Colorado town passes controversial school land ordinance: "Difficult to impossible for us to build new schools"

Douglas County School District is grappling with a change in law in one of its most populous communities. The Castle Rock Town Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night changing the way land and funds dedicated to schools are allocated.

Historically, developers have dedicated land or funding for future public schools. The town holds these assets until the district is ready to build a school, but now the district will need to meet certain conditions and timelines, or the land may be used for other purposes.

There are currently 13 sites in Castle Rock planned for schools. The ordinance cites "changing demographic trends, school enrollment patterns, and long-range capital planning" as reasons many of them may not be developed into schools for a long time, if ever. The town has also suggested some of the sites are unsuitable for schools.

Under the ordinance, the school district must plan and finance a school before the town will give them the land.

"We have to prove that we funded a school before they will give us a site. However, the funding for a school comes from a voter-approved bond election, and our voters won't be interested in voting on a bond for a new school without having a site," said Erin Kane, superintendent of the Douglas County School District.

Once land is conveyed, the district will have three years to build a school, or land will revert back to the town.

"We're worried about kind of the tight timelines as well as just the chicken-and-egg requirements," said Kane.

If a school site is still undeveloped after 10 years, a public hearing will be held to determine if the land should be used instead for parks or open space.

The change also gives Castle Rock more discretion over how cash set aside for schools by developers, known as cash-in-lieu, can be used.

"I'm not suggesting that's their intent, but under the ordinance, they can direct the land and the cash in lieu to other purposes," said Kane.

The motion passed 4-3 Tuesday night, after numerous public commenters and school district representatives spoke against it. Councilmembers Bracken and Hollingshead voiced support for waiting and involving the school district in conversations about the ordinance; they voted against the ordinance along with Mayor Jason Gray.

Of the 13 sites in Castle Rock earmarked to become schools, a town memo marks seven as sites to be considered for a park or open space. Those sites are in Red Hawk, Plum Creek South, Sapphire Point, Crystal Valley North, Castlewood Ranch, Castle Oaks and Bella Mesa South. The memo notes sites in Dawson Trails, Pine Canyon, Montaine, Crystal Valley South and Cobblestone Ranch as still being planned to house a school.

Kane suggested Crystal Valley and the incoming Dawson Trails neighborhoods are particularly in need of schools. She says a bond ask is years away, and those decisions have not yet been made.

The ordinance comes just one week after the Douglas County school board voted to refer a $54 million mill levy override to voters.

"Holding on to our teachers is the secret sauce for our academic success and all the opportunities that we're able to provide to our students," said Kane.

The measure would cost homeowners $236 a year for a $700,000 home. The funds would go to school security, student programming and teacher pay, which is still the lowest in the metro area, despite the passage of a mill levy in 2023.

"Thanks to that 2023 mill levy override, our turnover went from about 26% four years ago to about 13% now. We're incredibly grateful for that, but we also need to keep it that way," said Kane. "We are still 7% below the market, but we made so much progress thanks to our voter support. This mill levy override would put our teachers just slightly above Jeffco, so we would at least get into the market."

A year after the 2023 mill levy override, voters passed a bond in 2024. It is funding two new elementary schools set to open next year in Sterling Ranch and Ridgegate.

"Obviously, times are expensive. It can be challenging, especially in Douglas County, for people to approve a property tax increase. What's your response to someone who's like, 'why should I vote for this again?'" CBS Colorado's Olivia Young asked Superintendent Kane.

"I would say a really strong school system is why we have such incredible property values here in Douglas County, and we want young families moving to our county. That's the future. Young families with young children are the future of our county to continue to thrive. I also want to recognize that our taxpayers have seen a lot of increases over the years, over the recent years, and so we're just incredibly grateful for their support for our school system, and their support is why our school system is so strong right now," Kane said. 

"Our tax rate for Douglas County School District has continued to slowly go down, and that's because our bonds and our mill levy overrides are based on fixed dollar amounts that are being spread over more and more homeowners as Douglas County continues to grow."

Even with the hope of more funding, the district faces an uncertain future when it comes to planning for new schools.

"We don't have any sense of control," said Kane. "Unfortunately, this makes it really difficult, if not impossible, for us to build new schools in Castle Rock. I am confident that we will be able to work with the town and town council to find a path forward, but the language in the ordinance makes it very, very challenging."