Voters in the Roaring Fork School District will soon decide whether to boost teacher pay and retention efforts with additional property tax dollars.
The school board voted unanimously Wednesday to place a mill levy override on the November ballot.
A mill levy override is a voter-approved property tax that pays for operational expenses not covered by the state.
If approved, it would bring the school district an additional $5 million dollars in funding annually.
Supporters say it’s tough to retain teachers in the district due to the high cost of living, and when teachers leave, they say student achievement suffers.
“The average teacher in our district has about eight years of experience,” said Charlie DeFord, who has been teaching at Glenwood Springs High School for two decades. “In Aspen, that number is 13. Similar disparities exist when we compare our district to better-paying Front Range districts.
“Experienced educators have choices too. Unfortunately, too many of them are choosing to leave our valley to teach elsewhere.”
If voters approve the tax hike, the money would go to increased staff and teacher pay, along with teacher recruitment and retention efforts.
District officials cite a recent cost-of-living study from the Colorado Legislature that shows the cost of living within Roaring Fork School District has increased more than 18% since 2023. Meanwhile, the district ranks in the bottom third for per-pupil funding in Colorado.
If voters approve, the district estimates the property tax impact would amount to about $17.25 per $100,000 of a home’s “actual value,” per year. For a home with an actual value of $500,000, that family would spend about $86.27 annually.
Recent changes to the state’s school finance formula reduced the cost-of-living factor, resulting in less funding for districts where it’s expensive to live. For districts impacted by the funding formula change, the state is allowing them a limited-time opportunity to ask local voters for a mill levy override increase.
“We recognize that asking our community to provide additional local funding is significant,” said Superintendent Anna Cole. “Yet we know that having exceptional teachers and staff in our classrooms and schools makes the greatest difference for our students, and state funding has not kept pace with what it takes to offer competitive salaries in our communities.
No one spoke out against the tax initiative at Wednesday’s board meeting.
The Roaring Fork School District includes schools in Glenwood Springs, Carbondale and Basalt.
Garfield RE-2 in New Castle and Rifle also agreed to put a mill levy override and bond request on its ballot this November.
