Poudre School District is asking Fort Collins voters to approve a $49 million mill levy by voting yea on Ballot Issue 4A. The district currently appropriates a $786 million annual budget.

Under the Debt-free Schools Act, Colorado school districts are allowed to ask permission from local voters to increase public school funding, with district officials citing insufficient funding allocation for teacher salaries, building maintenance and classroom resources. Denver Public Schools is requesting $975 million from Denver area residents via the same ballot issue. 

If the ballot issue is approved, Fort Collins residents with commercial property would pay an additional $113.92 in annual property taxes for each $100,000 in property value. Residential properties valued at $500,000 would be additionally taxed an estimate of $126.

If the mill levy receives voter approval, PSD’s proposed funding priorities include $21.5 million for teacher and staff salaries, classroom materials and career and technical training. District officials say the average PSD teacher salary is less than those of comparable districts along the Front Range. First-year teachers earn $6,700 less than teachers in the Cherry Creek School District and $4,000 less than teachers in the St. Vrain Valley School District. 

Building renovation and maintenance would receive $22.9 million. Officials say the district has $800,000 available to address over $1 billion in annual facility maintenance requirements. 

Per Colorado statute, PSD is required to allocate funding for local charter schools. The proposal earmarks $4.6 million for this purpose. 

Supporters of the mill levy say PSD teachers deserve to be paid at the same rate as their Front Range counterparts, allowing the district to attract and retain talented teachers and better support students. The influx of funding would not only allow the district to meet annual maintenance standards but would also foster student success by renovating classrooms to ensure student safety and productivity, proponents of the mill levy say.

Opponents of the mill levy increase, including State Senate District 14 candidate Phoebe McWilliams, say property taxes for Colorado residents are already too high, and the mill levy would only increase the financial burden placed on homeowners. Opponents also say PSD already has adequate funding at their disposal, claiming funds generated by a 2016 bond measure and a 2019 mill levy increase are sufficient for the district’s needs. Additionally, opponents argue PSD should resort to closing under-enrolled schools in the district before asking voters for additional funding. 

“(PSD) has $1 million, and they’re sitting on it,” McWilliams said in an Oct. 3 candidate forum. “What are they doing that for? Just so they can say they need to keep raising the mill levy.”

Several other candidates at the forum voiced their support for additional school funding, mentioning the potential for additional funding to be directed toward school diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Reach Sam Hutton at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Sam_Hut14.