Aspen School District sets sights on November bond question

The Aspen School District will likely ask voters to approve a $175 million bond on the November ballot to address staff housing needs and additional projects that a 2020 bond couldn’t address.

For months, the Board of Education has discussed pursuing a new bond measure as the last of the $114 million bond, which voters approved in 2020, was spent. As of February, nearly 100% of that bond was spent, with about $37.8 million spent on deferred maintenance projects and about $49 million spent on new housing acquisitions, development, and upgrades. But up to $215 million in projects remain in the district, according to a presentation made Wednesday to the school board, and housing remains a top priority on that list.

“I would like to see us make this decision in May,” said school board member Stacey Weiss. “I’d like to be very specific about what we’re hoping that ($175 million) would include going from highest priorities to low.”

The school district doubled its housing stock for staff since the 2020 bond was issued by purchasing or constructing 52 units. According to a housing survey ASD Assistant Director of Housing Same Rose presented to the school board during its April 3 meeting, the district needs to house about 70% of its staff in order to meet the housing need for all staff. 

That would mean the district would need to reach about 210 units of housing, ASD Assistant Superintendent of Business Mary Rodino said during the Wednesday meeting.

“This bond is probably the last time we’d have a big ask like this, and it would hopefully get us to 210 units,” she said. 

The district would likely issue the bond in small sections, or tranches, which would allow the district to take on less debt all at once and approach housing construction and acquisitions incrementally. During the same meeting, Rodino told the board that Moody’s Investor Services cautioned the district in a recent meeting about their credit rating because of its exceedingly low reserve balance.

Rodino added that she is more worried about the reserve balance’s effect on the district’s credit rating rather than acquiring debt from a bond.

Executing smaller issuances of a bond would also give taxpayers a bit of a break from feeling the full effects of a $175 million bond. Issuing that full amount upfront would result in about $131 million in increased taxes per $1 million of actual home value, Rodino said. And if the district was able to address all the needs it sought to address with the bond before reaching $175 million, it wouldn’t need to issue the rest of it.

The district is estimating $100 million of the bond to go toward 100 units of housing, one of two top priorities for the bond. The other priority is a new childhood learning center, which it estimated would cost $35 million. 

The childhood learning center project was a priority for the 2020 bond, but unexpected deferred maintenance expenses and high inflation rates prevented the district from starting that project. 

About $26 million is needed to address other deferred maintenance projects like roof replacements and elevator refurbishments in the schools. Another $14 million is needed for District Theatre upgrades and expansion and renovation of the district’s bus barn, both projects that were slated for the 2020 bond. 

The district is also expecting needing $40 million to build an athletics fieldhouse, but members of the school board suggested tabling that project for a further bond to address more pressing needs in the district. 

The school board will vote on whether it wants to pursue a bond measure on the November ballot at its meeting Wednesday, May 1. Adding a bond question to the ballot during a presidential election year would ensure the greatest amount of voter representation at the polls, Superintendent Dave Baugh said.

ASD is one of several districts in Colorado that are looking to pursue a bond during the 2024 election, said Dan O’Connell, managing director of RBC Capital Markets. Districts across the state are looking to pursue $6 million-7 million in bonds this year, he said.