Mill levy D11 (Colorado Springs: crime, house, neighborhoods)

[otowi]

I've had lots of people asking me for information about the D11 Mill Levy.

I've been referring people to this site - https://www.friendsofd11.org/

I know lots of districts have mill levys and bonds on the ballot this year because they were pretty much told by the state that it cannot fix its school funding problem and the only way schools can address their various needs is to pass these initiatives.

[TCHP]

otowi, thank you for advising us on this.

Out of curiosity, is there a means to see historical mill levy levels on districts in the region? Most do not post any information beyond current or last change. I am involved with some very active debates about this measure and have some suspicions I'd like to research before engaging further.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by TCHP

otowi, thank you for advising us on this.

Out of curiosity, is there a means to see historical mill levy levels on districts in the region? Most do not post any information beyond current or last change. I am involved with some very active debates about this measure and have some suspicions I'd like to research before engaging further.

I only found something that goes back to 2012. Mill Levies

I do know that in D11 the last mill levy passed was nearly 20 years ago, before iPhones, before Facebook, before nearly every student currently in the district was born and that its rate is about 1/3 lower than similar districts, and that the plan they have will also decrease cost over time by paying off the old bonds.

[TCHP]

Historic info is a bit harder to find online. I may need to actually go to an office or library to dig up info I'm after as I'm interested in looking back to the '80s and '90s.

I suspect D11 was hit with the perfect storm of Gen Xers graduating and leaving their parents empty nest homes behind, strong middle class service and manufacturing job disappearing, surrounding districts growing and then investing in their districts and as a result, decrease property values continuing to attract economically challenged families that bring a host of teaching challenges to a financially strapped district.

[otowi]

Originally Posted by TCHP

Historic info is a bit harder to find online. I may need to actually go to an office or library to dig up info I'm after as I'm interested in looking back to the '80s and '90s.

I suspect D11 was hit with the perfect storm of Gen Xers graduating and leaving their parents empty nest homes behind, strong middle class service and manufacturing job disappearing, surrounding districts growing and then investing in their districts and as a result, decrease property values continuing to attract economically challenged families that bring a host of teaching challenges to a financially strapped district.

One of the main issues is that it is surrounded - no room to grow, and as we all know, developers go for sprawl first. I think about 80% of the residents in the district do not have children of age to be in school, and do not always appreciate that investing in schools is good for your city, your property values, and so on -
even if you don't personally have kids in them.

[Belle99]

Keep in mind that some older people live on a fixed income. They may not want or feel able to give up any more of their money.

[dr.frog]

Property taxes in Colorado Springs are incredibly low compared to other places I've lived, and there is already a tax relief program for senior citizens:

Senior Property Tax Exemption

I don't have any kids myself, but good schools strengthen the community and from my perspective we can't afford NOT to invest in the next generation.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by Belle99

Keep in mind that some older people live on a fixed income. They may not want or feel able to give up any more of their money.

This is true and part of the reason why D11 struggles with funding. 80+% of D11 homes do not have school aged children in them any longer. As Dr Dog points out, there is a program to help seniors work around this, but I surmise a lot of eligible residents do not take advantage of it. What I think some of these fixed income people miss out on is that failure to fund school advancement leads to stagnant neighborhoods, which leads to businesses leaving the area, which leads to depressed values (or in the case of central Cos, values that don't rise as fast), which attracts lower income families, which bring more social issues, which leads to more crimes. It becomes a downward spiral that is hard to reverse. It also is all interconnected as once crime starts to set in and people begin to clamor for faster response and enforcement while continuing to vote down unrelated issues, like stormwater, which then has to draw money from funds that could have been used to support police and fire.

I've seen many arguments about how the mayor, city council, and D11 admin are all broken and complainers refuse to support a broken system. That is fine if that is your opinion, but what are they doing to help fix it? In many cases, nothing but complain and refuse funding, which is akin to cutting off you nose to spite your face. If one is unhappy with the environment around them, work to fix it. If you fail, then you can decide to live with the status quo or find a new environment.

[orngkat]

I live on a street of mostly older and retired people. I have had my ear bent more than once on how I should vote NO. I don't understand their passive logic. If you expect for young families to settle somewhere besides the north end of the city, if you want your house to retain its value and on and on, then the money for better public schools needs to come from somewhere. It seems my neighbors are quite content with the status quo which doesn't bode well for the future of this place.

[Belle99]

I could be reading this wrong, but in regards to the Senior Property Tax Elxemption, do you have to have owned your home for at least 10 years?

I don't live in D11, so I cannot vote for this bill. I will say that elderly people that are having trouble paying for medicine, will not think twice about voting this bill down. They are not thinking 5 or 10 years down the road. They are thinking about paying their current bills.

I am from Maine, which is full of retired people. When I was young, my dad ran for the school board and he had to collect signatures to get on the ballot. But when dad went door to door, many of those elderly people didn't care about the school board. I think it is the same view in regards to more money for schools.