School tax increaseAdditional school override within a combined statutory limit
Authorizes a $5.9 million property tax increase for 2027 collections, with later override revenue subject to the district’s statutory limit, for compensation and educational programs.
Summit School District RE-1
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Summit School District RE-1 Ballot Issue 4A
Summit's school board approved its 2026-27 budget on a consent agenda without additional discussion, then asked district voters for $5.9 million more in 2027 and whatever later amounts the override limit allows. I find that order backward. In the district's survey, 64% of respondents said it has the resources to provide students an excellent education, and only 40% agreed that it spends taxpayer money appropriately.
I want a school district to show its community, line by line, how it spends the money it has and what that money does for students before it seeks more. The question lists pay for teachers and staff as one example among several and reserves no part of the revenue for it. I oppose Issue 4A. I ask Summit's board to put its spending through that kind of public review before it returns to the ballot.
I recommend a no vote on Summit School District RE-1 Ballot Issue 4A.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
SHALL SUMMIT SCHOOL DISTRICT RE-1 TAXES BE INCREASED $5.9 MILLION FOR TAX COLLECTION YEAR 2027 AND IN SUCH AMOUNTS AS MAY BE COLLECTED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER; WITH FUNDS TO BE USED FOR PURPOSES SUCH AS: 1. ATTRACTING AND RETAINING HIGH-QUALITY TEACHERS AND STAFF THROUGH COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS; 2. STRENGTHENING PK-12 PROGRAMS AND INCREASING STUDENTS’ OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLEGE CREDITS, CAREER AND TECHNICAL INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS, AND HANDS-ON LEARNING EXPERIENCES ALIGNED TO WORKFORCE AND POSTSECONDARY PATHWAYS; 3. STRENGTHENING ACADEMIC OUTCOMES AND REDUCING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS; FROM THE IMPOSITION OF A MILL LEVY IMPOSED AT A RATE, WHEN COMBINED WITH PRIOR VOTER APPROVED MILL LEVY OVERRIDE QUESTIONS, WILL GENERATE REVENUES UP TO THE LIMIT ESTABLISHED FOR THE DISTRICT BY SECTION 22-54-108(3)(B)(VI), C.R.S.; SUCH ADDITIONAL REVENUES TO BE DEPOSITED IN THE GENERAL FUND AND USED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AS PROVIDED HEREIN AND AS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY THE DISTRICT VOTERS PURSUANT TO SECTION 22-54-108(V), C.R.S.; AND SHALL THE REVENUES FROM SUCH TAXES AND ANY EARNINGS FROM THE INVESTMENT OF SUCH REVENUES BE COLLECTED AND SPENT AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION AND ANY OTHER LAW?
A yes vote means
The district could levy the override and keep the revenue and its earnings outside TABOR's limits.
A no vote means
The district would not receive authority for this override.
The Tax and Its Purposes01
Ballot Issue 4A asks Summit School District RE-1 voters for $5.9 million more in property taxes for tax collection year 2027 and "in such amounts as may be collected annually thereafter." The question sets no end date and no mill rate. The new levy, combined with the district's earlier voter-approved overrides, may generate revenue up to the limit that section 22-54-108(3)(b)(VI) of state law sets for the district.
The money goes into the general fund for purposes "such as" the three the question lists: attracting and retaining teachers and staff through competitive compensation and benefits; strengthening preschool through grade 12 programs and increasing students' opportunities for college credits, career and technical industry certifications and hands-on learning; and strengthening academic outcomes and reducing achievement gaps. The revenue may also go to educational purposes that district voters approved earlier. The question sets no share for any one purpose. A yes vote lets the district collect and spend the revenue and its investment earnings as a voter-approved revenue change under TABOR and any other law.
Estimated annual property tax increase
The question's $5.9 million in its first year of collection, set against Summit RE-1 School District's certified assessed value for tax year 2025 ($3,945,182,990), works out to about 1.495 mills: $1.50 a year for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.
Example at $100,000 taxable assessed value
$100,000 × about 1.495 ÷ 1,000 = $149.55
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 ($5.9 million 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.
Estimated annual increase
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Summit County ballot, Summit School District RE-1 Ballot Issue 4A
What the District Spends02
The district's TABOR notice reports fiscal year spending of $41,929,988 in 2022-23 and estimates $55,726,954 for 2026-27 without the increase, an overall change it gives as 32.9%. It estimates the increase at up to $5,900,000 in 2026-27, the first full fiscal year. Chief Financial Officer Kara Drake has estimated the override would add about $9 a month to the property tax bill on a $1 million home.
The Board's Split Decision03
In a June survey the district commissioned from Magellan Strategies, 49% of respondents supported an override, short of what the pollster called "somewhere in the mid-50s or higher." In the same survey, 64% said the district has the resources to provide students an excellent education, and 40% agreed that it exercises fiscal responsibility and spends taxpayer money appropriately. In June, Superintendent Tony Byrd and the district's finance and facilities committees recommended against pursuing a tax measure this year; almost all committee members opposed an override without backing from more citizens and the Summit County Education Association, the teachers' union.
On July 23 the board voted 5-1 to pursue the override. Byrd said growing support from educators, conversations with the association and other polling results had changed his view. Under a newly ratified contract with the union, district staff worked with the association on the ballot language, which the board adopted 6-1 on August 27. Board member Jenniffer Gonzalez cast the dissenting vote both times. She urged the district to keep looking for budget efficiencies and to demonstrate accountability first. At the July meeting she also tried to retract her vote for the district's 2026-27 budget, which the board had approved on its consent agenda without additional discussion.
