Frequently Asked Questions

How does funding for Douglas County School District compare with neighboring school districts?
Douglas County School District receives the lowest per student funding in the Denver Metro area.

What will 3A and 3B do?
The additional funding provided by 3A and 3B will allow Douglas County School District to:

• Maintain and improve academic performance
• Improve technology infrastructure and access to tools
• Recruit and retain the best teachers
• Keep up with growth by building additional schools and strategically begin to move all elementary schools off 4-track

What happens if 3A and 3B do not pass?
Douglas County School District will be forced to continue making budget cuts which will impact students and classrooms. $21 million was cut in the 2008-09 budget. Without additional funding, at least an additional $10 million will be cut in the 2009-10 budget.

No additional funding will mean:

• Losing exceptional teachers to neighboring districts
• Halting expansion and improvement of existing programs
• No more space to accommodate student enrollment growth
• Higher class sizes
• Moving most elementary schools to 4-track calendars
• Changing the current level of service

Ultimately, student success will be negatively impacted by failure of an election.

How much will 3A and 3B cost the average homeowner?
The combined cost for both 3A and 3B is approximately 33 cents more per day, or $10 a month (on an average Douglas County home valued at $372,000). We can ensure that our students continue to receive the excellent education that DCSD is known for.

What is the average class size in Douglas County School District?
Currently, the average class size is 25 students per teacher.

How many students participate in Advanced Placement classes?
All of our high schools offer Advanced Placement classes. Last year, 3,740 AP exams were taken. Many students took AP exams for multiple subjects.

How do Douglas County schools rate?
The vast majority (92%) of our schools are rated excellent or high. Ratings have been steadily improving.

What is the history of student growth in Douglas County and what are the projections for the future?
Douglas County School District continues to be one of the fastest growing school districts in Colorado. The District has built 11 new schools since 2000. Growth is not expected to slow. DCSD anticipates almost 54,000 students in the 2008-09 school year. An additional 2,000 new students are expected every year for the next 5 years.

How will 3A and 3B impact my school?
The election will affect each and every school. Almost 50 schools will receive renovations and facility work. ALL schools will receive technology enhancements. Additionally, each school will receive a technology allocation, and funding dedicated to meet the individual needs of the schools. For more information, take a look at your school-specific information found under Feeder Area Schools.

How do charter schools benefit from the bond/budget override measures?
A successful override WILL provide funds to existing charter schools in DCSD. If 3A passes, beginning with this current school year, and each year thereafter, DCSD's charter schools will receive an equal, per-student allocation of the override revenues from the current ballot measure. Starting at 25% for this current school year, the share amounts increase 25% annually in each of the following three years bringing the total override share amount to 100% in 2011-12 school year (a total of more than $464 per student). By gradually releasing override revenues, DCSD will be able to maintain adequate operational fund reserves (Board of Ed requires 5% annual fund balance). This gradual release will prepare the School District for the 2010-11 sunset of the provision of Amendment 23, which since 2000-01 has required state funding to exceed inflation by 1% annually.

Note: Override money can be spent on anything - people, technology, equipment, buildings, debt service, etc. In the long run, the annual override money stream adds up to much more for DCSD charter schools than Cherry Creek, Aurora and Denver Public Schools have built into their bond election packages for charter schools. These other school districts give little to no override support to charter schools. And, on a per pupil basis over a four year period, DCSD charter schools receive more money that they would have received than the original request made by charter leadership to the Board of Education.

If 3A passes (with DCSD's $395 million capital program request approved) charter schools will directly benefit. The District is allocating $100 per student throughout the District for each school to use at their discretion for technology. This $100 per-student is being allocated to every school. In addition, at no cost to a charter school, DCSD will provide improved internet connectivity via a District-wide upgrade to Wide Area Network (WAN). The upgrade will improve speed and bandwidth for schools and will allow charter schools to reduce their operating budget costs currently spent on T-1 lines.

Charter schools benefit greatly and in numerous ways from a successful election.

What specific plans does DCSD have for teachers should the measure(s) pass?
3A provides additional resources for compensation for all employees. Douglas County School District has reached a multi-year agreement with the teacher's union which guarantees pay increases aligned to the CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation rate plus an additional 0.5% for the next two years. In addition, a percentage will be added in January 2009 following a successful election to partially make up for the percentage lost due to current $21 million in budget reductions.

Beyond compensation, DCSD will continue with services for gifted and talented students, which supports the classroom teacher's instruction. Literacy support for struggling primary students (also a support to the classroom teacher) will be maintained.

Additional funding will also enhance the District’s pay for performance plan by allowing DCSD to add dollars to this portion of the employee plan.

What are the specific technology enhancements that will be included in the bond?
DCSD will use additional funding to begin to build a much-improved technology infrastructure for students and staff. These improvements will come in the form of a fiber optic Wide Area Network (WAN). The WAN will provide 1Gb (1,000 megabits per second) bandwidth to start to/from each school within approximately two years, with ability to move up to 10Gb (10,000 megabits per second) and beyond in the future. Schools currently use T-1 lines (1 T-1 is equivalent to 1.5 megabits per second). District elementary schools use 2 T-1’s, middle schools use 4, high schools use 6. These resources are at maximum usage daily. Almost all other Front Range school districts currently have, or soon will have 1,000 to 10,000 megabits per second to/from all schools (100 to 1,000 times what DCSD schools have). Information published by eSchool News recently projected a need for 1Gb per 1,000 students in a school in the next few years. DCSD continues to work towards partnerships with County and Municipal entities to share infrastructure costs. It is much more cost-effective to build this infrastructure now while construction crews are at work digging in areas.

A successful bond and override will also allow DCSD to provide funds on a per pupil basis to all schools for technology tools. Additionally, DCSD does not currently have funding to replace obsolete servers, switches/routers, or storage devices on at least a five year rotation basis. Equipment in use is five to eight years old.

The State School Finance does not provide any funding for technology. DCSD often does not qualify for many grants available to districts serving larger "at risk" populations.

Has the District ever considered assessing a technology fee for each student to help fund technology needs of schools?
DCSD already assesses fees for a variety of programs and offerings. However, increasing fees as well as new fees for technology may be considered if the ballot measures fail.

When is the election?
Election Day is November 4, 2008. Mail-in ballots will be mailed out in October and must be returned by November 4th.

How can I help?

• Vote YES on 3A and 3B
• Share information about DCSD with friends, neighbors and contacts
• Put a yard sign on your property
• Volunteer with Citizens for Douglas County Schools
• Participate in precinct neighborhood walking
• Host an informational meeting in your home
• Donated funds to the campaign

How can I register to vote?
You can register by going to www.douglasvotes.com.

Q: What is the difference between a bond and budget election?
Bond: property, facilities, equipment
Budget: dollars for operations, teachers and staff to maintain current programs and implement program improvements

Q: What is a bond?
A bond is a loan; in other words, a security using different terminology. The issuer is equivalent to the borrower, the bond holder to the lender, the capital project being the investment, and the coupon equating to the interest rate.

Q: What is the purpose of a bond?
Bond funds are used to build new schools, purchase facilities and equipment.

Q: What are categorical programs?
Categorical programs are specific programs that are funded separately from a District’s total program funding under the Colorado Public School Finance Act of 1994 (as amended). Examples include vocational education, special education and pupil transportation. State funds for categorical programs must be used specifically for the program and are generally distributed based on a formula prescribed by law.

Q: What is funded pupil count?
A District’s pupil count, for funding purposes, is determined by the Public School Finance Act of 1994 (as amended). The Act provides that the October 1 enrollment count for each school year, determines a school district’s program funding for the current fiscal year. The funded pupil count is expressed in full-time equivalent (FTE) pupils.

Q: What is the Gallagher Amendment?
This 1982 state constitutional amendment divides the state’s total property tax burden between residential and nonresidential (commercial) property. According to the Amendment, 45% of the total amount of state property tax collected must come from residential property, and 55% of the property tax collected must come from commercial property. It further mandates that the assessment rate for commercial property be fixed at 29%. Pursuant to the terms of the Gallagher Amendment, and not withstanding the effects of TABOR the residential rate is annually adjusted to hold the 45/55 split constant. This stabilization is done by decreasing the residential percentage used to determine residential assessed values. The current valuation ratios are 7.96% of the market value for residential properties.

Q: Where does school funding come from?
Pie Chart - local tax revenue (property tax, specific ownership)
+ intergovernmental (transportation, charter reimbursement, G/T, Voc Ed, Except Child Ed)
+ other local revenues

Q: Where do General Funds go?
Salaries, Benefits, Operating, charter, Transfers, Contingency

Q: What are general funds?
The General Fund is the main operating account of the school district. The fund accounts for all financial resources except those required to be accounted for in another fund. All revenues and expenditures, except those revenues and expenditures attributable to other funds shall be accounted for in the General Fund.

Q: What is local share?
The local share is the portion of a school district’s total program contributed directly by local taxpayers of the school district. A District’s local share includes revenue from property taxes and specific ownership taxes.

Q: What is a mil levy?
A mil levy is a property tax rate based on dollars per thousand of assessed valuation. For example, a mil levy of 50 means $50 of tax per $1,000 in assessed value. Mill levies are placed by a taxing district such as a school district on property owners in the district.

Q: DCSD’s currently has 46.5 mils. What do neighboring districts have?
Area school district Mil Levies FY 2005-06

Q: What is DCSD’s Mil Levy history?

Q: How do you determine Total Program funding?
Total Program =
(Funded Pupil Count) X (Total Per-Pupil Funding) + (At-risk Funding) + (On-line Funding)

Q: What is property tax?
The general property tax is levied on land and buildings located within the boundaries of the school district. Every owner of private and business property in the school district, including public utilities, pays this tax. Property owned by governmental, charitable, and religious institutions is exempt from taxation.

Q: What do property taxes fund?
Property taxes provide local government their primary source of funding. School districts are very dependent upon property tax revenues. Sixty cents of every dollar collected in property tax revenue is dedicated to K-12 funding.

Q: How is property tax calculated?
Property tax = (market value of property) X (assessment rate) X (mill levy)
For example, in order to calculate the residential property tax on a $372,000 home, the market value of the property is multiplied by the assessment rate and the mill levy. By multiplying the value of the home ($372,000) by the residential assessment rate (7.96%), we get the assessment value ($29,611), or the amount of value subject to taxation. This amount multiplied by the mill levy equals total tax liability. Using a mill levy rate of 100 mills for this example, the total tax burden for a $372,000 home would be $2,961.

A commercial property valued at $100,000 would be subject to the same formula, but would be taxed on 29% of its worth, or $29,000. Multiplied by the 100 mills, the total tax liability for the commercial property would be $2,900.

Q. How is a property’s market value determined for property taxes?
Under the Gallagher Amendment, the County assessor must reassess properties every two years. Market values are determined based on recent sales of similar property in the area.

Q: What is the assessment rate?
The assessment rate is the percentage of the property’s assessed value that is taxed. Under Gallagher, the assessment rate for nonresidential property is fixed at 29%. Of the total market value of the property, 29% is subject to taxation. The Gallagher Amendment requires that residential property is only responsible for 45% of the state’s total property tax burden. Commercial property, which now accounts for only 25% of total property value in the state, is still responsible for 55% of the state’s total tax burden. The residential property assessment rate is adjusted annually in order to meet the 45/55 split mandated by Gallagher.

Q: What is TABOR?
TABOR is An Amendment to the Colorado Constitution approved by voters in November 1992 imposes certain tax and expenditure limits. The name TABOR is derived from the title of amendment when on the ballot, the “Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights”. TABOR has three major provisions. First, it requires voter approval for tax increases. Second, it limits the amount of revenue that may be collected each year. Third, through its provisions requiring voter approval to weaken any existing limit, it limits appropriations.