Election Day is less than two weeks away, and school funding is among one of the measures Colorado voters in Aurora are deciding on right now.
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In Aurora Public Schools, voters will be presented with two ballot questions, measures 5A and 5B, which are a $1 billion and a $30 million annual capital mill levy.
If approved, the measures would fund making district-wide improvements, expanding programs, renovating schools and building/rebuilding new ones. Also if voters approve the measures, there would not be a net tax increase for Aurora voters.
Laredo Elementary School is one of the schools that would be rebuilt. Jennie Todd, the principal at Laredo Elementary School, said it's an older school that was built in the 1960s; therefore, there are some challenges with the design and layout inside.
"I don't know why there's a kitchen in the classroom. It was probably more applicable when the school was built in 1967. It's one of the charms of the building," said Todd, as she pointed out some of the unusable spaces.
The school is also in a neighborhood that has seen a lot of growth recently. Right now, the school is over capacity and doesn't have enough room for all students.
"We're over-enrolled by 35 students, which is an entire classroom, and we just don't have it," Todd said. "Right now, the teachers are real miracle workers with how they are able to organize their classrooms.
Todd also pointed out that some rooms double as storage, like the family engagement room. It's where they offer classes for parents including learning English, nutrition or parenting classes.
"We're very much over capacity, no matter where you are in the building," Todd said. "If the bond were to pass, we would be able to plan for spaces that serve the community and the families that we serve."
Scenes like this are one of the big reasons Aurora Public Schools asked for a bond and capital mill levy on the ballot.
As part of the bond, along with rebuilding Laredo Elementary School, two new P-8 schools and a new high school would be built as well.
The bond also would help pay for improving safety and security, upgrading technology, expanding career/technical education and preschool programs, and adding mental health support spaces. The mill levy would cover ongoing expenses like building maintenance and small-scale improvements.
Brett Johnson, the district's Chief Financial Officer, said impacts of passing the measure would be felt district-wide. The district would build new schools on the city's east side, which is continuously growing. Meanwhile, older schools on the west side would be renovated.
"We need small break-out classrooms for interventions, we need small offices for for mental health and mental health professionals to work with our kids. The needs of our buildings have expanded," Johnson said.
Johnson says the measures come with no net tax increases for homeowners because of the district choices in structuring the budget and planning for a bond and mill levy package like this.
"We've done a lot of homework in the last couple of years in preparation for this and that's really important," Johnson said. "We know that we're all experiencing pressures of costs to our budget, and it's important for us to have done this appropriately.
Johnson said no net tax increase is possible because the district is currently paying off about $80 million in debt, which drops to $30 million next year after the next payment.
"The increase of the new capital mill is offset by the decrease in our bonds, which means that the total tax rate that our taxpayers are paying are the same," Johnson said.
Johnson added, there would be real impacts if the measures are not passed. He said, in order to make improvements without the voters passing these measures, the district would have to dip into the general school fund, which pays teacher salaries and funds safety improvements.
"Then we would have to be making some tough choices on what to cut to afford those new buildings," Johnson said.
There is no organized opposition to the two measures. For more information about the bond and mill levy and to view an interactive map of the measure's impacts, visit the Aurora Public Schools website.
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