Voters in Summit County will soon have a chance to weigh in on a multimillion-dollar funding question that could be on their ballots in November. 

For months, Summit School District officials have discussed going to voters with a bond proposal that, if approved, could help fund nearly $250 million in capital projects. The last time Summit County residents passed a bond for the school district was in 2016, when 60% of voters approved a $68.9 million measure to pay for school building upgrades and replacements, funds that were set to be spent within three to five years of the bond’s passage. 

During an April 11 board of education meeting, district leaders continued to discuss the projects ahead of a community survey that officials hope to launch later this month. Superintendent Tony Byrd stressed that board members will not be making any decisions on the bond question until more feedback is collected. 

“What we need to do is just keep gathering input to see what the community will support as we sharpen the pencil,” Byrd said. 

The district has already conducted some outreach, including a community meeting and small-scale survey several weeks ago. But officials say the upcoming poll — which will be fielded through phone calls and text messages and delivered online — will be the basis for what project proposals do and don’t move forward. 

“That will be the real statistical data that will inform us about the projects that the community supports,” Chief Financial Officer Kara Drake said. 

Officials plan to begin polling residents in late April with results being presented to board members in mid-May. Between June and September, the district will finalize its list of projects and approve the ballot language before campaigning for the measure ahead of the Nov. 5 election. 

Breakdown of proposals 

Currently, the district is considering a maximum bond amount of $267 million, though the total cost of the projects recommended by the district’s facilities committee hovers just over $248 million. 

Explaining the bond process, Drake said, “I always like to describe it very much like a mortgage would be.”

“We issue debt to investors, and we get cash upfront to build our project, and then we pay that back over time,” usually for around 30 years, Drake said.

To ensure the district has the funds to pay its debt, the bond approval also allows it to reassess its mill levy each year. A mill is a tax on property, with one mill representing a $1 payment on every $1,000 of assessed property value. According to the district, if the bond were to be passed at its maximum $267 million amount, it would increase property taxes about $259 per year, less than $22 per month, for a home valued at $1 million.

Because bonds can be used only to pay for infrastructure, the district is also considering an additional mill levy override that could generate more revenue for staffing. 

Of the $248 million projects recommended by the facilities committee, the most costly is a proposal to build employee housing on district-owned land in Silverthorne. 

Access to more affordable housing was identified as a critical need for staff in a district housing assessment conducted last fall. A survey of nearly 400 district employees showed that nearly half — 48% — are considering leaving due to the high cost of housing while 42% said they spend nearly one-third of their income on rent or their mortgage. Support staff were found to be particularly cost-burdened and have a 38% turnover rate. 

“We believe that in order to recruit and retain top talent, we need to start offering some sort of housing for district staff,” Drake said. 

The current proposal calls for close to 100 units of below-market rate housing to be built on the former site of the Silverthorne Elementary School building in Silverthorne. If plans move forward, Summit School District would follow in the footsteps of other neighboring districts, including Eagle and Aspen, that have built housing for their employees. 

Other major projects include $39 million to add and upgrade spaces for career readiness programs in schools, $32 million to relocate and rebuild the Snowy Peaks High School building, $39 million to fund a new building for Breckenridge Elementary, and another $39 million for general maintenance and infrastructure upgrades aimed at building safety, security technology and internet connectivity. 

Housed under the umbrella of capital projects is also a proposal to convert the current Snowy Peaks building into a community center that could provide wraparound services for students’ families by connecting them with other county resources and programs. 

Drake gave the example of families who are new to the area and need help getting a driver’s license or connecting with the Summit Community Care Clinic to access low- to no-cost health care. 

Projects yet to be finalized 

While board members said they were largely supportive of the goals of each project, they raised concerns about the possibility of fatigue among voters who’ve already seen a significant property tax increase and the need to explore financing alternatives.

Property taxes increased dramatically across Summit County and the state last year due to a rise in home values, with the tax bill for a $1 million home increasing on average by 42% this year, according to a Summit Daily News analysis. 

Still, school districts won’t see a windfall from those increases because of the way state financing works. In years when property tax revenue is higher, the state pulls back its share of public school funding, meaning the revenue gains are largely offset. 

Board member Chris Guarino said he thinks the bond’s total amount is “way too much money” and will likely need to be decreased if voters are to support it. 

Board member Vanessa Agee said she didn’t feel “completely satisfied that every option has been considered with Breckenridge Elementary,” adding that community members have questioned if a complete rebuild is necessary. 

The oldest school building in the district, the elementary has the highest facilities condition index rating at 75.5%. The rating represents the ratio of a building’s repair needs to replacement value, with higher ratings indicating a building is in worse condition. 

“Anytime you get into that 75% range, the recommendation is to consider whether you should continue maintaining the building or if the building should be replaced,” Drake said, adding that officials had explored other options that included repairing the current building or merging students with Upper Blue Elementary. 

“It is not an unsafe place for kids,” but the building is “at a point where we need to consider whether we should replace it,” Drake said. 

Board members also spoke about the need to be wary about adding too many proposals that could cause the bond measure to collapse under its own weight. If the final price tag is too hefty for most voters to support, it could jeopardize funding for the most essential items, they said. 

“If we put forward a big package and it doesn’t pass … what do we do about all that basic maintenance?” board member Julie Shapiro said. “I just hope we’re thinking about contingencies so that it’s not all or nothing.”

Drake said the district has considered alternatives that include scaling back certain projects or not pursuing projects at all. The poll data, she said, will be what guides the “next steps and planning.”