• The average age of the district’s school buildings is nearly 40 years. Just like aging homes, critical systems like roofs, heating, cooling, plumbing and sidewalks need to be repaired or replaced.
• The district doesn’t have enough space and qualified staff to train students in high-demand careers such as skilled trades, technology services, healthcare, aviation and advanced manufacturing. The district currently has hundreds of students on waitlists to take career and technical education (CTE) courses.
• It’s harder to attract and retain highly qualified educators and staff because wages haven’t kept up with the cost of living, leading to shortages.
• In support of safe and welcoming learning environments, there’s greater demand from parents, students and staff to increase security measures across all schools and campuses, but these systems are costly to implement and maintain.

• The district can find other ways to fix facilities with aging roofs, heating, cooling and plumbing systems. Since the state doesn’t provide a dedicated funding source for facilities, the district can cut programming for students and use the cost savings to pay for facilities.
• The state has defunded education in Adams 12 Five Star Schools to the tune of nearly $493.2 million since 2010-2011. The state should find a way to provide more funding for schools.
• While it doesn’t raise taxes, a bond is much like any home mortgage and allows the district to issue debt that will need to be paid off over multiple years.
• The district cut its property tax rate by 10 percent recently (6.606 total assessed mills). Even with a higher cost of doing business, the district should cut more.