The total proposal is for 8 mills. This would cost $55.60 per $100,000 of home value and would equal $278 per year for a $500,000 home—less than $1/day.

This proposal would increase pay for teachers and education support staff who are essential to providing outstanding services for kids. Without the funding, 27J can’t attract or even keep the teachers needed to teach our young people.

Today, students need increased career skills and hands-on training demanded by so many industries. The mill would expand the STEM and CTE classes that provide those experiences for students. These courses give students career-ready skills so they can get a good paying job right out of high school.

High-quality, local education benefits your community whether you have children/grandchildren in school or not.

First, having a well-educated community means crime levels decrease. It’s a fact, too, that the cost to educate one child for one year is far less than the cost to incarcerate one person for a year.

Secondly, quality schools keeps neighborhoods robust and thriving. People support the communities that have great schools. In turn, people invest in communities that support their schools. Studies also continue to show that property values stay healthy and remain an excellent investment for all homeowners.

Finally, communities that have great, community-supported schools have a higher quality of life for people of all ages. Studies show that there are more investments in neighborhood amenities, features and unique services that keep people happy living in that area. Well-resourced schools create a great return on investment for neighbors and residents.

Our students have fewer educational options when it comes to courses and programs compared to students in other districts.

Our students must use textbooks and curricular materials that are much older than those used by neighboring districts because 27J can’t afford to keep current on it’s replacement cycle—that means students using outdated materials and falling behind their peers in other districts.

Our students don’t have the extracurricular activities all our metro-area neighbors have because funding can’t stretch enough to cover additional programs. That means the high demand for more programs students need goes unmet. Our student athletics programs must reuse their team uniforms for many more years as compared to our peer districts simply because the costs for new uniforms isn’t within our budget means.

These are just a few examples of what students miss out on. We encourage our community members to visit with students in their neighborhood schools to find out what they think.

27J Schools has continued to prioritize its spending in the classroom, so that students feel less of the impact of the district’s low funding.

Evidence of this is seen in the student-to-teacher ratio data (which is comparable to our neighbors) as compared to the administrator-per-student raio data and the instructional staff-per-student ratio data (where 27J has far, far less support).

Department and school budgets are extremely lean and there’s simply no wiggle room to negotiate or compromise. Schools and departments know they have less money to fund programs as compared to neighboring districts. They do the best they can to fund the limited options they have.

27J Schools has prioritized school funding over any other areas of funding. Evidence of this is seen in the student-per-teacher raio data. This is an area where we are close to matching what some of our neighboring districts.

Over the years, we’ve reduced class sizes, increased the number of counselors and mental health support staff at each school. We’ve increased the number of sporting activities available to students at high school and we’ve been able to purchase some new curricular materials for some targeted courses.

The 27J community passed its last mill levy override in 2000. Since that time, all of our neighboring districts have pass multiple MLOs.

When the community doesn’t approve an MLO recommendation, its schools can’t meet the additional needs listed in the ballot language. For the past 22 years and counting, 27J Schools has kept the same amount of mill levy funding but been forced to spread it across many times more students.

27J simply can’t compete or provide students the best education without changes in the funding we use to serve more children.

27J students must settle for less than their peers around the state.

1. 27J students can’t get into the STEM/career and technical courses they need because there aren’t enough teachers, materials and  resources to meet the increased student demand.
2. 27J struggles to hire and keep high quality teachers.
3. 27J often loses its more experienced teachers who can earn more by shifting to a district just 20 minutes away.
4. 27J teachers make, on average, $10,000 less per year than other metro area teachers.
5. 27J is considering cutting transportation services meaning many students will not get this optional service that is currently available from 27J Schools.
6. Class sizes will increase because 27J can’t find teachers to fill all open positions and there are no funds to expand programs based on increased student needs.

27J Schools operates with a fraction of the administrators of similar, neighboring districts, because our district is third from last in Colorado in funding per student.

27J prioritizes spending in the classroom, which means we have to operate with an administrators-to-students ratio 50-70% less than our neighboring districts, proportionally. 

The consequence: less support for schools in improving instruction, less use of data to better teach more students, and worse coordination of programs to maximize limited time and resources.

27J Schools receives $41 per student in mill levy override funds, based on its current mill levy override which has not increased since 2000.

That puts 27J far behind the other Adams County metro school districts, which receive 20 to 80 times more in MLO funding per student.

Every year, student enrollment numbers increase in 27J schools. Unlike other districts, 27J’s mill levy override was passed for a fixed amount—$750,000 annually. That number does not change, even as the community’s value grows. 

So, each year, that same $750,000 has to be shared between more and more students and each student receives less in local, mill funds.

When 27J’s last mill was passed over twenty years ago, 27J only had 5,308 students. Now the same $750,000 is being split between more than 20,000 students!