School bond and tax elections in Colorado

From Ballotpedia

School bonds
Municipal bonds
School bonds
2009 • 2008 2007 • 2006
Parcel taxes

School bond and tax elections in Colorado are held under two different circumstances:

1. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights from 1992, which became Section 20 of Article 10 of the Colorado Constitution.
2. Local measures mandated by the School Finance Act of 1994.

Finance laws affecting elections

• Under TABOR, local voter approval is required if the school district wants to exceed its tax levy above the normal rate of inflation set by the consumer price index.
• Under the School Finance Act of 1994, voter approval is required when a school district wants to exceed the limit for raising its Total Program Budget. The Total Program Budget is a combined budget that includes the district's general fund, special education and other costs. Under this act, a school district that wants to exceed the previous year's Total Program Budget by more than 125% must put plan before the voters. This type of ballot measure has rarely been used; it is considered to be a last resort option.

Election dates

Colorado law imposes limits on when school districts can hold special elections.

• In even-numbered years, school districts can only hold special elections on pre-established general and primary election days in May and November.
• In odd-numbered years, special school district elections can only occur on the first Tuesday in November.

School districts that want to exceed their TABOR limit can sometimes combine their request with a municipal TABOR request.

Ballot measure laws

Under Colorado Law, all ballot questions must have one subject not to confuse voters. All written ballot questions must be clearly written stating the true intent of the ballot measure, then the question must end in Yes or No.

See also

• Voting on school bond and tax measures

External links

• Colorado Association of School Boards
• Colorado Department of Education
• Report of school districts that have filed an official intent to exceed their TABOR limit

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