GOLDEN, Colo. — JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The Jefferson County Board of Education approved placing two mill levy measures on the November ballot, asking property owners to fund infrastructure repairs and staff compensation.
District leaders said without the additional funding, more cuts could be coming.
Devin Mills, a father of two Jefferson County Schools students who lives in Evergreen, said his property taxes have already risen significantly over the years.
"The impact on my family has been tremendous just from those hundreds of dollars that are going out the door," Mills said.
Mills is also co-chair of the One JeffCo Campaign committee. He said the district's financial struggles are already affecting students.
"The impacts have already been large in my kids' schools," Mills said.
Last year, the district cut $43 million from the budget. But Board of Education President Michelle Applegate said the district still needs to make more cuts.
"Even though we cut costs, we've tried to live within our means. It's still not enough, and so we're going back to the voters to ask for their investment in our schools," Applegate said.
Some community members urged the board to move forward with the ballot measures prior to Thursday night's vote. Jon DeStefano, executive director of the Jeffco Administrators Association, described the physical condition of some school buildings.
"We're talking about things like broken down plumbing, deteriorating concrete walkways and leaking roofs," DeStefano said. "Our students and educators deserve better than that."
Others advised against it. Chuck Adams, who lives in Golden, spoke out at the meeting.
"I oppose asking Jefferson County families for another $133 million in property taxes," Adams said. "Families are already struggling with rising taxes, insurance, groceries and utilities."
The two measures now head to voters in November.
The first is a $60 million special purpose mill levy focused on infrastructure, safety, and technology needs. Applegate said the need is urgent.
"We have had situations last year where we've had school days where schools had to close because of things like sewer line failures, roof leaks, heating and cooling system failures," Applegate said.
The second is a $73 million general purpose mill levy. Applegate said those funds would go toward compensating and retaining teachers and staff, as well as expanding career and technical education, or CTE, opportunities.
"Really, the programming that we can offer our students that readies them for after high school," Applegate said.
If both measures pass, property owners would pay an additional $3.50 per month for every $100,000 of home value. For a home valued at $650,000, that amounts to just under $23 per month.
If the measures fail, Applegate said deeper cuts are likely.
"Everything is on the table, and that looks like shortened workforce, shortened work days, reduction of benefits, things that will massively impact our community," Applegate said.
Mills said he hopes it does not come to that.
"I really don't want to get to that point," Mills said.
The district plans to create a citizens oversight committee and a public dashboard showing how taxpayer money is spent.
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