• Commitment -  7 mills to improve pay for teachers
• Guarantees - at least a 7% recurring annual raise for every teacher
• Duration - the 7% raise will last for at least 7 years
• Achievement - If we don’t improve our position on the CDE district performance framework within 5 years, the 7-mill commitment will sunset

At the 2023 Annual Planning Summit, the School District 49 Board approved a Strategic Objective: Pursuing Local Financial Support to support increased compensation for our teacher workforce. D49 is committed to creating plans that align with the Voice of the Community. In the summer of 2023, Magellan Strategies conducted a survey of local voters and the survey said....

• 86% of parents have a favorable opinion of D49 teachers Our teachers prove, by their dedication and personal connections, that they love the children that we entrust to their care. With a challenging economy and limited resources, D49 teachers dig deep to provide engaging resources and materials for all students. The hard times we’re all enduring are hardest of all for teachers.
• 69% of parents support the 7-7-7 proposal at the conclusion of scientific polling conducted by Magellan Strategies in the summer of 2023
• 79% of our parents and community agreed D49 should prioritize school choice. With the widest array of operated and public charter school options in the Pikes Peak region, D49 leads in exceptional educational choices for all learners 
• 96% of our parents and community agree on the importance of attracting and retaining good educators. Hiring teachers has become a cutthroat competition. Districts with greater resources are specifically pursuing high-performing and experienced teachers. Salary competitors are extending their lead. By making the guarantee official ballot language, D49 is locked in to providing a dramatic and sustained resource that teachers can count on.

• The total proposal is for 7 mills. This would cost $48.65 per $100,000 of home value and would equal $226 per year for a $465,000 home—less than $20/month.
• $48.65 a year per $100K of assessed value, or $4.05 a month
• For average, estimated home value $465K = $18.85 a month $226 a year, less than twenty bucks a month.
  
• Home Assessed Value $100,000 x 7Mills x Residential Tax Rate 6.95%/1000 

Home Value /  Avg. Monthly Cost | 777 Model 

$150,000  /  $6.00 ($6.08)

$250,000  /  $10.00 ($10.14) 

$350,000  /  $14.00 ($14.19)

$450,000  /  $18.00 ($18.24) 

• Colorado’s school funding formula places D49 (a residential district) at a major disadvantage to bordering districts on our west that have much more business tax revenue.
• Even if residential property values rise, Colorado’s model will reduce state funding equally, so we won’t see any improvement in our competitive position.
• If the measure is successful, D49 will turn community investment into targeted compensation specifically for our teachers, who are among the lowest paid in the region.
• This measure would also reduce our dependence on state funds. We are currently much more dependent on the state than D20 and D11.

Improving teacher pay will improve our ability to recruit and retain the best teachers, which will have a direct result on the quality of education we deliver to our students. Attracting talent and retaining experienced, excellent teachers will allow us to live up to our mission and vision of being the best choice to learn, work and lead.

• High-quality, local education benefits your community whether you have children and grandchildren in school or not. In particular, the performance and reputation of the school district is a major factor in driving home values and neighborhood quality.

• Secondly, quality schools keep 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.

• Students and parents know that most teachers get better with experience. This measure will give us an opportunity to persuade promising teachers to join our team while giving proven teachers a reason to stay. If we can’t stay competitive, we’ll consign many students to learn from inexperienced and unproven teachers, year after year.

• An MLO oversight committee will have direct oversight and multiple opportunities to collaborate on topics related to the management of MLO funds. 
• Sustaining enduring trust and engaging with our community are two of our strategic priorities, or big rocks. Financial efficiency and accountability are among our top priorities.

By any measure, flat administration, total dollars directed to schools, overall salary and our number of students per building, D49 is far and away the most efficient and frugal district. By making the guarantee in official ballot language to direct 100% of funds generated by the measure to teacher pay, D49 is locked in to providing a dramatic and sustained resource that teachers can count on… and maintaining our commitment to responsible spending. 

2014 | 3A

• Improve educator compensation
• Attract and retain highly effective teachers

2016 | 3B

• Build schools
• Refresh and refurbish
• Improve safety and security
• Improve overall compensation

2018 | 4C

• Combined and Reduced MLO to respond to community growth
• Recommitted to 3B Priorities

2023 | 4C

• Guaranteed pay for teachers
• Increased academic performance

• D49 last passed an MLO increase in 2014 which allowed us to:
• Refresh and refurbish our existing schools 
• Build two elementary schools 
• Improve pay
• Enhance safety and security district-wide

• D49 is widely recognized as the most frugal district in the Pikes Peak region. We serve more students with fewer building and a minimal cohort of administrators.
• D49 has zero general obligation debt. Unlike most districts, we pay as we go—relying on general revenues to fund operations and capital construction.

Although D49 receives a very low state share compared to other districts, the biggest discrepancy is via local tax revenue.

Because business properties yield much more tax revenue, our competition to the west (D11 and D20) has much more local revenue to invest in teacher salaries.

• By any measure, flat administration, total dollars directed to schools, overall salary and our number of students per building, D49 is far and away the most efficient and frugal district in our region.
• D49 is neck and neck in terms of students served with our nearest neighboring district (D20) and ahead of the next largest district in the region (D11). D49 operates with significantly fewer administrators and fewer educators teaching roughly the same number of students.

Although our district receives additional revenues from property taxes, the state’s responsive funding model creates a “break even” result for D49: The state will note the increase in revenue and reduce its funding to D49 by the same amount year over year… thereby holding D49 in its current financial position.

While we continue to grow in size and student population, we have not passed an MLO in nearly 10 years. Dedicated MLO funds for salaries have not changed since 2016, while our student population has grown.