Harrison School District 2 is gearing up to ask taxpayers for additional funding for its teacher salaries and charter schools this fall.

During the board of education’s regular meeting Thursday night, board members voted to approve a notice of intent to participate in the 2024 election.

Though the language has yet to be finalized, their participation would involve a new mill levy override for the November ballot.

The override would add $9 million annually over the next 10 years with a focus on keeping teacher salaries and benefits competitive with other regional districts and providing consistent funding for the district’s D-2 promise program, which provides district graduates scholarships to Pikes Peak State College and its three charter schools.

The motion was approved unanimously.

The need for the additional funds come in anticipation of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds ending this year that had supplemented district spending over the past four years in response to learning losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board had previously passed a motion in January to partner with the Legacy Institute of Colorado Springs to assist the district with the ballot language and spreading public awareness of the mill levy override.

Legacy Institute is a local nonprofit that works to advance opportunities for students in Colorado Springs and has previously worked with D-11 for the passage of their mill levy override in 2017.

A successful vote would buck a near-20-year trend of MLOs getting denied by voters. The last time D-2 successfully passed new mills was back in 2007, followed by an unsuccessful vote in 2014.

That said, voters did approve a bond in 2018 to upgrade buildings and improve the security and technology throughout the district.

Legacy Institute Founder and CEO Zach McComsey told the board at their January meeting that his organization decided to help the district pursue this measure after noting their gap in funding when compared to other districts that had passed initiatives in recent years.

“How are your teachers, how are your principals, how are your kids supposed to do all the great things that they can when, right next door, districts are passing increases and having other opportunities,” he asked.

He added that he was confident the measure could pass, based on the district’s use of taxpayer dollars with the most recent bond and their overall investment towards their students, community and culture.

Shortly after the vote, D-2 Superintendent Wendy Birhanzel said that the board had met and deliberated the parameters of the mill levy override request over the past year and thanked them for “taking time to do the research” to “do what’s right for our community.”

Other actions

Earlier in the meeting, the board also unanimously approved to change the name of Stratmoor Hills Elementary to the Dr. Pam Robinson Education Center after the former D-2 educator and current board member.

The board also approved the district’s budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year totaling $213.7 million.