Colorado parents desperate for school as school board to vote on referring $490M bond to voters
UPDATE: The Douglas County School Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to refer the bond to voters.
On Tuesday evening, the Douglas County School Board will vote to refer a $490 million bond to voters in November.
The district hasn't passed a bond since 2018 and hasn't built a new school since 2010. Since then, the county's population has increased by around 90,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This growth leaves more emerging communities without a neighborhood school.
"I just assumed there would be schools," said Sterling Ranch mom Molly Whitehair.
When Whitehair moved to Sterling Ranch in 2018, she dreamed of her 1- and 2-year-old walking to school one day. Just blocks from their home sits an empty plot of land they were told would become an elementary school.
A community left waiting
What Whitehair didn't realize was that Douglas County voters would need to approve a bond measure to fund the construction of that school.
Years later, she's still waiting.
"Brennan now is 8, Maeve is 6 and now we have a third and she's 4," said Whitehair. "And still no school!"
Whitehair's kids go to Roxborough Primary School. She says they're happy there, but it's crowded and lacks the sense of community a neighborhood school would have.
"The neighbors there go to Ben Franklin (Academy); some people go to Stone Mountain (Elementary School); some people go to Coyote Creek (Elementary School). So it's not that sense of community," Whitehair said. "Everyone goes to different schools and it's really sad," said Whitehair.
For the last two years, Whitehair has campaigned for school bond measures that would fund her kids' school.
"Last year I canvassed with some other neighbors, got my car painted, had signs out front," she said.
In both years, voters said "no."
A last chance to fund new schools
This year, the district is trying again. Staff are recommending the school board refer a $490 million bond to voters for new schools, investments in career and technical education, special education and capital needs.
"We have a backlog of about $300 million for capital investments and capital maintenance that need to be made on our existing buildings," said Erin Kane, superintendent for Douglas County Schools.
This year's bond would build new schools in Sterling Ranch and Ridgegate, which is east of Interstate 25 in the Lone Tree area.
"There's already enough kids in Sterling Ranch to fill two elementary schools, so we'd like to just be able to build one," said Kane.
The communities of Crystal Valley in Castle Rock and The Canyons in Castle Pines, which would have been funded by last year's failed bond, will have to wait.
"Last year's bond covered more new schools, but with inflation and additional investments we need to make, we can only afford to put two new schools in the current bond proposal," Kane said.
Meanwhile, incoming developments like Dawson Trails, south of Castle Rock, could bring thousands more kids to Douglas County in coming years.
"You might encounter some voters who say 'I don't want to have to pay to keep building new schools for people who are moving here.' What would your response to those concerns be?" CBS News Colorado's Olivia Young asked Kane.
"In Douglas County, it's really important that people want to move here; that's how our home values maintain themselves and our communities will continue to thrive," Kane said. "A big part of that is delivering on the promise that Douglas County is the best place to raise kids and recreate."
The district is optimistic voters will say "yes" to the bond this year because it won't increase taxes.
"With voter approval, we will be able to restructure our debt so that our debt payments can continue to be covered with our existing mill that's in place today," Kane said.
That option won't be available next year.
"This is really the year to do it," Kane said.
Balancing growth and decline
At the same time, as growth surges in parts of the county, the district is seeing declining enrollment in others. They are considering consolidating schools in Highlands Ranch; the bond would help them.
"We have too few students spread over too many buildings and it's not sustainable into the future. We need to be able to plan ahead before it becomes an emergency situation," Kane said.
While voters rejected last year's bond, they approved a mill levy override, which increased teacher pay by 9%. Kane says it has helped to keep teachers in the district and address a bus driver shortage that led the district to implement rolling bus service blackouts last year. This year, the district still doesn't have full bus service, but Kane says they're on the way there and hope to start covering the holes in service as they hire more bus drivers this year.
"The bus situation is actually exacerbated by the growth that we are not able to address with new schools," said Kane.
If the bond is referred to voters and passes this November, those new schools would likely open in the fall of 2027. If it doesn't pass, the district says they'll have to get creative and may need to consider charters.
Whitehair would prefer a neighborhood school over a charter, as she wants her kids to be in an inclusive school environment.
"I don't want them just to be with white kids with blonde hair and blue eyes that look just like them. I like that they're in an inclusive school where everybody's welcome," said Whitehair.
Whitehair is ready to campaign for the bond again this year and hopes the third time will be the charm.
"I am very worried, but I just hope that people realize that the kids are our future and these kids deserve to have a good quality school and a school that supports them, their friends and the whole community," said Whitehair.
The following is a statement from Brock Smethills, president of Sterling Ranch Development Company:
Sterling Ranch broke ground in 2015, that same year, Sterling Ranch donated a 12-acre site to Douglas County for the future purposes of a school site. Since that time, there have been several different School Boards and Superintendents; however, we have continued to advocate for a new school to be built in Sterling Ranch. We hope that if the Douglas County School District Board authorizes another ballot initiative to build schools, that Sterling Ranch will be the first site selected for a neighborhood school in Douglas County. Our Development Company has privately supported the school district with over $4 million of voluntary capital impact fees, and last year supported the School District's efforts to increase teachers salaries, and extend the capital mill levy to build schools. We recognize that some of our homeowners have been waiting as long as we have, and we share in their frustrations. We hope that this year's bond election will be successful to finally construct a school in Sterling Ranch. It has been a long time coming.
