The Cherry Creek School District Board of Education this week unanimously approved a $125 million bond issue for the November ballot, funds that would go toward new technology, added security and building expansion across the district.
During the board’s regular session on April 16 at Fox Hollow Elementary School in Aurora, each of the five members spoke to the importance and necessity of the bond election before approving the resolution that will formally bring it to district voters later this year. If approved, the proposed $125 million in long-term debt would be used from 2013 to 2017 to address a menu of issues that Cherry Creek officials characterize as critical, including expanding the capacity of two high schools in Aurora.
Because the plan takes advantage of refinanced past debt, and because of valuation assessment rates, if approved, the bond issue would not affect the mill levy for Cherry Creek School District property owners, leaving tax rates unchanged.
The board of education’s unanimous approval of the measure came after a lengthy presentation by the district’s Chief Financial Officer Guy Bellville, during which he outlined funding cuts from the state level in the past five years, as well steady declines in per-pupil funding since 2009. While the state’s funding levels for K-12 education in the 2012-13 school year has yet to be finalized, Bellville drew from budget requests made by Gov. John Hickenlooper.
According to these estimates, the per-pupil rate for the coming year would total $6,272. That’s less than the rate of $6,606 that every student received in the 2007-08 school year.
That dip follows a trend from the past four years, a steady reduction that falls short of the requirements spelled out in Amendment 23 by about $1.1 billion.
“That what’s been occurring each year for the past four years,” Bellville said.
The plan for the budget election funds would forgo building a new high school in Aurora, a possibility originally included as part of the successful 2008 bond election, a measure that translated into about $203.55 million in general obligation bonds for the district four years ago. Instead, the district would hang on to completed architectural plans for a seventh high school in the district and save $125 million on its construction. Instead, the bond money would add a $6 million wing to Grandview High School and a $7 million wing to Cherokee Trail High School.
Before approving the measure, board members cited the $125 million as a critical solution to a dangerous financial crunch.
“In order to continue educating the district’s students in the coming years, additional financial support is clearly required,” board member Jim O’Brien said. “The state of Colorado is unable to meet the basic requirements of educating children … I do believe that our students cannot be disadvantaged waiting for our state to improve.”
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com or 720-449-9707