Durango School District 9-R is asking property owners to approve a new bond of $150 million.
It would pay for a new elementary school at Three Springs, to replace and likely repurpose the aging Florida Mesa school, the elimination of currently leased space, myriad infrastructure upgrades and improvements, and rental housing support for employees.
Aged building boilers that could fail any day are cited among the needs, as is new flooring for the high school, electrical and security systems, plumbing and roofing all in several locations.
The estimates are $55 million for the new school, $20 million to lower teacher and administrator rental housing costs, and an uncertain amount for building repurposing, leaving about $70 million to $75 million for infrastructure.
The bond would be repaid over 25 years at an estimated cost of $15 per month for property valued at $500,000.
To the school district’s credit, it has many successes to point to. A significant improvement in state overall quality rankings from 110 out of 164 districts to 16th, scores in reading and math that went from the bottom 20% to the top 30%, strong graduation rates, as well as new career and technical education opportunities.
Starting teachers’ salaries have increased to $51,000 and support staff close to $20 an hour. Dr. Karen Cheser, who is so ably leading the district (and who has a graduate degree in business), has recently signed a second four – year employment agreement; that’s a significant positive.
Education has come to require a lot of resources, both human and physical, and the total financial cost is expensive.
Other than the BEST program funding, which is oversubscribed and would provide only 24% of costs at most for 9-R, the state provides only per pupil funding. With 87% of the District’s budget committed to personnel, when it comes to construction needs, it’s up to the voters.
Even existing mill levies won’t fully follow the increase in property values, as the legislature and the governor recently reduced valuation percentages and added to exemptions both to be applied in 2025.
How to vote on Ballot Issue 4A? The Durango Herald’s editorial board’s enthusiasm is warm. While the cost of the new school can likely be properly estimated at $55 million, the proposed rental housing initiative with a yet-to-be-determined partner and estimated cost of $20 million, is sketchy. The costs are unclear related to possibly relocating the bus garage on Highway 3 to the Florida Mesa school location and making that land available for housing.
And, the roughly $75 million applied to infrastructure is only half of what is currently estimated to be needed. We’d scrap the housing idea and put that $20 million toward infrastructure needs.
Property-owning voters who vote yes will be trusting the district to be able to apply appropriate specifics to the gaps. The district does promise to establish a new and independent Bond Oversight Committee, composed of community representatives, staff and district parents, to oversee bond funding, spending and allocation.
It would have been better for those specifics to be available in May or June 2024, not three weeks to election.
The next time the district can come to the voters is two years from now. And, yes, at that time construction and upgrade costs will be higher.
If you’re fully trusting the district to deliver on all of its plans, vote “yes.” If not, the district is certain to be able to more fully explain its needs and solutions leading up to November 2026.
