GOLDEN — Voters in Jefferson County will be asked in November to approve a $535 million bond issue — the largest amount of money ever requested by the state’s second-largest public school district — to make widespread improvements to buildings and facilities in the 86,000-student district.
Voters will also be asked to give their blessing to a $33 million mill levy override to help cover non-capital costs, such as hiring additional counselors and student support professionals and expanding science, technology, engineering and math programs.
The Jefferson County school board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to place both funding measures on the Nov. 8 ballot.
“We’re way behind the curve in basic maintenance of our facilities,” said board member Brad Rupert. “We can’t kick the can down the road further.”
The district has calculated that the owner of a $300,000 home would pay nearly $150 a year in additional property taxes on both the bond issue and the mill levy override. Businesses would pay more than $540 annually on that same $300,000 of property value.
Board member Susan Harmon said she understands that the additional tax burden could be a hardship for some members of the community, but she said “the (spending) deficits, the impacts on our kids cannot continue.”
Several members of the board noted that there hasn’t been a substantial bond issue passed in the district since 2004, when voters approved a $323.8 million measure. An additional $99 million measure went through four years ago, but a larger request for funding in 2008 was defeated soundly at the ballot box.
Coupled with decreased financial support from the state, board member Ali Lasell said Jefferson County has fallen behind surrounding districts in terms of funding. The district claims that it lags behind Denver, Douglas County, Boulder, Cherry Creek and Littleton school districts in terms of per-pupil bond funding.
“And, yes, investing in our facilities is investing in our students,” she said. “This bond issue is long overdue.”
The $535 million measure would go toward construction of several new schools, upgrading safety and security in school buildings, and improving 110 elementary, middle and high schools through renovation and repair of plumbing, electrical, lighting and mechanical systems. The money also would equip buildings in the 154-school district with updated technology.
The bond package would cover the first five-year phase of the $800 million, 12-year facilities master plan that the Jefferson County School District wants to implement to address crowded schools and aging buildings, many of which date back half a century.
The district’s request comes at the same time that totaling $628 million in front of voters to pay for school construction and the expansion of educational programs. Leaders in Adams 12 Five Star School District will consider a $350 million for the November ballot at the end of this month.
“This mill levy override and bond issue are critical tools needed by our administrators, staff and faculty to continue to grow the quality of the education we are offering our students,” Bill Bottoms, a member of pro-bond issue Citizens for Jeffco Schools, said at Tuesday’s meeting.
But not all community members are on board with the money-raising effort. Tom Coyne, of Golden, asked the board why a district such as the Poudre School District has higher academic achievement numbers without the additional money that Jefferson County has spent.
“The truth is the board doesn’t know the answers to these critical questions,” Coyne said. “And until you do, can you really claim to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ hard-earned money, much less ethically ask them for more?”
Laura Boggs, a frequent board critic, said she is particularly concerned with the language in the ballot measure that states that the repayment amount on the $535 million bond could max out at $987 million. She said if the bond issue was structured on a more aggressive repayment schedule, it would total closer to $700 million in potential debt.
“Yes, we need facilities improvements, but we shouldn’t be paying $200 million more than we need to,” she said. “If they actually told you the total cost of the bond, you’d freak out a little.”
She also criticized plans to move sixth-graders to middle schools throughout the district, saying that money should be used instead for facilities improvements.
But Amanda Stevens, a board member, said if Jefferson County wants to attract the best teachers and provide the best experience for students, .
“I want us to be the destination district,” she said.
