5A was one of two mill levy overrides on the ballot to benefit Jeffco Public Schools. The other, 5B, was failing by a larger margin.

The vacancy was created by the resignation of central-east Denver’s District 3 rep DJ Torres, who said the board spent too much time on “internal conflict.”

Three seats on the nine-member partisan board are up for election.

The mill levy override would raise $44 million for the school district to pay for employee raises, career and technical education classes, and more.

The number of test questions will remain the same, but students will be given less time to finish.

Despite months of tension, board members struck a positive tone when discussing the superintendent’s evaluation.

The applicants include former board member Scott Esserman and former candidates for the seat Caron Blanke and Mike DeGuire.

The Colorado School of Mines, the University of Colorado Denver, and Adams State University are among the colleges that have direct admissions agreements.

The school has just 24 students this year.

Superintendent Alex Marrero cited declining district enrollment and the likelihood of more school closures, which would require boundary adjustments. He said he didn’t want communities to “navigate multiple rounds of enduring this type of pain.”