed, while six failed.
“It was very difficult for districts to pass mill levy overrides,” Rainey said. “There was more success with bonds, not completely. Any time that you can go to your voters and not have to raise taxes is always a much simpler message.”
- Montezuma Cortez School District has never passed a mill levy override before and this year it did, 53% to 47 percent.
- Holyoke School District, near the Nebraska border, hadn’t passed a bond in 20 years and this year was the charm by a vote of 52% to 48 percent.
- Pueblo County School District 70, which is outside the Pueblo 60 city district, has never passed a tax increase for schools, and once again voters rejected the request 53% to 47 percent.
- Harrison School District 2, in Colorado Springs, which hasn’t passed a mill levy override in 20 years passed one this year 55% to 45 percent. The money will go to teacher pay and funding for community college scholarships, which previously were funded privately.
- Adams County School District 14, where many residents live in poverty, once again rejected measures to raise teachers’ salaries and build a new middle school. It last passed a bond in 2008 and a mill levy override in the late 1990s.
Karla Loría, superintendent of Adams 14, thanked voters who participated.
“The fact that we were just shy of 300 votes on both measures shows that the community is beginning to rebuild trust in the district,” she said. “This is a clear sign that we’re moving in the right direction and working toward uniting our community for the benefit of our students.”
Denver Public Schools
Voters soundly passed the largest bond in the district’s history by a vote of 74% to 26 percent. The $975 million measure will pay for maintenance at 154 buildings, outdoor classroom upgrades, cafeterias, auditoriums and athletic fields. Most notably, by 2028, all DPS buildings will be air-conditioned. The bond will pay for Chromebooks for students and hot spots for students without internet service at home.
“We are grateful for the foresight of our community to help us ensure that our students will be provided a safe and welcoming environment in which to learn and grow,” said DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero.
Durango 9-R School District
It passed its $150 million bond by a vote of 61% to 39 percent.
Mesa County District 51
It passed a bond 61% to 39% and a mill levy override 59% to 41 percent.
To read more stores from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org.
