The Denver Public Schools’ Community Planning Advisory Committee on Tuesday unveiled a proposed $975 million bond and mill levy package that — if approved by the Board of Education — could be before voters in November.
Nearly $1 in $3 of the proposed package will be used to update the district’s aging buildings.
Across DPS, the average building age is 55 years old.
“That’s really old,” said Chuck Carpenter, the district’s chief financial officer. “They break and we need to fix them.”
The Community Planning and Advisory Committee was tasked with identifying school needs across the district and making recommendations in a bond package proposal presented to the board of education.
The proposal — which is expected to be presented to the board on June 13 — also included more than $200 million to give air conditioning and cooling upgrades to 29 schools.
Hot classrooms have remained a stubborn issue in Denver. The school district has been tackling and throwing millions of dollars at the problem for years.
Classrooms can get as hot as 92 degrees, Carpenter said.
This has forced district officials in the past to release students early and push back the first day of school.
Among the committee’s recommendations:
• $301 million for “critical maintenance” with 154 buildings receiving upgrades.
• $240 million to equip 29 schools with air conditioning.
• $100 million for “learning environments” in 136 schools.
• $124 million for new facilities in the far northeast.
• $127 million for arts, athletics and innovation.
• $83 million for safety and technology.
The proposed $975 million bond and mill levy will represent the largest package put before voters.
To date, voters have approved $2.3 billion in ballot measures in the past four presidential elections.
These ballot measures have been so successful in Denver that Superintendent Alex Marrero joked on Tuesday that he had to keep reminding himself to say “proposed” bond.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who briefly attended the meeting Tuesday, called the proposal a “big vision for what is possible for Denver.”
“We know that there’s no way you can have a great city without a great school district,” Johnston said.
Before beginning a political career more than a decade ago, Johnston was an English teacher and principal.
Colorado schools are funded by the state’s General Fund or through local property taxes.
The proposed bond comes as the district faces declining enrollment, tighter school budgets, teacher layoffs and likely additional school closures. School funding in Colorado is tied to enrollment.
