is considering whether to ask voters to approve a nearly $44 million mill levy override in November’s election as part of an effort to raise money for the city’s schools, according to a given to the Board of Education on Wednesday.
The potential for a mill levy override comes almost two years after Denver voters approved a nearly $1 billion bond measure for the district, which allowed DPS to incur debt to upgrade buildings and build a new school in the far northeast part of the city.
An advisory committee is preparing a recommendation on the mill levy override for the school board, which members will present in June and detail how DPS would use the additional taxpayer funds if passed.
DPS officials say the $43,958,184 mill levy override is needed, given the financial pressures K-12 school systems are facing, including declining enrollment and rising costs.
“There’s just a lot of unknown and uncertainties from our largest funding sources, which is our state and federal government,” said Katie Hechavarria, executive director of finance, during the meeting.
The district is facing a cost of living gap — where employee salaries fall behind housing and health insurance costs — and a growing demand for career and technology education, all of which requires more funding for DPS, Hechavarria said.
School board members will vote in August on whether to add the initiative to November’s ballot, according to the presentation.
A mill levy override allows K-12 districts to collect additional money from residents’ property taxes for ongoing expenses. Districts, like DPS, can receive more money than the state government gives them when voters approve such measures.
The override being considered by DPS would increase the average homeowners’ costs by about $5.91 a month, or $71 annually, according to the districtap .
Denver voters last approved a $32 million override in 2020, which DPS used to increase teacher wages and fund mental health, nursing and special education services.
The district will hold six meetings to seek input from the community on how to spend potential mill levy override revenue.
Those meetings will take place on the following dates:
- April 21: 6:30 p.m. at Gust Elementary, 3440 W. Yale Ave.
- April 27: 6:30 p.m. at Westerly Creek Elementary, 8800 E. 28th Ave.
- May 4: at 6:30 p.m. at Holm Elementary, 3185 S. Willow Court.
- May 6: 6:30 p.m. at Trevista at Horace Mann, 4130 Navajo St.
- May 12: 6:30 p.m. Responsive Arts and Steam Academy FNE, 19201 E. 62nd Ave.
- May 14: 6:30 p.m. at Whittier ECE-8, 2480 Downing St.
