Douglas County voters to decide 2 school district funding measures

Next week, Douglas County voters will decide on two major funding measures for the school district - a $450 million bond and $60 million mill levy override.  

School leaders have argued both are necessary, since the growing school district lags behind neighboring districts in funding, especially when it comes to teacher and staff pay. According to district leaders, the average salary for a teacher in DCSD is about $18,000 less than in the neighboring Cherry Creek School District.  

Ballot measure 5A, the mill levy override, aims to address that, though some opponents argue the property tax increase comes at a tough time for homeowners.  

"We need to keep our good teachers," said Andy Abner, principal at Rock Canyon High School. "It's important for the voters in Douglas County to show them how much they mean to us because that's going to make the difference in the future." 

After multiple changes in location and career, Jack Vannatta finally feels at home. For the past seven years, the Navy veteran has been a physics teacher at Rock Canyon, and he has no plans of changing that soon.  

While he cherishes the purpose of his relatively new career, he acknowledges getting by is not always easy for everyone, especially younger teachers.  

"I have no idea how they're doing it," he said. "If they're on their own, how many roommates do they have to have to be able to afford just an apartment, let alone a home, it's really difficult."  

Vannatta has also seen that struggle lead to turnover. In an interview with CBS News Colorado, he said three colleagues from his department have left for neighboring districts over the past few years. 

"We lost one of the finest teachers that I've ever worked with, and that has a cascading effect," Vannatta said. "If my drive increases by five minutes and I can make an extra $20,000 or $30,000, that's probably an easy jump."  

Ballot measure 5A aims to close that gap by increasing teacher pay by about 9%.  

If passed by voters, homeowners would pay an extra dollar per week for every $100,000 of home value. That's about $255 a year for someone with a $500,000 home. 

In Douglas County's annual TABOR booklet, opponents argue the property tax increase would impact young and senior homeowners, as well as renters who may see rent increases as a result. Another person claimed more funding, "does not buy better education outcomes." 

"There's nothing more important to our school district than these funding measures coming up," Abner said.  

Abner said each year he cringes when a teacher asks to meet with him in February or March because that's when other districts are hiring. By not offering more competitive pay, he said the district is not just losing teachers, but taxpayers too.  

"We want nothing more than our teachers here to get a competitive salary and our staff to get a competitive salary, so not only can they stay in Douglas County, but hopefully become residents of Douglas County," Abner said.  

While Vannatta argues 5A is about students as much as staff, it's now up to the voters to decide.  

"I think it shows a commitment from the community that we value education, value teachers, we value what good teachers mean to a community," he said.  

The other funding measure, 5B, involves increasing the district's debt by $450 million. The money would go toward building new schools and maintaining older ones, as well as adding more career and technical training programs and security upgrades. 

The district said the measure would not increase the tax rate, but taxes would slightly decrease if it doesn't pass.  

RELATED: How mill levy overrrides and school bond measures work