LET’S TALK ABOUT IT…
Do We Get Our Money’s Worth?

Parents who have taken children to a pizza arcade—be it Chuck E. Cheese, the Summit, or ShowBiz Pizza from the 80s—know that the initial amount of tokens for the ‘fun and games’ is never enough. Kids always come back asking for more. And parents are forced to decide whether 10 more dollars is worth the entertainment time and the eventual ticket ‘reward’ of a handful of Tootsie Rolls and a Ring Pop.

We wonder if our community is feeling like those parents regarding our local school districts right now. Our tax base has continuously and generously loaded the district’s game card, but is now beginning to wonder if all they’ve gotten in exchange is a handful of candy in bright, shiny wrappers.

School districts across the state are asking their communities for tax-increases this fall and Northern Colorado’s Poudre and Thompson School Districts are joining in. But like the wise investors on Shark Tank, local tax payers are wondering what they are getting for their investment. How effectively have school districts managed past tax contributions? Have the districts clearly demonstrated that previous investments have provided the results the districts promised when the funds were requested? The short answer is—we don’t know. And that is a problem.

Poudre School District has an overall budget of nearly half a billion dollars. Half. A. Billion. The district has historically been generously supported by our community, who have approved mill levy after mill levy. Additionally, PSD (and TSD), received millions in tax-payer funds during the Covid lockdowns. Unfortunately, the community has not been provided any transparent way to see where all the millions of their hard-earned dollars have been spent. As a result, the community has no reasonable way to evaluate if their past investments have been worth the trade.