Come November, you might be paying more in property taxes.

In early June, Roaring Fork School District (RFSD) officials announced a proposal to enact a mill levy override in order to combat a plethora of issues facing its schools. These include high employee turnover, heightened salary and benefits competition from neighboring districts and unfilled positions.

The proposal itself, slated to generate an additional $5 million for district coffers, will require RFSD property owners to pay an annual $17.18 per $100,000 of actual home value, which equates to $1.43 per month. District officials are now trying to decide whether they’ll ask voters on the November ballot if they wish to see the property tax increase.

According to an educator shortage survey conducted by the Colorado Department of Education, RFSD has a shortage for positions like elementary classroom teachers, special educators and culturally and linguistically diverse education teachers. RFSD Superintendent Dr. Anna Cole later told The Sopris Sun that these are “critical positions.”

RFSD, following statewide trends, currently has a 54% retention rate.

“Our internal exit survey data over the past five years indicates that employee pay, cost of living or housing (affordability factors) were cited as the main reasons influencing 60% of certified staff members’ decision to leave Roaring Fork Schools,” Cole noted in an email. “If we exclude retirement as a reason for leaving, affordability is cited as the main reason for 68% of turnover.”

RFSD is not competitive with comparable districts, with experienced teacher salaries more than $11,000 lower and average salaries more than $5,500 below peer districts, Cole noted.

“We have seen candidates decline job offers and employees leave for districts and communities where housing and overall living costs are more affordable,” Cole said.

Right now, RFSD’s budget faces an $18.8 million shortfall, and the reason why, according to RFSD Chief Financial Officer Christy Chicoine, is based on a shift from state funding to local when it comes to education.

In 2023-2024, only 74% of RFSD funding came from local sources while the state pitched in 26%. For the 2025-2026 school year, however, 85% of RFSD funding came from local sources, while state support decreased to 15%. The state paying less toward education comes from a recent policy change that reduced what’s called a cost-of-living factor cap. Colorado school districts, however, are allowed to ask local sources for more funding, per state policy.

The $5 million generated from a new property tax would go toward:

80% to staff salaries and benefits. Of this, 67% to certified staff (teachers), 33% to classified staff (food/nutrition, transportation, operations/maintenance)

10% to recruitment and retention
10% to RFSD charter schools

This is not the first time RFSD has called for a mill levy override, which it did in 2021. If this year’s property tax increase is accepted, RFSD will also join many neighboring school districts calling for an override. This includes Aspen, Vail and Steamboat Springs.

RFSD is slated to decide in August whether a mill levy override will be on the November ballot.

Did you know?

Editor’s note: Data collected and presented by the Roaring Fork School District

RFSD ranks first in health insurance costs in Colorado. In fact, it costs $6,000 more per RFSD employee than Front Range districts.
RFSD has the seventh highest cost of living out of the 178 districts in Colorado.
RFSD is 16th out of the 178 districts in Colorado when it comes to average teacher salaries. In fact, it’s $11,000 below similar districts
The average mortgage an RFSD teacher can afford is $164,000. The closest average home RFSD teachers can afford, however, is $363,000 … in Parachute. The average single-family home in the RFSD is $1.38 million
The average rent an RFSD teacher can afford is $1,818 a month. An average one-bedroom unit in the RFSD is $2,000 a month