Colorado Springs School District 11 Ballot Issue 4A
SHALL COLORADO SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT 11 DEBT BE INCREASED $775 MILLION, WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF NOT TO EXCEED $1.48 BILLION, AND SHALL DISTRICT TAXES BE INCREASED NOT MORE THAN $49.8 MILLION ANNUALLY TO PAY SUCH DEBT, ALL FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS FOR DISTRICT PURPOSES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:
• ATTRACTING AND RETAINING HIGH-QUALITY TEACHERS BY INCREASING SALARIES WITH
MONEY SAVED BY ACQUIRING ENCUMBERED FACILITIES THROUGH EXERCISING THE DISTRICT'S OPTION TO PREPAY ANY LEASE PURCHASE FINANCINGS;
• RENOVATING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FACILITIES THAT PREPARE STUDENTS FOR
JOBS IN HEALTHCARE, ENGINEERING, SKILLED TRADES, AND TECHNOLOGY;
• REMOVING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, INCLUDING ASBESTOS AND LEAD PIPES;
• INSTALLING MODERN COOLING, HEATING, AND AIR-FILTRATION SYSTEMS IN DISTRICT
SCHOOLS;
• IMPROVING SCHOOL AND STUDENT SAFETY AND SECURITY;
• RENOVATING ALL DISTRICT SCHOOLS INCLUDING SIGNIFICANT RENOVATIONS TO DOHERTY,
CORONADO, MITCHELL, AND PALMER HIGH SCHOOLS; AND SHALL THE EXPENDITURES BE MONITORED BY AN INDEPENDENT BOARD-APPOINTED CITIZENS’ OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO REVIEW AND CONFIRM THAT ALL FUNDS ARE USED ONLY FOR VOTER APPROVED PROJECTS, WITH NO MONEY GOING TO ADMINISTRATOR SALARIES; AND FOR ACQUIRING, CONSTRUCTING OR IMPROVING ANY CAPITAL ASSETS AUTHORIZED BY LAW; AND SHALL THE MILL LEVY BE IMPOSED IN ANY YEAR WITHOUT LIMITATION AS TO RATE BUT ONLY IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL, PREMIUM, AND INTEREST ON SUCH DEBT OR ANY REFUNDING DEBT (OR TO CREATE A RESERVE FOR SUCH PAYMENT); SUCH DEBT TO BE EVIDENCED BY THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS TO BE SOLD IN ONE SERIES OR MORE, FOR A PRICE ABOVE OR BELOW THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF SUCH SERIES, ON TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND WITH SUCH MATURITIES AS PERMITTED BY LAW, INCLUDING PROVISIONS FOR REDEMPTION OF THE BONDS PRIOR TO MATURITY WITH OR WITHOUT PAYMENT OF THE PREMIUM;
AND SHALL THE REVENUES FROM SUCH DEBT AND TAXES AND ANY EARNINGS FROM THE INVESTMENT THEREOF BE COLLECTED AND SPENT AS A VOTER APPROVED REVENUE CHANGE UNDER ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION AND ANY OTHER LAW?
Total District Fiscal Year Spending
Fiscal Year 2026-2027 (estimated) $560,376,323 2025-2026 (estimated) $510,257,092 2024-2025 (actual) $502,842,145 2023-2024 (actual) $445,564,377 2022-2023 (actual) $475,371,679
Overall percentage change from 2022-2023 to 2026-2027: 17.88%
Overall dollar change from 2022-2023 to 2026-2027: $085,004,644
Proposed Tax Increase
District Estimate of the Maximum Dollar Amount of the Proposed Tax Increase For Fiscal Year 2026-2027 (the First Full Fiscal Year of the Proposed Tax Increases):
BALLOT ISSUE 4A: $049,800,000
District Estimate of 2026-2027 Fiscal Year Spending Without the Proposed Tax Increases: $560,376,323
Information on District’s Proposed Debt
BALLOT ISSUE 4A:
Principal Amount of Proposed Bonds: Not to exceed $0,775,000,000 Maximum Annual District Repayment Cost: Not to exceed $0,049,800,000
Total District Repayment Cost: Not to exceed $1,480,000,000
Information on District’s Current Debt 1
Principal Amount Outstanding Debt: $0 Maximum Annual Repayment Cost: $0 Remaining Total Repayment Cost: $0
Summary of Written Comments FOR Ballot Issue 4A:
There are three key reasons D11 voters should approve Measure 4A on our ballot: to raise teachers’ salaries, which are much too low; to make the financially sound decision to maintain our school facilities; and to provide students access to modern, 21st-century learning environments.
First, most teachers in Colorado Springs School District 11 are significantly underpaid and struggle to get by. This bond will ensure the district can pay competitive, market-value wages to attract and retain highly effective teachers. If the bond is approved, proceeds will be used to prepay existing lease-purchase obligations, freeing up the Mill Levy Override (MLO) dollars currently dedicated to them. The district has formally committed those MLO revenues to teacher compensation, with the goal of making D11 teacher compensation among the most competitive in the region.
Second, Colorado Springs School District 11’s schools are aging, and many major building systems have exceeded their useful lives. Measure 4A would provide $775 million for capital improvements that cannot be addressed through the district’s annual maintenance budget alone.
Aging school buildings waste energy and cost more to maintain. By upgrading facilities, this bond will save money on operating costs in the long run. D11 has not passed a bond since 2006, while the district has accumulated approximately $800 million in deferred maintenance. The bond will replace failing heating and cooling systems, remove asbestos and other hazardous materials, improve school security, repair roofs and plumbing, renovate classrooms, and allow the district to address major facility needs now rather than continuing to defer repairs that may become more expensive over time. Every school in the district will receive improvements.
Third, by fixing and modernizing aging school facilities, this bond will give students access to 21st-century learning environments, including but not limited to career and technical education spaces to prepare students for careers in healthcare, engineering, skilled trades, and technology.
Excluded from debt are enterprise and annual appropriation obligations.
Because major school renovations and building systems are designed to serve students for decades, bond financing allows those costs to be repaid over time rather than absorbed through the district’s approximately $17 million annual capital budget.
The ballot measure includes accountability provisions requiring bond proceeds to be spent only on voter-approved capital purposes. An independent citizens’ oversight committee will review expenditures and provide public reporting on the use of funds.
Summary of Written Comments AGAINST Ballot Issue 4A:
No comments were filed by the constitutional deadline.
