The Summit School District has already started the planning process for a potential bond measure that could appear on ballots in the next couple years, and officials are taking into account the lessons they learned when their most recent attempt to pass one failed. 

At an April 3 meeting, Superintendent Tony Byrd unveiled a tentative proposal and timeline for a bond measure to the Board of Education. While the current goal is getting something on a November 2026 ballot, changes to state and federal funding could push that back a year or two, he said. 

This follows the district’s 2024 bond proposal failing, with around 57% of votes cast against it, during a Nov. 5 election. It featured around $195 million worth of projects, not all of which the community supported, according to survey feedback. 

Chief financial officer Kara Drake touched on prior conversations and recommendations from industry professionals regarding messaging around the need for urgency to get some of the projects done. While many board members agreed stressing urgency could be useful, they didn’t support moving too quickly by having a 2025 ballot initiative, an option that was very briefly on the table. Some even felt a 2026 ballot measure could be a gamble, with board member Julie Shapiro noting “I’m not sure 2026 is a slam dunk.” Board president Consuelo Redhorse agreed that 2026 was “tough to commit to,” acknowledging the uncertain future of state and federal funding and the need for officials to be “flexible.” 

Drake said community members felt that planning and community engagement could have been better ahead of the last bond proposal, so the district has already began that process with Step 1 of the district’s six-step plan.

Step 1 started this winter and included parsing through feedback and the launch of a working group. Byrd called out a critical member of that group, Steve Scheil, who actually debated Byrd at an October election forum advocating against the bond. Scheil is a former superintendent himself, and Byrd said he has been lending his expertise on how to better introduce a ballot measure. 

During that debate, Scheil argued that the bond was too broad, making the ask too expensive. Drake said that feedback was also strongly shown in surveys. A part of the approach to this upcoming potential bond proposal includes narrowing the scope, she said.

Projects featured in the 2024 proposal included: $32 million for a new career and technical education center, $37 million to rebuild and relocate Snowy Peak Sr. and Jr. High School to the Summit High School Campus, $46 million for staff workforce housing, $33.6 million for critical maintenance projects and $46.8 million to reconstruct Breckenridge Elementary School. 

Community feedback demonstrated many voters felt they couldn’t support the workforce housing investment and the rebuilding of Breckenridge Elementary. Byrd said voters won’t find workforce housing on a future ballot initiative because the district is now working on partnerships to address its housing woes, including one in the works with Breckenridge that could result in 35 housing units reserved for district staff. He referenced similar conversations happening with other towns too, but didn’t provide detail as to what those involved. 

Step 2 involves community outreach, which is scheduled to kick off in the fall. Officials discussed the importance of district staff buy-in and looping in community members on plans earlier. Redhorse said giving a community more of a heads up by communicating “this is what we are thinking of doing” and then garnering feedback will be important. 

Board member Vanessa Agee said community member buy-in is as important as staff buy-in, and it will be more impactful to have community members who make it “their mission (for at least 6 months before the election) to get (an initiative) passed because they’re passionate about it.”

Step 3 calls for creating a bond task force in winter 2026. Step 4 would entail community polling in spring 2026, and Step 5 involves finalizing the proposal. The last step, Step 6, would seek to get a ballot measure on the November 2026 election, or one in the following years.

Byrd and Drake reassured the board the district has been able to do and will continue to work on some critical maintenance projects for those that are considered top priorities. Also, career and technical education work has continued despite the bond failing.

Officials discussed their priorities such as critical maintenance and how it would be great to get the Snowy Peaks school closer to the Summit High School campus so students can take advantage of the career and technical education offerings there. 

Officials also discussed potentials for “Plan B” in lieu of a bond proposal and ways in which projects could still be done. 

“Could we look to community partners (and) maybe have some of this maintenance be part of the (career and technical education) program, as opposed to building a tiny home,” board member Lisa Webster said, suggesting a swap in objectives for welding and construction classes.  

Byrd said a 2026 bond measure will likely require some level of coordination with the municipalities across the county and is also dependent on what ends up happening with state and federal funding over the next year.