Will Voters OK Billion Dollar Bonds for Colorado’s Schools?

Corey Elementary School in Denver - Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Pos

Nearly $7 billion in new bonds are being proposed by school boards around Colorado. DPS, Aurora Public Schools and Cherry Creek have record requests for more money. Voters have been generous with school districts in the past but this year has some special challenges along with a general unhappiness with government

“All government has suffered from a trust crisis,” Ciruli said. “Schools, I think, have the same problem.”

Affordability
In an interview with Denver Post reporter Jessica Seaman, I pointed out this is a difficult year to ask for record funding after raucous legislative sessions on rising property taxes and frequent complaints from voters about the affordability of living in the Denver Metro area.

“Coloradoans increasingly are worried about whether they can afford to live here, which, in turn, could make tax measures on the ballot less appealing to voters this year. This is especially so in Denver, where there are other ballot measures that, if approved, would increase the city’s sales tax,” said pollster Floyd Ciruli.

Douglas County
Douglas County, which is asking for nearly a half a billion dollars, lost a similar bond request last year. Ciruli noted the changes in Douglas County. “While the conservative electorate could make it difficult for a bond measure to pass,” he said, “there is a lot of unity in terms of the board and the superintendent in favor of this, and it certainly helps.”

Denver County
Denver’s school board just went through a difficult election around school safety and board dysfunction. “Although three new members – John Youngquist, Kimberlee Sia and Marlene De La Rosa – were elected to the DPS board last year, critics don’t believe there’s been enough change in district leadership, including in the role of superintendent,” Ciruli said.

High Taxes
“Although potential challenge that DPS will face in getting voters to approve its bond proposal is that there are two other measures on the ballot, one to financially help Denver Health and the other to fund affordable housing, that would increase the city’s sales tax rate if approved,” Ciruli said. “This has created an unusual amount of talk in Denver about how “taxes are getting high,” he said. “It creates an affordability problem.”

“Districts’ argument that their bond proposals won’t increase property taxes works in their favor, but they are still facing voters who are concerned generally about the economy and inflation – and this means the economic environment is not as “generous” as in previous years,” Ciruli said.

READ ARTICLE:
Colorado school districts want voters to OK billions for new buildings and maintenance. It may be a tough sell.

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