Editorial Vote 'Yes" on St. Vrain Valley School District bond issue

On Aug. 7 at a special meeting, the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) Board of Education unanimously approved placement of a Bond Referendum Question on the Nov. 5, 2024 Ballot in the amount of $739.8 million “to improve safety and security, preserve capital assets, enhance educational space, and address the increase in enrollment” in the district.

The district worked hard to ensure that property taxes will not go up if the bond issue passes. How does this happen? The district’s website anticipates the question, and the answer provided is, “The St. Vrain community continues to experience growth in both population and economic strength, which has increased the number of households and corporations who are available to invest in our public schools. As the population has grown, St. Vrain Valley Schools has strategically paid down previous bond debt ahead of schedule. The combination of growth and early debt restructuring presents an opportunity for the St. Vrain community to issue $739.8M in bonds that will make important investments in our students and schools, without increasing taxes.”

Essentially, what that means is that the district has paid down debt ahead of schedule, and a new bond issue can essentially refinance the existing “smaller” debt into a new bond, keeping the annual bond payments the same, or even less than what is paid now.

Bond issues represent long-term financing that is used by school districts to fund brick-and-mortar-type projects. Bond issue financing allows a school district “to access upfront funds to more quickly address building renovations, school additions, new schools, and other capital improvements,” according to the SVVSD website.

There is something in the bond issue for every existing school in the district. The bond issue will fund five new schools in areas of high growth, including a high school, a CTE center, an elementary school, a Montessori school, and a PreK-8 school. But the question voters ask should not be, “What’s in it for me?”

Rather, taxpayers should be asking whether the bond issue is necessary to keep the SVVSD at the current level of excellence it enjoys. The answer is, “yes.”

Voters should be willing to support all of the schools in the district, and all of the students in the district, because they represent our future, and our quality of life depends upon the quality of education our students receive.

The St. Vrain Valley School District, under the leadership of Dr. Don Haddad, superintendent, is nothing short of exceptional. He has assembled a staff at the district offices, as well as at the local school level, that is second to none. One has only to look at neighboring school districts, with declining enrollment as students enroll elsewhere, discussions of school closures, and financial struggles, in spite of multiple mill levy overrides, to realize that SVVSD is exceptional.

The SVVSD has the highest graduation rate in the Denver Metro area at 93.3%, and also has the lowest dropout rate among those schools at 0.6%. SVVSD students outperform the Colorado statewide average 100% of the time on standardized testing.

At Niwot High School, seven out of eight fall sports teams are currently ranked in the top 10 in the state in their division, including athletes who are gaining national recognition. Niwot students earn college credits in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, as well as from Advanced Placement classes. The SVVSD is home to 240 competitive robotics teams, producing state, national and world champions.

The St. Vrain Valley School District is a community asset, and voters have an opportunity to keep it that way, well into the future.