Jeffco board to consider $133 million in proposed school tax measures
The board is scheduled to consider $73 million in general-purpose funding and $60 million for capital needs, but no vote or ballot certification had occurred as of Aug. 15.
Jeffco Public Schools’ Board of Education is scheduled to consider two tax measures for the Nov. 3, 2026, election that could generate about $133 million annually: a $73 million general-purpose mill levy override and a separate $60 million special-purpose levy. The proposals are included in the advance packet for the board’s scheduled Aug. 20 meeting, which had not occurred as of Aug. 15.
The packet contains proposed resolutions for board approval. It is not a record of completed board action, so it does not establish that the measures had been adopted, certified for the ballot or authorized for placement by Aug. 15.
The proposed general-purpose override would raise $73 million beginning in 2027 for staff compensation and career and technical education. The special-purpose levy would raise $60 million annually beginning in 2027 for capital construction, technology, maintenance, building improvements, safety and heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Its draft language allows annual increases for inflation after the first full fiscal year.
Both measures include citizen-oversight provisions, annual public reporting and website transparency. Facilities priorities listed in the packet include roofs, plumbing and sewer lines, parking lots, asbestos abatement, drinking-water systems, security, aging technology and HVAC work. Replacing R22 refrigerant in 96 buildings is identified as one priority.
The district’s Future Funding timeline identifies August as the point for a decision on certifying ballot language. If the board approves the measures, the draft resolution directs district officers to submit the questions to the Jefferson and Broomfield county clerks by Sept. 4 for the Nov. 3 coordinated election. The packet uses placeholder labels, including “Ballot Issue 5[A]” and “5[B].” County-assigned numbers, final certification and final ballot language remain unresolved.
The packet does not provide a new taxpayer-facing estimate. Earlier district estimates put the cost of a $75 million general-purpose override at about $1.21 per month per $100,000 of actual home value and a combined $135 million package at about $3.58. Those figures were illustrative rather than final tax bills, and the record does not include a separate estimate for business property.
The proposed measures would create ongoing annual revenue, but the materials do not clearly establish an end date. The district’s adopted 2026-27 budget assumes no new levies. An Aug. 4 financial outlook projects about $977 million in general-fund revenue against $991 million in expenditures and transfers. Without new revenue or other changes, spendable general-fund reserves are projected to fall to about $62 million by June 2028, with about $9 million in spendable capital reserves, district materials show.
The district says it spends about $108 million annually on facilities, compared with an industry benchmark of roughly $110 million. It projects at least $18 million in General Fund reductions and $35 million in additional capital-maintenance deferrals for 2027-28 if no new revenue is approved. Possible responses include salary freezes, changes in benefit funding, staffing and programming reductions, shorter work calendars and additional school closures. The district has not identified which employees, programs or schools would be affected.
The proposed charter-school formula would provide eligible district-authorized charter schools 100% of their allocated general-purpose override revenue. The draft formula would distribute 95% of each school’s share by pupil count and direct 5% to students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Colorado Charter School Institute schools would be excluded.
The special-purpose plan also would provide eligible charter schools their full equitable share, but the district could retain 50% of per-pupil funding for charters operating in district-owned facilities where it retains capital-maintenance and related financial obligations. Other proposed exclusions include some recently authorized charters, schools on an improvement or remediation plan, schools subject to a pending Notice of Concern and Jeffco schools authorized by the Charter School Institute.
The board approved the 2026-27 budget June 11, including a $13.1 million General Fund reserve authorization for compensation increases and a tentative teachers-union agreement. The June board materials show a General Fund appropriation of about $1.058 billion, including $67.3 million in reserves. Director Denine Echevarria cast the lone no vote on the budget, reserve-use resolution and tentative agreement, saying during the meeting that she could not support “another deficit budget.”
The next story-defining steps are the board’s scheduled Aug. 20 consideration, any recorded vote, formal ballot certification, county-assigned ballot numbers, final ballot language and updated taxpayer cost estimates. The packet does not establish organized public support or opposition to the measures.