More than a dozen Colorado school districts, including , will ask voters this November to approve mill levy overrides — a sign of how crucial such ballot measures have become in helping K-12 systems fund their operations.
But this year, districts face two challenges in winning approval: They must vie for voters’ attention on crowded ballots and make their case for tax hikes during a cost-of-living crisis.
“The economy being flat, inflation still being a problem — it’s going to be tough to get the message out there,” political consultant Steve Welchert said.
Statewide, about 15 school boards have voted to place mill levy overrides on November’s ballot, and the number is expected to climb in the coming months, according to the .
The state’s three largest districts are among the school systems asking voters for money. DPS will have a $44 million mill levy override on the ballot, while the has a similar $54 million measure.
is asking voters to approve $133 million in marking the first time in eight years that Colorado’s second-largest district has asked for a tax increase to raise money.
If their measures are approved, all three districts plan to use the money they raise to increase teacher salaries, expand career and technical programming and other services.
“We understand this year is a hard ask,” said Erin Kenworthy, vice president of Jeffco Public Schools’ Board of Education. But, she said, “Jeffco students deserve some increased investment.”
Mill levy overrides allow districts to collect more money than the state-determined funding rate already set on property taxes. For example, the Denver measure would increase the average homeowner’s costs by about $5.91 a month, or $71 annually, according to the district.
But districts will be fighting for voters’ attention when it comes to this year’s ballots, which will be filled with multiple state and county tax measures.
The crowding of the ballot, coupled with concerns about rising taxes, could make it harder to convince voters to approve the districts’ mill levy overrides, Welchert said.
“It’s still a challenge to get all the way through the ballot,” he said.
K-12 districts are also facing rising costs at a time when the state and federal governments are tightening their own budgets and enrollment is declining, leading to less per-pupil funding. As a result, school systems are turning to local taxpayers for money via mill levy overrides.
Nowhere is this more apparent than Jeffco Public Schools, which recently cut $45 million from its budget, including 139 jobs. The district expects to use $13 million from its reserves to balance its nearly $1 billion budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, despite those cuts.
Jeffco Public Schools will have to implement a second round of budget cuts if voters don’t approve the mill levy override this November, Kenworthy said.
“We’re still in a deficit,” she said. “If we have to do another round, the impacts to students will be felt.”
Overall, revenue from mill levy overrides makes up a larger share of K-12 districts’ funding compared to a decade ago.
Statewide, overrides made up almost 11% of districts’ revenue during the 2023-24 academic year, up from 9.2% in the 2014-15 school year, according to the latest data from the Colorado School Finance Project.
District officials say they need to increase educators’ salaries because costs, including health care and housing, are outpacing wages. They also argue they need to expand career and technical education programs for students.
“We’ve had a lot of needs for students, and traditionally, if you look nationally, Colorado doesn’t fund its K-12 schools entirely to its ability to do so,” said DPS Chief of Finance Chuck Carpenter.
Studies commissioned by state lawmakers have found that Colorado needs to spend fund K-12 schools.
Affordability is the No. 1 issue politicians are talking about this election, but Coloradans historically tend to support increasing tax revenue for schools, pollster Floyd Ciruli said.
“The public tends to be fairly generous with teachers and education — continuing to value it and continuing to increase the property tax load,” he said.
