As a radical experiment in public schooling, where students choose from small schools with specific concentrations, Mapleton School District is seeking a $2.97 million mill-levy override and $64 million bond issue this fall.
If the plan is approved and implemented over the next three years, taxpayers could expect a $9.77 monthly tax increase for every $100,000 of a home’s assessed value, beginning in 2009. For 2010 and 2011, the increase would go to $13.41 and $14.40, respectively, and will stabilize at $14.45 thereafter.
The monthly tax boost for business owners would be $35.58 for every $100,000 of a property’s value in 2009, and $48.84 and $52.64 in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Mike Paulino, owner of Paulino Gardens in Denver, said his business would see an additional $2,000 to 3,000 in annual taxes.
“I don’t mind paying a little, but it’s too high, too much,” Paulino said. “I don’t know what would be an OK amount, but what they want is impossible,”
Paulino and a dozen other business owners spoke out Aug. 26 at Mapleton’s board meeting against the bond plan, which would cost taxpayers $133.9 million by the time it is paid off in 2033.
The school district’s chief financial officer, Don Herman, said upgrading fire systems and security processes are priorities, and renovation of entrances is estimated to cost $9.6 million.
Waldo Aguilar has two kids in the Mapleton district and is working with a group of parents and teachers to raise awareness about the bond issue. He said his biggest concern is security at Skyview Senior High, where his daughter is a ninth-grader.
“The way they have their entrance, nobody could stop anybody from coming in,” Aguilar said. “Skyview is an accident waiting to happen.”
The district has schools in Denver and Thornton.
Sally S. Ho: 303-954-1638 or sho@denverpost.com
