Mt. CB split vote in support of school district bond issue 5A

Concern with management of resources

[  By Kendra Walker  ]

There does not appear to be undivided North Valley council support for the proposed Gunnison Watershed School District bond issue that’s on this November’s election ballot. The Mt. Crested Butte council passed a resolution of support for the proposal on a split vote last week while in Crested Butte, several council members voiced concerns with the property tax increase on middle class residents and pushed off a vote on a resolution of support to the October 17 meeting.

During the September 6 and October 4 Mt. Crested Butte town council meetings, representatives from the school district shared an overview of the district’s $95 million bond initiative that will be on this November’s ballot. Overall, the council appreciated the safety and expansion measures being pursued and approved a letter of support for bond 5A in a 5-2 vote. Council members Roman Kolodziej and Steve Morris voted against. Kolodziej voiced concerns regarding project size, teachers, sustainability and traffic. 

Superintendent Dr. Leslie Nichols was present on September 6 and GWSD board president Tyler Martineau was present on October 4 to answer the council’s questions.

Nichols noted that expanding the current CBCS building is the most efficient way to address the school’s overcrowding current issues. “When we build another school eventually down the road, the cost in operations is just phenomenal because you have to duplicate a cafeteria, auditorium, gymnasium, administrators and so on, so when we can keep that under the same roof for now it really is the most efficient way to expand,” she said. “And this will get us through the next 10-15 years. These needs are not going to go away. If we keep having to push it off it’s only going to continue to get expensive.” Nichols did note that the district is still looking for property in the north end of the valley for another campus down the road.

Council member Michael Bacani asked how the district plans to alleviate community concerns with passing another bond given the fire district’s current difficulties in seeing through its new fire district complex bond that was passed by voters last November. 

“We’ve been engaged in this planning for five years now,” said Nichols. “It’s always a really careful balance that school districts have to find between planning too far out and not planning far enough out. I really think we’ve struck a balance. The longevity of our planning speaks to how careful we’ve been about being sure these are the right plans and the plan that we need now.” 

Nichols also reminded the council that a bond initiative is the only way that school districts can fund capital needs. “Our district has a really strong history of fiscal responsibility. We’ve saved $7.7 million from refinancing over the past 20 years.”

“I don’t disagree that there are severe needs, especially around safety,” said Kolodziej. “I do have concerns with the size of the project and what it does address and what it doesn’t address.” He noted the many teachers that have left CBCS over the past year. “What is the school district learning from why teachers are leaving and what is being done about it?”

“District-wide, this year balanced out no differently than the last five years as far as our turnover goes. It did hit the north end of the valley a little more,” said Nichols. “We can’t fix what’s happening on our end with the cost of living in the valley. We did manage a 9% raise in this budget cycle which is fantastic and a testament to our strong financial management,” she said. “We are at the mercy of the state level. The bond is restricted by law to only be spent on capital construction.”

Nichols explained that the district is working internally on the culture and climate for staff, conducts staff surveys and makes improvement plans based on feedback. “We have a strong union, we work closely with them. I value that relationship that we have and understand the pressures and needs.”

Nichols shared that the district also conducts exit interviews with departing teachers and is working on making that system more robust. Over the past couple years, “We learned that cost of living is tough in this valley on a teacher’s salary and some people needed to move on to other employment to afford to live here,” said Nichols. “We learned that the pressures of the pandemic came down hard on some folks and they just needed to take a break.”

Kolodziej reiterated his concerns regarding teacher retention. “There’s a perception that teachers aren’t being well managed as a resource,” he said. “Teachers are a resource, money is a resource. I have concern trusting the school district with $100+ million to manage well.”

Kolodziej also thought the project lacked a sustainability focus. “The sustainability measures in the bond project are real,” said Nichols, noting upgrades to mechanical systems, uniform controls across the district and better climate control around the clock when the buildings are occupied vs. when they are not.

“The fact is we’ve given a lot of thought to sustainability particular at the Gunnison Community School,” said Martineau. “It is by far the highest energy user of our buildings in the district. We have put a large amount of money, over $10 million, in the plan to make that building sustainable.”

Kolodziej also asked about the efficiency of the intersection at Highway 135 and Red Lady Ave. “We will do some more traffic modeling,” said Nichols. “We have an obligation to improve the Red Lady/Highway 135 intersection.”

“The town of Crested Butte has a traffic problem and the school has a traffic problem, and the two organizations are going to have to work together to find the best solution,” said Martineau. “We have that communication with the town.”

“I’ve heard a lot on this from local constituents who are in the lower AMI (Area Median Income) regions,” said Morris. “Families that make under $100K a year struggle with the tax burden. What does the initiative say to those people who are legitimately going to have to get rid of a car payment or adjust their lifestyles to pay for this?”

“There are some residents of our county for whom increasing taxes in general are a problem, there is no question about that,” said Martineau. “As a public school we have to admit every child that shows up, but to provide a seat for that child costs money. That does cause a raise in taxes and that does impact people, some people it impacts more than others. At the same time, over the last 10 years we added about 25 students at CBCS every year. They will keep showing up, if you look at this end of the valley and you look at the construction. There will be children in those homes. I know for some it’s difficult, but we also have to provide for the needs of those children.”

“If this doesn’t pass, what is the second pivot that you would try to promote to the community as another bond issue?” asked Kolodziej. 

“This has to pass this year,” said Nichols. “The urgency is real. We’ve already postponed a year and there’s no more time to postpone another year.”

“I think pride in your school’s building means something,” said Bacani. “Something like that adds not just to the community but the kids’ ability to learn.”

Nichols agreed. “Our schools are a shining star of this valley. I am proud of our public education system and what it does for our community, for our state, for our country. This is important work to be sure we’ve got the walls to make it all happen.”