Jeffco Public Schools is seeking $133 million in new tax revenue through two ballot measures, and early returns this week suggested voters may be willing to grant it. Ballot Issues 5A and 5B would raise money for teacher pay, educational programs and long-deferred building repairs across the district, which has spent years grappling with a budget shortfall in the tens of millions of dollars.
Early Results Point in Different Directions
Reports on the overnight vote count diverged on exactly whose ballots were being tallied. According to the Denver Gazette, early unofficial results showed 55% support for both ballot issues, based on roughly 2,500 votes counted. But the Denver Post reported that the 55% figure actually came from early returns in Broomfield County, and that no immediate results were available from Jefferson County itself. The discrepancy leaves the true state of Jefferson County voters’ sentiment unresolved as of the early count.
Whichever numbers end up reflecting Jefferson County specifically, the stakes for the district are substantial. Ballot Issue 5A is a $73 million general purpose mill levy override meant to fund teacher and staff compensation along with Career and Technical Education programs, according to Jeffco Public Schools. Ballot Issue 5B is a separate $60 million special purpose mill intended for building maintenance, capital improvements and facility repair projects, per the district.
Board Approved the Measures in August
The Jeffco Board of Education approved a resolution at its August 20 regular meeting to place both the $73 million override and the $60 million special purpose mill before voters, the district said. If approved, the combined $133 million in new revenue would mark the district’s first successful mill levy override since 2018, when voters approved a smaller, $33 million measure, as Chalkbeat Colorado reported.
For homeowners, the cost of passage is modest but permanent. A home valued at $650,000 would see an estimated $273 added to its annual tax bill if both measures pass, according to Chalkbeat. Unlike many temporary levies, these overrides would continue indefinitely rather than expire after a set number of years, the outlet reported.
Years of Deficits Fueled the Push
The ballot measures arrive after a stretch of financial strain for the district. Jeffco’s projected budget deficit for the current academic year grew to $49 million, up from an earlier $39 million estimate, as reported by the Denver Post, with lower-than-expected fall enrollment cited as a driving factor. The district lost 1,530 students that year — 597 more than the 933-student decline it had projected — resulting in a $5 million funding drop, per the same Denver Post report.
Jeffco has already made $40 million in cuts before the start of the current school year, according to seed reporting tied to the Denver Gazette’s coverage. Rob Stein, who previously told the Denver Gazette that the district would be forced into further difficult cuts if the ballot measures failed, has been among the officials warning that the financial runway is thin. Separately, Chalkbeat reported that district leaders said a failure at the ballot box would likely mean closing more schools, laying off staff, or freezing salaries.
A Statewide Pattern of Districts Turning to Voters
Jeffco is far from alone in asking voters for more money this cycle. More than two dozen Colorado K-12 school systems placed mill levy overrides on the ballot, with the Denver Post describing districts as increasingly reliant on such measures as state and federal budgets tighten and enrollment falls statewide. In nearby Denver, Denver Public Schools’ own override was pulling in more than 67% early support, per the Denver Post, while in Douglas County, nearly 55% of voters were rejecting that district’s proposed override as of 7:30 p.m. on election night, the paper reported.
The pressure on compensation helps explain why Jeffco pushed for 5A specifically. Jeffco’s average teacher salary was $84,392 the previous year, ranking fourth among Colorado’s five largest districts, according to Chalkbeat’s voter guide. The district itself frames the gap differently, saying its midpoint teacher salaries rank ninth out of ten compared with nearby districts, per the Jeffco Public Schools override overview — a separate measure and comparison group from Chalkbeat’s average-salary figure.
Jeffco is not the only Denver-metro district that has had to make hard choices recently. Adams 12 Five Star Schools cut at least 150 positions earlier in 2025 in an effort to save $27.5 million, the Denver Post reported, underscoring how widespread the budget pressure has become across the region’s school systems. For Jeffco, officials have said the ballot measures would raise tax revenue specifically earmarked for teacher pay, educational programs and facility maintenance — the same categories district leaders have pointed to in warning what might be cut if voters say no.
