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The votes for and in opposition to two tax measures to profit the Adams 14 college district had narrowed Friday to just about a lifeless warmth with greater than 30,000 ballots left to be counted, in keeping with unofficial election outcomes and Adams County officers.
A $10 million mill levy override to boost trainer pay was failing by a single vote. And a $113.9 million bond query to construct a brand new college was failing by 124 votes.
On Wednesday, when the vote unfold was wider, the district had launched a press release saying leaders had been dissatisfied within the end result however discovered solace as a result of the measures had been solely about 300 votes in need of passing.
“Whereas we had been eager for the passage of those measures to help facility enhancements and trainer salaries, we respect the end result and can proceed to hunt methods to deal with the district’s vital wants,” stated Superintendent Karla Loria within the launched assertion. “The truth that we had been simply shy of 300 votes on each measures reveals that the group is starting to rebuild belief within the District. It is a clear signal that we’re transferring in the fitting route and dealing towards uniting our group for the good thing about our college students.”
The district has beforehand struggled to extend native funding. Voters haven’t authorised a tax measure in additional than 10 years. For about as lengthy, Adams 14 has struggled to extend scholar achievement on state assessments however did efficiently rally in opposition to state orders for reorganization which might have dissolved the district. Nonetheless, Adams 14 has one of many highest charges of scholars selecting to enroll in different college districts. Additionally it is dwelling to many low-income households that could be extra cautious of elevating taxes.
If authorised, Adams County’s 4A and 4B poll questions would price Adams 14 owners roughly $6.52 a month per $100,000 of dwelling worth. For a house valued at $400,000, that will be about $26.08 per 30 days.
Measure 4A is the district’s request for a mill levy override to supply about $10 million per 12 months to assist pay for wage will increase for lecturers and categorized workers.
Measure 4B is the district’s bond request to boost $113.9 million that the district needs to make use of to construct a brand new center college to deal with seventh and eighth graders from Kearney Center Faculty and Adams Metropolis Center college. The district is planning to merge the colleges however wish to construct a brand new constructing as an alternative of getting to make pricey repairs on one of many faculties.
The district estimates it should take $77 million out of the $113.9 million bond request to construct the brand new college constructing. That’s almost as a lot as this 12 months’s whole common fund funds for the district, which is simply over $99 million.
If authorised, the remainder of the bond cash would assist pay for safety upgrades, HVAC system upgrades, and different upkeep in addition to new furnishings for school rooms.
The final time the district requested voters for a tax measure was in 2014 and 2013, and the measures failed each years.
The district enrolled about 5,484 college students final college 12 months. A majority of scholars come from low-income households, and about half of scholars are studying English as a brand new language.
Adams 14 has been the main focus of state accountability measures for a number of years because it has struggled to boost scholar achievement sufficient to earn larger state scores. However State Board members have stopped escalating state orders and are placing extra belief within the district’s plans for enchancment.
We’ll proceed to replace this story with election outcomes.
Yesenia Robles is a reporter for Chalkbeat Colorado overlaying Okay-12 college districts and multilingual schooling. Contact Yesenia at yrobles@chalkbeat.org.
