Colorado’s second-largest school district ponders mill levy proposal as stopgap measure for budget deficit 

A Colorado school district is considering whether to place a mill levy measure on the November ballot that would raise an additional $135 million in taxes for schools if approved – even though fewer than a third of the county’s households have children.

Jefferson County Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district with about 74,000 students, has historically approved fewer tax increases than other metro districts, according to Chalkbeat Colorado.

“You need to convince that retired person on a fixed income that if their home is worth $620,000, they gotta give up eating at McDonald’s once a month to save that $22 so that we can make sure these kids have a future,” said Randy England, a district advisory group member and parent.

Property taxes would increase by $3.58 per month for every $100,000 of a home’s value if the suburban Denver district approves the measure, the nonprofit newsroom reported.

“With declining student enrollment, an aging population and skepticism about how the district spent the money from the last tax increase eight years ago, district leaders know that asking for another one won’t be easy.”

Mounting budget pressures may force ‘deeper cuts’

Financial challenges have plagued the school system for several years, forcing it to use $13 million in budget reserves for the 2026-27 school year, according to Chalkbeat.

“The district has tried to rein in spending by closing 21 schools in the past five years, selling empty buildings and cutting more than 130 staff positions. But district leaders said it hasn’t been enough to cover the rising costs of teacher salaries, utilities and special education.”

Federal funding for the school system is also in question after the U.S. Department of Education determined it violated civil rights law through its sports policies.

As previously reported by Heartlander News, federal officials said Jeffco Schools denied equal opportunities to female students under Title IX by allowing males to access girls’ sports teams and facilities.

“The district’s decision to prioritize ‘gender identity’ over ensuring equal access for its female students is unconscionable,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said.

While the district has contested the federal decision and is pursuing further legal action, it could lose more than $90 million in federal aid as a result, according to another Chalkbeat report.

Other states are facing similar financial challenges in public education, although one Michigan lawmaker has proposed a different approach.

Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, introduced legislation this year exempting property owners from school-related property taxes if none of their dependents attend a taxpayer-funded K-12 school.

“Michigan taxpayers deserve fairness in how their hard-earned money is spent,” Carra said in a release. “It’s fundamentally unjust to force people – including seniors, empty-nesters, those who pay for private school, and those without children – to subsidize a government education system they do not use. This is especially unfair because our broken system spends a record amount of money yet results continue to plummet.”