Prairie School District RE-11J

Prairie School District RE-11J Property Tax Override

School tax increaseOverride amount tied to a school-funding formula

Adds $1,192,406 in Prairie school property taxes for 2027 collections, then sets combined overrides at 37% of total program funding for staff and maintenance.

Prairie School District RE-11J

Kim's Recommendation

Vote No on Prairie School District RE-11J Ballot Issue 5B

The state's election history records the two overrides Prairie voters approved, in 2001 and 2006, as dollar amounts of $75,000 each. Issue 5B names a dollar amount for 2027 alone. After that, the combined overrides would equal 37% of the district's total program as permitted by state law, and the tie reaches any similar term in a law that replaces that definition. Salaries and wages are among the tax's listed purposes, and the question names no end date.

I oppose increasing property taxes in Prairie by a sum that, after 2027, a state funding figure decides and this ballot does not show.

I recommend a no vote on Prairie School District RE-11J Ballot Issue 5B.

Kim Monson

Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026

Certified ballot question

MILL LEVY OVERRIDE

SHALL PRAIRIE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. RE-11J TAXES BE INCREASED BY $1,192,406 FOR COLLECTION YEAR 2027, AND ANNUALLY THEREAFTER BY AN AMOUNT THAT, WHEN COMBINED WITH TAXES PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY DISTRICT VOTERS AS A MILL LEVY OVERRIDE, EQUALS THIRTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF THE DISTRICT'S TOTAL PROGRAM AS PERMITTED BY STATE LAW FOR ADDITIONAL LOCAL REVENUE, FOR THE PURPOSE OF: · ATTRACTING, TRAINING, AND RETAINING HIGH-QUALITY TEACHERS; · MAINTAINING COMPETITIVE SALARIES AND WAGES FOR DISTRICT TEACHERS, TEACHER'S AIDES, BUS DRIVERS, CUSTODIANS, AND OTHER SUPPORT STAFF; AND · PROPERLY FUNDING THE ONGOING MAINTENANCE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES TO EXTEND THEIR USEFUL LIFE; THROUGH THE LEVY OF PROPERTY TAXES FOR THE DISTRICT'S GENERAL FUND AT A RATE THAT WILL PRODUCE AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THIRTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF THE DISTRICT'S TOTAL PROGRAM (AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN STATE LAW OR ANY SIMILAR TERM IN A SUCCESSOR PROVISION)?

A yes vote means

Authorizes the 2027 increase and the later levy amount that, combined with previously approved overrides, equals 37% of total program.

A no vote means

Rejects this additional override and its later-year formula.

First-Year Property Tax Increase01

Under Ballot Issue 5B, Prairie School District RE-11J, the New Raymer district, would increase its property taxes by $1,192,406 for collection year 2027.

Estimated annual property tax increase

The question's $1,192,406 in its first year of collection, set against Prairie RE-11 School District's certified assessed value for tax year 2025 ($460,567,985), works out to about 2.589 mills: $2.59 a year for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.

Example at $100,000 taxable assessed value

$100,000 × about 2.589 ÷ 1,000 = $258.90

Taxable assessed value is not a home's market value. For 2026 it is about 6% to 7% of the actual value the county assessor sets. A home with an actual value of $500,000 has an assessed value of about $30,600 for local government taxes and $35,250 for school district taxes.

An estimate: the mill figure uses the district's certified assessed value for tax year 2025, and the value when the tax is collected will differ. The question states a dollar amount ($1,192,406 in its first year of collection), not a mill rate; later years follow the question's own formula. This is the added tax, not the total property tax bill.

Weld County ballot, Prairie School District RE-11J ballot issue 5B

Later Years Tied to Total Program02

In each later year, the district would levy an amount that, combined with the overrides its voters approved earlier, equals 37% of the district's total program "as permitted by state law for additional local revenue." Total program is a school funding figure defined in state law. The tie also reaches any similar term in a law that replaces that definition. The levy would run at whatever rate produces that amount. The 37% is measured against total program rather than against property values. No end date appears in the question.

The Colorado Department of Education's override workbook for fiscal year 2024-25 lists the district's total program formula funding at $3,425,421.11 and its override levy at 0.129 mills.

Teacher Pay and Building Upkeep03

The revenue would go to the general fund for three listed purposes: attracting, training and retaining high-quality teachers; maintaining competitive salaries and wages for teachers, teacher aides, bus drivers, custodians and other support staff; and properly funding the ongoing maintenance of school facilities to extend their useful life.

The district's proposed general fund budget for fiscal year 2027 lists $2,337,274 in local property taxes, $3,401,171 in total revenue and $3,385,930 in expenses. The school board approved the override resolution on August 17, 2026, with all five members voting aye.

Earlier Overrides in Prairie04

The state education department's override election history records two Prairie overrides that passed, each for $75,000, in 2001 and 2006, and one for $77,951 that failed in 2000.

Sources05

Official documents

Weld County 2026 sample ballot, page 6, column 4