Small districts vote for hikes; larger ones don't

Voters in the rural reaches of the Pikes Peak region approved paying millions in construction dollars for schools Tuesday, while residents in the Colorado Springs metro area didn’t take so kindly to an increase in taxes.

Three of the region’s smallest school districts appeared to win bond measures by comfortable margins Tuesday, while two larger districts, Lewis-Palmer School District 38 and Harrison School District 2, had theirs rejected.

On the eastern plains, Miami-Yoder 60JT and Edison 54JT school districts, which cover multiple counties, each passed tax measures to build new schools. Both districts will receive $2 million each in state grant money in addition to the taxes.

In the mountains of Teller County, the Cripple Creek-Victor RE-1 School District passed a $10.9 million bond issue to renovate its junior-senior high school and build a 14,500-square-foot addition, also by a comfortable margin.

A second high school is under construction in Lewis-Palmer, but voters said “no” to a measure Tuesday that would have provided funds to staff it and open the doors. The measure lost by 110 votes out of about 7,700 voters.

The district will now look at cutting positions, a deep dig into its savings or scaling back programs to try and open the high school, said Robin Adair, district spokeswoman.

“We’ll begin work now to look at our other options.”

The board’s intention has been to open the high school with or without the money, she said. After Tuesday’s election, however, a new board majority will soon take office.

The district asked for up to $3 million a year in new taxes. Half that money was earmarked for the school and the rest was to raise teacher salaries.

“It creates a bigger challenge to get the new high school opened and to continue to provide a quality education to students of all ages,” Adair said.

Harrison wanted up to $4.5 million a year to pay for safety and security, improve teacher pay, create an incentive plan for teachers, fund new and updated technology and add instructional days to the calendar. School officials said the combination of improvements would pave the way for academic gains.

At least one critic said she didn’t see the connection between the proposed spending projects and academic achievement.

In Miami-Yoder, the proposed $4 million school — paid for by the $2 million bond issue and a $2 million grant — will be the first new school in nearly five decades. The tax increase — $6.52 per month per $100,000 assessed value — will give students an alternative to the ailing building and aging portables where they currently spend their days.

Superintendent Rick Walter said people have wanted a school for a long time but were frustrated they couldn’t find outside help. That came this year with the grant.

Edison’s $450,000 bond issue will help fund a $2.4 million elementary school, ending the 160-student district’s history as a one-building school.

In Cripple Creek and Victor, the money will pay for enlarging the locker rooms and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act; upgrading heating, ventilation, plumbing and electrical systems; and building the addition.