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Faced with a looming deficit, Jeffco Public Schools is weighing whether to ask voters in November to approve a $135 million tax increase.
A community advisory group has recommended the funding be used for teacher salaries, career and technical education programs, technology, and safety and building upgrades. If voters approve the measure, property taxes would increase by $3.58 per month on every $100,000 of a home’s value, according to a district presentation.
Although Jeffco is Colorado’s second-largest school district with 74,000 students, it spends less money per pupil than several other metro districts, according to state data. Part of the reason is that Jeffco voters have approved fewer tax increases, known as mill levy overrides.
But with declining student enrollment, an aging population, and skepticism about how the district spent the money from the last tax increase eight years ago, district leaders know that asking for another one won’t be easy. The school board is expected to vote this fall on whether to put a measure on the November ballot.
“It scares the hell out of me to put this on a ballot, but I believe personally that we must,” board President Michelle Applegate said at a May meeting.
Jeffco has dipped into its budget reserves for the past two years and is set to use $13 million from its reserves this upcoming school year. In a state that funds its school districts based on enrollment, Jeffco’s has been decreasing for more than a decade and is predicted to continue doing so, largely due to declining birth rates.
The district has tried to rein in spending by closing 21 schools in the past five years, selling empty buildings, and cutting more than 130 staff positions. But district leaders said it hasn’t been enough to cover the rising costs of teacher salaries, utilities, and special education.
The Trump administration has also threatened to withhold federal funding from Jeffco over its policies protecting transgender students.
If Jeffco voters reject a tax increase in November, the district will have to make deeper cuts. A June budget memo said those cuts could include additional school closures and layoffs, a salary freeze, or increased healthcare costs for staff.
Tracy Dorland, who stepped down as Jeffco’s superintendent this week, said in June that she asked district staff to begin preparing a “just-in-case plan” for if the ballot measure fails.
“Those are districtwide measures that we didn’t take this year that we tabled, hoping that we could put all the hard work in and get this over the line and not have to do it,” she said.
A $135 million mill levy override would be the largest such tax increase Jeffco has asked voters to approve in recent years. The 2018 mill levy override was for $33 million. In 2016, Jeffco voters rejected both a mill levy override and a bond measure.
A community advisory group recommended the $135 million amount in May. The group proposed the district spend $75 million on staff salaries and career and technical education programming and $60 million on building maintenance and technology.
Jeffco had to cancel, delay, or dismiss school early 10 times this past year because of operational issues such as cracked pipes or power outages, according to a district presentation. Some older schools have asbestos or lead that needs to be remediated, and 19 schools have heating, ventilation, and cooling systems at risk of imminent failure.
The average salary for a Jeffco teacher at a district-run school this past year was $84,392 according to state data, ranking it fourth out of the five largest Colorado districts.
The district’s hands-on classes are popular, but space is limited. Warren Tech, Jeffco’s career and technical education center, has a projected enrollment of nearly 1,800 students next year and a waitlist of 1,487 more.
Advisory group member and Jeffco parent Devin Mills said including pay raises for teachers will be key to getting voters to say yes. Polling of Jeffco residents shows the same.
“This is, in my opinion, because teachers are really cool,” Mills said at a May school board meeting. “Everybody likes teachers. They have a face. They have a story.”
Only 26% of Jefferson County households have children, according to the United States Census Bureau.
“You need to convince that retired person on a fixed income that if their home is worth $620,000, they gotta give up eating at McDonald’s once a month to save that $22 so that we can make sure these kids have a future,” said Randy England, a Jeffco parent and advisory group member.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
