DPS Wants Tax Measure Number Eight. Because Apparently Seven Wasn’t Enough.
The Denver Gazette reports that the Denver Public Schools board unanimously voted to put another mill levy override before voters this November. If approved, the measure would raise property taxes by $43.9 million every year, with the biggest chunk, $25.8 million, going toward employee raises.
Of course they did. Because somehow the answer is always more money. Always. Denver taxpayers are already funding seven existing DPS mill levy overrides, which brought in $369.6 million last year. All seven remain in effect indefinitely. Now DPS would like number eight. But hey, it’s for the children. Meanwhile, everybody please continue screaming AFFORDABILITY! while reaching for your checkbook.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Another $43.9 million a year. The DPS board voted unanimously to send the tax increase to Denver voters. Apparently, seven voter-approved tax measures were merely the appetizer.
- Most of the new money goes to employee raises. DPS proposes $25.8 million for $1,750 raises for district employees, plus $4 million for career and technical education, $4.9 million for mental health and special education support, and $9.3 million for charter schools.
- Denver taxpayers are already paying plenty. The seven existing overrides generated $369.6 million last year. The 2005 levy alone, originally approved for teacher compensation, generated $41.5 million. Other previous measures have also funded mental health, staff compensation, career programs and similar priorities that appear again in the new proposal.
- The “average” homeowner gets another $72 annual bill. That comes while the DPS portion of the property tax bill for a typical Denver single-family home has climbed from $1,480 in 2020 to a projected $2,276 in 2026, according to district figures cited by the Gazette. That’s nearly a 54% increase before this latest request.
- And DPS may be back for more. Denver voters approved a $975 million school bond less than two years ago, and district officials are already laying groundwork for another possible bond measure within the next two years. Because apparently the ATM still has a card in it.
My Bottom Line
I have no problem paying good teachers good money. I have a very big problem with government institutions behaving as though asking what happened to the last pile of money is somehow rude. Denver taxpayers are already coughing up hundreds of millions of dollars every year through seven separate DPS tax measures. Before approving number eight, somebody ought to demand a ruthless accounting of exactly what the hell numbers one through seven are buying.
This is the institutional reflex that drives taxpayers crazy. The program needs more money. Salaries need more money. Mental health needs more money. Career education needs more money. Everything needs more money. The proposed ballot language even says the new revenue can be spent on educational purposes “including, but not limited to” the listed priorities. That phrase should make every taxpayer’s eyebrow rise about three inches. (denvergazette.com)
And spare me the affordability lectures while government keeps stacking another annual charge onto the property tax bill. Families are paying more for housing, groceries, insurance, utilities and just about everything else. They do not get to solve their budget problems by holding an election and ordering their neighbors to cover the shortfall.
Denver voters should treat this ballot question like a warning label. Show us the receipts. Show where the existing $369.6 million in annual override revenue goes. Show what worked. Show what failed. Show what was promised. Show what was delivered. Then explain why another $43.9 million every year is the only answer left.
Until then, tax measure number eight looks a whole lot less like an emergency and a whole lot more like a habit.
Source: Denver Gazette
Now It's Your Turn...