SUMMIT COUNTY — The Summit School Board affirmed Monday morning it will ask local voters to help stem the tide of declining revenue.

Faced with the possibility of having to cut $2-4 million from the budget next year — after already having trimmed $867,000 and frozen teacher pay this year — board members plan to ask voters in November to approve a mill levy that would generate about $2.1 million annually for Summit schools.

“We can't emphasize enough the gravity of this situation,” board member Margaret Carlson said. “We're struggling just to maintain what we have.”

The mill levy's appearance on the ballot won't be official until the school board finalizes ballot language later this month, but an informal poll of board members at Monday's special meeting indicated unanimous support for going to the voters.

“I don't think we have a choice,” Board of Education President Jon Kreamelmeyer said.

Were the mill levy to pass, a homeowner with a $400,000 home would pay $34.50 per year. However, total taxes to the school district would decrease, since an existing, larger mill levy sunsets this year.

Anticipated revenue declines

As assessed property values decline across Colorado, so does the major source of funding for the state's schools. Based on projections from the state government, assistant superintendent Karen Strakbein has estimated Summit School District will have to cut $1.9 million from its budget next year and another $1.4 million the following year. In addition, the district will be required to increase its contributions to the state's retirement fund for public employees by $192,000 next year, meaning that amount must be cut from elsewhere in the budget.

Passage of state Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101, all of which will appear on the November statewide ballot, would necessitate further cuts, according to district officials. Strakbein estimates that in the 2011-2012 school year, Amendment 60 would reduce district revenues by $1.1 million, Amendment 61 by $760,000, and Proposition 101 by $390,000. If all three were to pass, the total impact next year would be $2.3 million, with continued reductions over a course of 10 years.

Proponents of Amendment 60 argue those impacts are overstated, since that measure would require the state government to backfill the revenue drops. But many state and local officials are skeptical of the state's ability to backfill and doubt it would ever happen.

Bus replacements?

The board was undecided Monday on whether to ask voters for an additional $365,000 in annual funding for scheduled school bus replacements. The district, which has a fleet of about two dozen buses, replaces them when they reach 200,000 miles or 15 years in age.

Some board members hesitated to place the bus component on the ballot, reasoning that keeping the proposed mill levy lower might increase its appeal to voters. For the owner of a $400,000 home, it would cost $6.06 annually.

The board will decide whether to include bus-replacement funding on the ballot at its Aug. 24 meeting.

Preparing for Amendment 61

The most cryptic part of the school district's proposed ballot language is its effort to shield against the impacts of Amendment 61. This final component asks voters for $3.5 million in annual funding “to restore any reduction in the district's mill levy caused by Amendment 61 (if approved by the voters of the state on Nov. 2, 2010).”

Interestingly, even though this piece of the ballot question asks voters for a relatively hefty sum, it would not result in higher taxes.

The district's fiscal year begins on July 1, but it does not receive its revenue (property taxes) until March, April and May. So Summit School District (and many other districts) run out of cash around December or January. For the past several years, the district has taken out interest-free loans for two or three months to keep the lights on during that January-through-March period. It has repaid the loans upon receipt of its property tax revenue in March.

Were Amendment 61 to pass, the district would be required to reduce its mill levy by the amount of the loan. So, in asking for the $3.5 million, the district would negate this effect of Amendment 61. If the amendment does not pass, this piece of the school ballot question would be moot.

SDN reporter Julie Sutor can be reached at (970) 668-4630 or jsutor@summitdaily.com.