State’s largest school system to seek tax increase

Jun 11, 2012

Todd Engdahl / EdNews Colorado

The Jefferson County school board voted 4-1 Thursday evening to ask district residents for a $39 million revenue increase and a $99 million bond issue to bolster the district’s finances.

The board also gave final 4-1 approval to a 2012-13 district budget that cuts spending by about $20 million, the latest in several years of budget cuts.

The two issues are intertwined, because district officials predict that Jeffco could face $43.5 million in reductions in 2013-13 – deeply cutting programs and staff – if voters don’t approve the spending increase.

The meeting ran for more than four hours and was marked by repeated disagreements between conservative member Laura Boggs and her four colleagues, a familiar board dynamic.

Things were exacerbated by the fact that Boggs wasn’t in the boardroom at district headquarters in Golden – she participated by speakerphone. Since she had no visual contact with the rest of the board, she and the others kept verbally tripping over each other when Boggs tried to speak. She was the only no vote on the tax proposal, the budget and approval of the district’s contract with the Jefferson County Education Association…

…The net effect of the proposal would be a $14.68 property tax increase for each $100,000 of a home’s value. …read full story by EdNews Colorado

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Tags: bond issue, Cindy Stevenson, Jeffco schools, Jefferson County Schools, tax hike