Catherine Nakai glanced down and grimaced, almost as if she couldn’t believe what she was about to say.

“Yes,” Woodland Park’s mayor pro tem said.

And with that word, the 1.09% sales tax earmarked for the Woodland Park School District was placed on the November ballot.

The uncivil war that has divided the city will continue.

Councilmembers Steve Smith, Jeffrey Geer and Teri Baldwin joined Nakai in casting votes to give the populace the option to repeal the tax. George Jones, Carrol Harvey and Mayor Kellie Case voted no.

“Liars!” Someone shouted from the crowd, likely referencing the repeated statements made by all council members that they didn’t want to see the tax repealed.

The vote didn’t repeal the tax, but handed a major victory to one faction of the citizenry that vociferously opposes the school board and their chosen superintendent, Ken Witt.

The decision follows months of public deliberation and heated argument over an amendment to the intergovernmental agreement between the council and the board over reporting how the sales tax was being spent.

Now that agreement will be put aside and the voters will decide if the tax will exist at all.

Ahead of the vote, Geer, recognizing the amount of debate the topic has generated, said that the ordinance doesn’t guarantee that the tax will be abolished, and added that they will be in a better place to monitor its allocation if it were to remain.

“But if they (the voters) choose not to continue the tax, then we have an opportunity to come together as a community and put something better together, which is something that several people have been wanting.”

The meeting was well-attended by community members who expressed their opinions on both sides of the issue during public comments.

Those in favor noted the lack of transparency and growing distrust toward the school district’s board members and superintendent on how the tax dollars were being spent in recent years.

Those opposed argued that the lack of transparency was resolved between the two parties in recent months and that the ballot measure could result in budget cuts throughout the district stemming from animosity toward its current leadership.

Following the vote, audience members erupted into shouts at councilmembers and arguments with each other as the council adjourned for recess.

The 1.09% sales tax, approved in 2016, is unique for a Colorado municipality in that it marked an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City Council and Woodland Park School District RE-2.

Among the initial requirements of the agreement is district representatives presenting an annual audit to City Council detailing how the tax revenue is being allocated. The last time this had occurred before this year, however, was in 2019.

In recent months, both councilmembers and community members expressed concerns over the district’s lack of financial transparency and questioned how exactly funds have been allocated.

These concerns culminated in discussions over abolishing the tax in February if changes were not made by the school district.

The revenue amounts to about 11% of the school district’s general fund.

Specifically, the question of how much funding was being devoted to the district’s charter school, Merit Academy, had become a topic of contention since the school was approved for the district in 2022.

Following a meeting with both parties, a new IGA was signed March 26, lasting through July, that included a new financial report to be presented by the school district at a City Council meeting that now included funding to Merit Academy.

A preliminary report was presented during a June meeting that was met with dissatisfaction by councilmembers who asked for greater detail and transparency by the school district.

The IGA was again agreed upon Aug. 26 with further accommodations made by the district. Per the new agreement, financial presentations would now be monthly, feature details such as allocations to payroll and charter schools, and be made available to the public on its website.

This most recent amendment was signed as presented by the council with no changes or alterations made by the school district. The thought was that the need to put the continuation of the sales tax up to a November vote would no longer be necessary, since the City Council’s concerns were now met.

After the vote, School Board President Mick Bates said the councilmembers weren’t honest with him and other board members about resolving the dispute beforehand.

“I’m shocked,” he said. “It didn’t matter what we did. It wasn’t enough.”