Extends the district’s $4 million annual school tax beyond December 31, 2030, with no new end date stated.
Weld County School District RE-5J
On the November 3, 2026 ballot
Kim's Recommendation
NO
Vote No on Weld County School District RE-5J Ballot Issue 5A
I see Issue 5A as a decision made in 2026 about a tax after December 31, 2030. The 2020 levy runs to that date whether 5A passes or fails, so a no vote takes nothing from Johnstown and Milliken schools before then. A yes vote authorizes the levy for the years after 2030 with no end date, and the board's resolution treats that authority as continuing, never used up by the passage of time.
I believe the owners of homes and businesses who would pay this levy in the 2030s should weigh it closer to 2030, with the district's spending and results from the years before then in front of them. When the 2020 levy expires, property owners in the district stop paying it unless voters approve an extension or a new override. I would leave that decision to the district's voters as 2030 approaches.
I oppose an extension with no end date, placed on the ballot four years before this tax expires.
I recommend a no vote on Weld County School District RE-5J Ballot Issue 5A.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
WITHOUT IMPOSING A NEW TAX, SHALL WELD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. RE-5J (JOHNSTOWN MILLIKEN) BE AUTHORIZED TO EXTEND THE TAX APPROVED BY THE DISTRICT'S VOTERS IN 2020 ($4 MILLION ANNUALLY), WHICH IS SET TO EXPIRE ON DECEMBER 31, 2030, TO BE USED FOR GENERAL FUND PURPOSES OF THE DISTRICT INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: · RETAIN AND ATTRACT HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS AND STAFF; · PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SAFETY, SECURITY, AND MENTAL HEALTH PERSONNEL; · EXPAND AUTHENTIC CAREER EXPLORATION AND PREPARATION PROGRAMS; · MAINTAIN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMMING; SUCH REVENUES TO BE DEPOSITED IN THE GENERAL FUND AND USED FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES PURSUANT TO SECTION 22-54-108, 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
Extends the existing $4 million annual tax beyond December 31, 2030, for general fund educational purposes, with tax revenue and investment earnings treated as a voter-approved revenue change.
A no vote means
Does not extend the tax, which is scheduled to end on December 31, 2030.
Key facts
Annual district tax
$4 million
Current expiration
December 31, 2030
Extension end date
None stated
Extending the Current School Tax01
Weld County School District RE-5J, which serves Johnstown and Milliken, collects $4 million a year from a mill levy override, a property tax its voters approved in 2020 for 10 years. That tax is set to expire on December 31, 2030. Ballot Issue 5A extends it past that date, in the question's words "without imposing a new tax", and states no new end date. The board's resolution placing 5A on the ballot treats an approved extension as a continuing authority to levy the tax that does not run out with time. The board voted 4-1 on August 19 to put 5A on the ballot, with board member Amy Musgrave opposed. At the same meeting, according to its draft minutes, the board voted down proposals to seek an additional ongoing override and a bond.
A second override, which voters approved in 2003 for $0.5 million a year, has no expiration. Both are fixed dollar amounts rather than fixed rates. The district says raising the two amounts took a combined 8.85 mills in 2021 and 3.52 mills in 2026, because assessed values rose.
Estimated annual property tax this measure continues
The question's $4 million a year, set against Weld County School District RE-5J's certified assessed value for tax year 2025 ($1,280,274,717), works out to about 3.124 mills: $3.12 a year for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.
Example at $100,000 taxable assessed value
$100,000 × about 3.124 ÷ 1,000 = $312.43
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 ($4 million a year), not a mill rate. The question continues existing tax authority rather than creating a new tax. This estimate shows what the continued levy would raise; an individual property's bill can change with the annual levy and its taxable assessed value.
Estimated annual amount continued
Enter a value of zero or more, with no more than two decimal places.
Larimer County ballot, Weld County School District RE-5J Ballot Issue 5A; also on the Weld County ballot
What the Money Pays For02
The revenue goes to the general fund for educational purposes under section 22-54-108 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The question names four uses and does not limit spending to them: retaining and attracting teachers and staff; adding safety, security and mental health personnel; expanding career exploration and preparation programs; and maintaining early childhood programming. The district says override money has also covered transportation and other operating needs. The question lets the district collect and spend the revenue and its investment earnings as a voter-approved revenue change under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR, and any other law; TABOR otherwise limits how much revenue a government may keep.
The District's Case for Asking Now03
The district puts its annual budget at about $50 million and the $4 million at nearly 8% of it. It reports enrollment up 31.4% from 2018-19 to 2025-26, teacher positions up almost 54% since 2020, and a starting teacher salary that rose from $39,857 in 2020 to $51,258 in 2026. It says waiting until 2030 would severely limit its ability to plan, and that losing the money could bring staff reductions, larger classes and less competitive pay.
What a No Vote Leaves in Place04
A no vote leaves the 2020 tax in effect through 2030 and the 2003 tax in effect with no end date. The district says it may ask voters again before the 2020 tax expires, and that without an extension it would likely seek a new override, which could be structured differently.
