• A mill levy override (MLO) that will make up for the annual $5 million in lost state funding to address teacher salaries, maintain small class sizes, and support curriculum, including ASD’s coveted International Baccalaureate and Outdoor Education programs. Aspen, Snowmass Village and Pitkin County voters.

• A comprehensive bond that will provide $95 million in funds to allow ASD to acquire approximately 55 employee housing units and make school infrastructure and classroom improvements. Aspen, Snowmass Village and Pitkin County voters.

• Extending the Aspen Public Education Fund (APEF) through an additional 0.3% sales tax (30 cents on a $100 purchase) in Aspen that will be paid primarily by tourists and visitors. The APEF helps the district recruit and retain teachers and provide fair compensation to all employees. Aspen voters only.

• Extending the Snowmass Village Public Education Fund (SVPEF) through $1.2 million in property tax support. The SVPEF is used to recruit, retain and compensate teachers to keep them rooted in the community. Snowmass Village voters only.

The bond will allow ASD to obtain or construct approximately 55 housing units to help Teachers and staff live, work and be rooted in our community. The bond will also expand the District’s career-focused innovation classrooms, address ongoing maintenance to help provide safe learning environments, improve the district’s bus storage and maintenance area, and expand athletic and arts facilities.

State cuts in K-12 funding have cost ASD nearly $24 million over 15 years. New laws now cap our funding even further, potentially cutting another $5 million per year if a mill levy override doesn’t pass. This loss of revenue leaves ASD almost entirely dependent on local funding. Three of the District’s ballot questions address this funding shortfall.

Voter approval of all four questions ensures ASD has the resources necessary to maintain the academic excellence and fairness to teachers and staff we have come to expect in our community. Voter approval of all of these questions is critical to recruit and retain the best teachers, maintain our schools, improve classrooms, and add teacher and staff housing.

The bond addresses teacher and staff housing so the District’s employees can live and be rooted in our community. The MLO supports teachers and maintains our excellent curriculum standards and small class sizes. The sales and property taxes allow us to hire and retain the best teachers and staff. Each of these components is critical to building and maintaining the best public school district in the country.

ASD’s health insurance costs have increased 25% since 2023. Rising operational costs, combined with the loss of state and federal funding, will lead to worsening educational experiences for our students, including larger class sizes, teacher vacancies, and degrading of core curriculum. The funding we're asking for will ensure these risks will not materialize.

Yes. Both ASD and Aspen Community School will benefit, ensuring fairness across our public education system.

Yes. The MLO funds will ensure we maintain the excellent core curriculum components that we have today (small class sizes, IB, Outdoor Ed) and the local sales tax and property tax dollars will help us hire and retain high-quality teachers. A YES vote means more support where our teachers and students need it most.

If approved by the voters, the combined tax increase for both the MLO (4A) and bond (4B)  is $127 per year for a home with an actual value of $1 million. (Actual value - which appears on your tax statement - is assigned by the County Assessor and used in a formula to determine property taxes). That’s less than $11 a month for 55 employee housing units, recruiting and retaining world class teachers, maintaining a unique core curriculum, and making improvements to school infrastructure.

In 2020, ASD voters approved a $94.3 million bond. Over half of the funds ($55 million) were used to acquire, build and renovate 60 units of employee housing. The balance of the revenue was used to address critical deferred maintenance projects such as ADA compliance, new boilers, heating elements under concrete, extensive HVAC replacement at the elementary school, a new parking lot at the middle school, and new windows and roofs at the elementary school and middle school.

Yes. All 98 units of the current stock of employee housing are filled. Seven more units are coming on line soon and will be occupied shortly thereafter. If the bond question passes, the District will have a total of 160 units, which the district is projecting will address its employee housing needs for the next five years. Without housing, we cannot attract or keep talented teachers.

For more information about the 2020 bond, please read the Aspen Daily News article: What Aspen School District’s 2020 bond accomplished and what it didn’t.