File Photo by Gabriel Christus/Aurora Sentinel
AURORA | The Aurora Public Schools Board of Education has placed two significant funding measures on the November 2024 ballot: a $1 billion bond issue and a $30 million annual capital mill levy change — neither of which will increase property taxes if approved by voters.
“We’ve done enough homework and proactive financial planning for this so that you can approve this and that your taxes won’t go up,” said Brett Johnson, APS Chief Financial Officer.
If passed, these measures are intended to provide funding for the district to improve infrastructure, enhance learning environments and expand educational programming.
“I’m not discounting that a billion isn’t a lot, but those dollars do not go as far as they did eight years ago during our last bond, and so I’m confident in the analysis that was put in for the bond package,” Johnson said.
The no-change bond and mill levy is possible, basically, because a previous bond issue is ending and the new bond issue would take its place.
“The bond and the capital mill levy offset each other, and that’s why people would not pay anything more if they approve both of these measures,” said Corey Christiansen, APS spokesperson. “In fact, we can even lower the amount that we assess for a bond next year and still be able to take on a billion dollars worth of new bond funding.”
With the passage of the 2024 Bond Program, the mill rate would decrease from 21.900 mills to 15.900 mills, according to the Aurora Public Schools website. If both the bond and capital mill levy are passed, the total mill rate for Aurora taxpayers in 2025 would stay at 44.096, meaning there would be no net tax increase. If a home’s value remains unchanged from 2023 to 2024, the taxable mill rate will remain unchanged.
A traditional bond issue provides a one-time investment for significant projects like a new building or renovation, a mill-levy override is for staff, mental health programs and after school care. A capital mill levy is new and offers continuous funding for building maintenance and smaller-scale improvements.
“A mill-levy override is something we would use as a funding stream for people and programs,” Christiansen said. “The capital mill levy — that’s a new one that the state approved a few years ago so that school districts can be able to have a dedicated funding stream to be able to take care of maintenance on our buildings.”
Typically, those maintenance costs would come out of the general fund, he said.
The proposed $1 billion bond program is an investment in improving and enhancing school facilities, infrastructure and technology across the Aurora School District.
Some of the main initiatives that the bond issue would fund include:
Enhanced Health, Safety and Security: Investments in safety and security of schools, ensuring students and staff have secure environments conducive to learning.
New Healthcare-Focused Job Skills Training High School: The construction of a new high school that focuses on healthcare job training, helping students develop skills for in-demand careers in healthcare.
Career & Technical Education Expansion: Expanding career and technical education opportunities for students to gain practical, real-world skills in various trades and technical fields.
The capital mill levy would free up money from the general fund to pay for ongoing building maintenance and smaller-scale improvements, attracting and retaining teachers by increasing salaries, mental health resources, counseling services and career, technology and skilled trades classes.
Although property values have increased, Aurora Public Schools aren’t seeing much more funding overall, officials said. School funding is based on a per-student formula that adjusts annually for inflation. Aurora Public Schools will get a 5.2% increase for 2024-25, regardless of property tax revenue. The total funding stays the same, but the split between local and state contributions changes, according to the website.
Schools are facing unpredictable financial burdens from the loss of federal pandemic relief funds and the rising costs due to inflation and higher labor and construction expenses. Because of this, school districts are increasingly turning to bond measures and mill levies for additional financial support.
“The billion word sounds like a really big number to a lot of folks, and it’s important to give context as to why we’ve reached that mark,” Johnson said. “And the reason is because of our construction costs.”
He explained that eight years ago, when they last asked for a bond from voters, it cost them $30 to $35 million to build a preschool through eighth grade building, and now it would cost $80 to $90 million.
To keep up with the growth, the district needs to build at least two new preschool through eighth grade buildings and a high school. A high school used to cost between $95 to $115 million and now costs $220 to $230 million, Corey said.
“That’s almost half of a billion dollars right there,” Johnson said. “The dollars don’t stretch as much”
Do not approve these measures!! This is the key line of the article: “If a home’s value remains unchanged from 2023 to 2024, the taxable mill rate will remain unchanged.” The article doesn’t state what happens if the value of the home increases!! How many of our homes have not increased in value year over year since the great recession??
They say the funds will come from the General Fund. Not sure if they mean the State’s General Fund or the City’s General Fund, but that money still comes from the taxpayers one way or another. Don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes with their word salad (and this one contains extra dressing!).
Cherry Creek SD’s mantra is “Dedicated to Excellence”, whereas APS’s mantra is “Dedicated to Mediocrity”. As a resident within the APS boundaries, I will not vote to a single cent more toward the district until they prove they’re putting their full resources into making the most out of their students. Until that happens, and until parents stop thinking the schools are a glorified baby-sitting services, pumping more $$ into the system is a fruitless endeavor.