Seeing confidence in the economy, growing needs in schools, and strong public support for education, leaders of some large school districts will seek new taxes on November’s ballot.
At least seven districts, including those in Aurora, Jeffco, Douglas, Thompson and Westminster, have approved proposals asking voters to increase local revenues to pay for new safety measures and to raise teacher salaries.
The school board in Aurora placed a $35 million request on the ballot Tuesday, after a consultant hired to help evaluate the public mood said the country is generally very supportive of public education this year.
Voters statewide will also decide on an income tax plan to increase school funding for all Colorado districts. If approved, the new state funding would cover full-day kindergarten, but would be used otherwise at the discretion of each district.
Officials in school districts placing their own questions on the ballot either said they doubt the state measure will succeed or that they believe both are still necessary for their schools.
“It starts with our community first, and I think that’s what we have to recognize,” said Ryan McCoy, president of Westminster’s school board. “We can’t worry about what other school districts and their communities are thinking and wait to see what the state does as a whole.”
But board members in at least one district, in Montezuma, said they did worry that a local tax proposal in addition to the state’s request would be too much for voters.
Officials in the districts seeking local measures now will focus on helping voters understand the specific improvements their taxes would fund.
For instance, Jason Glass, superintendent of Jeffco schools, has laid out in blog posts the differences between what would be funded by the state measure and two district requests.
Jeffco school board members described the state measure as a necessary “long-term solution,” whereas the local proposals would address more immediate needs such as building repairs and safety improvements through mental health, counseling and school security.
Keith Frederick, the consultant who spoke to the Aurora school board this week, also asked voters about their interest in the specific items the district planned to pay for. Teacher pay, school safety and mental health measures “all scored extremely high,” he said.
At a public meeting for Jeffco on Thursday night, the board heard more than an hour of comments mostly from supportive teachers, parents and other community members. Teachers and other school staff shared stories about working multiple jobs to get by, and told the board their students “deserved better.”
Support for higher teacher pay has been mounting as teachers have walked out of schools this year in Colorado and across the country, demanding better school funding. The attention on mental health and safety measures has grown following a number of high-profile shootings in schools.
Like several of the districts going to voters, Jeffco has failed in past attempts to increase local taxes, most recently in 2016.
The Westminster school district has failed repeatedly to pass local tax hikes. Recognizing that, it is requesting only a $9.9 million mill levy override, less than in previous years.
“We could have gone for twice this amount, but we asked members of the community where their comfort was,” said Dino Valente, Westminster school board member. “Does this do everything we want to do? No it doesn’t, but it’s a start. It’s been over 20 years since we passed a mill levy override in our district and that’s quite frankly pathetic.”
Aurora’s school district has enjoyed voter support for previous tax measures. The mill levy override request proposed this year will be the largest request that has been made in that district.
Because of differences in the assessed value of their tax base, Aurora’s $35 million request, and Westminster’s $9.9 million request will have among the largest financial impacts on homeowners.
If Aurora’s measure is approved, homeowners will pay an additional $98.64 per year for every $100,000 of a home’s value. If Westminster’s measure is approved, homeowners there will pay an additional $103 per year for every $100,000 of a home’s value.
Tax requests and their impact on homeowners per year