‘This is devastating,’ District 20 Mill Levy Override fails, community members worry over teacher pay

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly turned town ballot measure 4A, the Academy School District 20 Mill Levy Override (MLO) that would have increased taxes to give teachers raises, assign security officers to elementary schools and address various school projects.

Several D20 leaders and community members who were advocating for the measure said the news was incredibly disheartening.

"It's devastating for teachers. It's hard to hear this vote from our community, and especially in a time when it's really hard to find teachers," said Academy Education Association Co-President Jeremy Beckman. "It's really hard to find counselors; it's really hard to find school staff. To not get the support of the salary increases, it's hard for staff to hear, it's hard for teachers to hear."

Beckman said the needs that the MLO would have addressed don't disappear because the ballot measure failed.

School District 20 previously told KRDO13 they didn't know what they were going to do if the measure failed. Officials told us even by making cuts to existing programs, they couldn't reach the amount of money they would need to give teachers the necessary raises.

However, many voters are celebrating this as a win and a relief. The ballot measure would have required homeowners to pay more monthly in taxes. Those who opposed the measure believed now was not the time to ask property owners to pay more given the high property appraisals homeowners faced earlier in 2023.