Engage Jeffco Schools Endorses Ballot Measures; Mill Levy Override 5A and Special Mill Levy 5B

Engage Jeffco Schools endorses a “yes” vote on the 2026 ballot measures 5A (Mill Levy Override) and 5B (Special Purpose Mill).

Engage Jeffco Schools members believe that every child deserves access to a high-quality public education—and that means adequately, equitably, and sustainably funding our public schools.

Colorado has a longstanding problem with school funding. Two independent adequacy studies commissioned by the state legislature found that Colorado would need approximately $4 billion more each year to adequately resource our K-12 public schools.

That number is difficult to comprehend, but the consequences are not. They show up in larger class sizes, fewer opportunities for students, difficulty recruiting and retaining educators, and in school buildings that need repairs and modernization.

In fact, our high school seniors today have spent their entire K-12 education in a system that has not been fully funded. This is not a short-term problem. It is a generation-long investment gap.

And Jeffco, in particular, is feeling that gap acutely.

Jeffco currently receives less public funding per student than neighboring Front Range districts—about $1,878 less per student on average. That adds up to roughly $140 million a year.

This disparity has real consequences. Jeffco ranks near the bottom among comparable districts in midpoint teacher salaries, making it harder to attract and retain the excellent educators our students deserve. At the same time, our schools face significant needs for maintenance, technology, heating and cooling systems, roofs, plumbing, safety improvements, and other critical infrastructure.

That is why Engage Jeffco Schools supports both measures 5A and 5B.

5A: The $73 million Mill Levy Override, which would help Jeffco bring compensation closer to the market average and expand opportunities such as Career and Technical Education. These are investments directly connected to student success and to our ability to attract and retain talented educators.

5B: The $60 million Special Purpose Mill addresses a different but equally important need: the physical places where our children learn. It would provide ongoing resources for critical maintenance, technology, capital improvements, heating and cooling, and safety and security.

We also recognize that asking voters to increase property taxes is a serious request. We should never take that responsibility lightly.

But sustainable public education funding requires us to acknowledge the actual cost of providing the education our community expects and our children deserve. We cannot continue asking educators and school communities to do more with less while allowing the gap between Jeffco and comparable districts to grow.

And importantly, these measures include accountability provisions, including citizen oversight and public reporting of how the funds are spent. This is incredibly important for trust and transparency with the community.

Supporting these measures does not mean believing that additional local funding should replace the state’s responsibility to adequately fund public education. Quite the opposite. Which is why Engage Jeffco Schools also endorses Proposition NN and Amendment #87, two ballot measures that will provide much-needed, sustainable funds to all Colorado public schools at the state level.

We should continue demanding that Colorado adequately and equitably fund every public school district. But while we work toward that goal, we also have a responsibility to make sure Jeffco students and educators have the resources they need today. We urge the entire education community to come together and support school funding at the ballot this fall.

Our students cannot wait for another generation to experience fully funded and resourced public schools.

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About Engage Jeffco

Engage Jeffco Schools is a volunteer group of parents and caregivers that want to partner with the district to ensure that all children have equitable access to a high-quality public education.