PSD seeks tax hikes for staff, facilities

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

Poudre School District is asking voters to approve two property tax increases to fund educational and capital improvements in schools throughout the district.

As in previous elections, there will be two distinct ballot questions – one for a mill levy "override" issue and another for a bond issue up to $120 million. Together, the higher property taxes would fund staffing increases and facility upgrades.

The mill levy override would remain in effect perpetually unless intentionally eliminated. The bond issue would stay in effect until the debt it authorizes – a maximum of $217 million when repayment costs are added – is paid. If voters pass the measures on Nov. 2, school administrators plan to phase them in over three years.

"It's a little unusual," said PSD Budget Manager Dave Montoya.

By staggering implementation, Montoya said, the intent is to minimize the immediate burden on taxpayers until the economy improves. At the same time, the school district will collect gradually increasing revenues.

Under the phased plan, PSD would receive an additional $8.2 million in the current fiscal year, $12.9 million the following year and the full $16 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year through the mill-levy override. The bond issue would bring in additional money.

"By taking a phased-in approach, a portion of the tax increase is expected to grow as the economy grows," said Montoya.

A new combined 8.398-mill property tax increase is estimated to cost owners of an "average" $275,000 home about $66 in the first year, according to Montoya, rising to $123 annually by the time it is fully implemented in three years. Those estimates are based on the assumption that assessed valuations will remain flat next year and decline by 5 percent the following year.

Owners of businesses would pay nearly four times more than homeowners based on the greater assessment rate on their property.

Mill levy proceeds would be directed to four broadly defined priorities identified by the district:

• Reducing class sizes by restoring some of the 139 jobs eliminated as part of the $12 million in budget reductions resulting from reduced state funding.
• Upgrading technology in the schools and technical support for students.
• Providing technology training for teachers to prepare students for college or the workforce.
• Expanding preschool and kindergarten programs, supporting schools to ensure students are healthy and prepared to learn, and providing educational opportunities beyond the basics measured by standardized testing.

Bond revenue would go toward acquiring technology, improving safety and security and maintaining and upgrading schools and facilities to extend their useful life. That would include replacing roofs and updating heating, ventilation, electrical, fire protection and plumbing systems.

Len Roark, a longtime volunteer in Wellington schools and member of the district advisory board, said every school would receive some tax proceeds based on the student-based budgeting formulas.

He said the goal is to get the biggest bang for the buck by restoring the most critical positions, replacing the oldest technology, training teachers how to use new technology and focusing attention to assure successful transitions by students.

Part of that, according to Roark, goes beyond traditional academics to include wellness and nutrition. He said a significant number of students, for example, benefit from eating breakfast at Wellington Middle School.

"They can talk and think better on what's before them without their stomachs growling," Roark said.

The seven-member board of education in August voted unanimously to place the measure on the Nov. 2 ballot. Board members agreed the additional revenues were critical to maintain the quality of a school district forced to cut $12 million from its current budget. Those cuts total $13.7 million over two years.

Board member Patrick Albright said the district already has made "real, meaningful and tangible cuts."

"As a proponent of local control, I believe that the board of education has as much, if not more, responsibility to raise revenue from our local constituency, and not wait for the state to backfill our needs," he said.

The ballot issue has been a long time coming. The Mill/Bond Community Committee that recommended the proposal to the board, has been meeting for three years. Comprised of parents, community and business leaders and staff, the committee was charged with gathering information and identifying needs related to the school district's four learning goals.

According to PSD, the committee conducted 60 listening sessions involving almost 1,100 people. That was followed by information-gathering sessions involving almost 1,600 people. The group then held an additional 46 listening sessions involving 555 people.

At the same time, the facility master planning committee in concert with an independent consultant identified $200 million in needed capital improvements. That amount was pared to $120 million.

"We feel the need is real and urgent – given the state cuts already handed down and probably more coming," said Barb Wallner, who co-chaired the Mill/Bond Community Committee.

Given the continued distress in the state budget, she said, the only option is to support the schools locally and keep the money in the community.

Maintaining quality schools is essential to attracting and retaining good employers and employees, Wallner said. When the quality slips, so does a community's desirability, she said, noting that was demonstrated in Money Magazine's recent downgrading of Fort Collins' best-city ranking specifically because of the diminished support for schools.

Wallner and Tom Gendron, chairman and chief executive officer of Woodward Governor, will lead the campaign promoting passage of the tax questions, Yes4Kids. She said "4" represents PSD's learning goals – reading readiness, annual growth, post secondary preparation and successful transitions for all students

Proponents will make the case that PSD has proven to be a good steward of tax dollars and will continue to be. Wallner noted that the committee pared the annual override request from $20 million to $16 million through the elaborate public process and prioritizing needs. Similarly, she said, the bond issue request was sliced from an initial $200 million to the $120 million now proposed.

"We need them both," said Roark.

According to Wallner, the initial cost to average homeowners is less than a movie ticket a month. "I think that's a reasonable amount to set aside for the education of all kids," she said.

The school district has been successful in a series of tax proposals in the last 20 years, save for a single $3.7 million override request that failed by one-half percent of the vote in a 1994 squeaker. An override is an additional tax beyond what is available from state funding formulas.

Issues for a $175 million bond and $10 million mill levy increase passed by a 57-43 margin in 2000. A $5.96 million override passed by a similar margin in 1996. A $107 million bond issue in 1990 and $3 million override in 1988 were approved by two-thirds of those voting. Additionally, voters by a nearly 3-1 margin approved exempting the district from revenue retention limits contained in the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights.

PSD educates some 24,000 students within its 1,856 square-mile boundary. It operates 50 schools and maintains 4 million square feet of facilities. About a third of the residents in the school district have children being educated in Poudre schools.