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After discussions dating back to the spring (and even earlier) with figures ranging from $175 million to $4 million, it now appears that the Aspen School District will not be seeking any additional tax increases from property holders on the November ballot.
In the first meeting of the new school year by the Board of Education on Tuesday night, a work session, the board directed staff not to establish any special meetings to approve a resolution and place an item on the ballot. Citing a crowded ballot and a continued lack of clarity around the district’s needs, the board felt it wasn’t the time to approach voters for more money.
“I’ve gone back and forth on this quite a bit. I see advantages to the Debt-Free Schools concept, but right now I’m not sure this is the best time for it, and that’s what concerns me,” board member Stacey Weiss said. “With what is on the ballot right now and with where we are in our finances in the state and the country and all the things that people are being asked to pay for right now, I think it’s maybe not a great time to do that.”
In the spring, the board stepped back from a prospective bond initiative, with an initial figure of $175 million discussed. After feedback from property owners that they’re struggling to pay their taxes, the board paused on that discussion.
Conversation then shifted to a previously unutilized mill levy known as the Debt-Free Schools Act, which would have netted the district somewhere around $4 million annually and would help cover things like deferred maintenance.
However, it appears that continued conversations with stakeholders over the summer have dissuaded board members from even that: Multiple board members spoke of further property tax concerns from voters, and Cassie Harrelson said she’s still not sure how to sell a new mill levy question because she wasn’t sure what it was going to.
The only board member to speak in favor of a ballot question was Sarah Daniels, hoping to help facilities keep up with deferred maintenance after at least $36 million of the last bond issuance went to that kind of expense.
But she also acknowledged that she was “the only one who wants this,” and told staff not to set a special meeting.
Board President Christa Gieszl noted that she thinks “we all want it” in reference to her fellow board members, but said that this year’s ballot is “questionable” with other items on it like two airport items and Snowmass elections.
Another school year, another page in the story of housing in the Aspen School District.
Item No. 1 on Tuesday’s work session agenda covered a housing update, with board members discussing work done on acquisitions over the summer and further opportunities in the coming months.
Over the summer, ASD solidified the acquisition of a three-bedroom townhome in Basalt, purchased in May for $1.5 million. It also has a reservation on seven studios in the Basalt Center Circle project, due to be completed by fall 2025. The financial commitment to those units would be $3.73 million.
District staff also presented the board with two additional opportunities, three studios in Snowmass Village with a total price tag of $2.08 million (plus $120,000 in anticipated renovations); and an additional five studios at the Basalt Center Circle project, which would cost the district an additional $3.24 million.
The school board directed staff to pursue the Snowmass units, but to hold off on the additional Basalt units for the time being, citing proximity to Aspen and spending money on a large allotment of smaller studios.
“If we did those additional five, that means we would have 12 studios, and I just feel like that’s a lot,” Daniels said.
Since the middle of last school year, the Aspen School District has shifted its stance on employee housing, going from a goal of being able to house 100% of staff to — following staff surveying by ASD Director of Housing Sam Rose — a goal of around 70%.
ASD currently has 90 units serving 110 employees, Superintendent Tharyn Mulberry said. Nine of its employees are on a waitlist for housing, and two are in immediate need, he said in the meeting.
The expectation is that this year will be much slower in terms of inventory building.
The board wanted to be more tactical in its approach, and was reluctant to move forward with additional Basalt units because of its distance from campus. They’d rather have the additional funds in their “war chest” if more opportunities arise within district boundaries.
“Maybe we’re better off taking the money that’s left … and keep our powder dry for perhaps a better opportunity that come forward in the next year and a half or two,” Weiss said.
Per the presentation given to the board, all four opportunities (the Basalt townhome, two distinct opportunities at Basalt Center Circle and the Snowmass Village studios) add up to $10.66 million in costs for the district if all were pursued.
The presentation noted the district would have $3.24 million remaining for housing expenditures with the addition of the 15 studios and townhome. Holding off on the additional Basalt units would give them roughly $6.5 million.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Mary Rodino said that the district got clarity on how much interest it had accrued from its last bond issuance — which added up to $3.3 million — plus guidance on how it could be used.
She said that as of Friday, the district had $7.8 million in available bond dollars, which was actually up from the $6.95 million it projected in its last board meeting update in May. The $7.8 million also factored in the pending sale of some of its housing units in Snowmass to the town.
Rodino said that the district has until early 2026 to spend the remainder of its bond allocation.