Woodland Park council unanimously repeals 1.09% school sales tax after heated public comments

The Woodland Park City Council voted unanimously March 10 to approve emergency Ordinance 14‑93, repealing the portion of the city sales tax that funds the Woodland Park School District and reducing the city sales tax by 1.09 percentage points.

The vote came at the end of a special meeting that began with an executive session for legal advice and negotiation strategy. After the executive session the council opened a public comment period; about 23 people signed up to speak and each was given three minutes. Public speakers included school employees, parents, charter‑school founders and a member of the district school board. Speakers offered sharply divergent views on whether the council should remove the sales tax and on a school‑district resolution tying a facility sale to the tax.

Why it matters: The sales tax has provided ongoing operating revenue for the Woodland Park School District since voters approved it in 2016. Council members said they had lost confidence in the district’s board and financial reporting and that a leaked draft resolution tying a building sale and a 30‑year tax condition left the city’s taxpayers at risk.

Council action and votes

The council first recessed into executive session under Colorado statutes for attorney advice and negotiation strategy. When the meeting resumed the council took up the emergency ordinance (Ordinance 14‑93) that would repeal the portion of the retail sales tax dedicated to the school district. The council adopted several technical amendments and then approved the amended emergency ordinance by a unanimous roll call vote. All seven council members — Catherine Nakai, Terry Baldwin, Jeffrey Gere, Carol Harvey, George Jones, Steve Smith and Mayor Kelly Case — voted yes.

Public comment and positions

Several residents told the council removing the tax would harm teachers and students. Amy Jones, a seventh‑grade history teacher at Woodland Park Middle School, said losing the revenue “would almost force the school district to have to sell that building” and described how program cuts and large class sizes could follow.

Other speakers urged the council to act to protect taxpayers. Jeralee Gonzales told the council, “Transparency and accountability are critical, and we must ensure that decisions involving public funds and assets are made in the best interest of the community.” Multiple speakers raised concerns about the terms of a proposed sale of the Merit Campus (identified in public remarks as 500 East Kelly Road), saying the district’s draft resolution would give Merit Academy preferential terms and could lock the city into 30 years of tax conditions.

Representatives of Merit Academy responded in public comment. Nicole Wagner, who identified herself as a founder and current board member of Merit Academy, said the draft resolution was an early discussion tool and that “we know that taking the tax away is gonna hurt the kids, and that’s what this is about.”

District reaction and clarifications

Woodland Park School District Superintendent Mick Bates (speaking from the board podium) said the appearance of the building sale as an action item on the district agenda was a mistake and that the item should have been listed for discussion; he said he had requested the agenda be revised to reflect that. David Rusterholtz, secretary of the school board, asked for more clarity on lines of authority between the city and the elected school board.

Council rationale

Councilmembers said the decision reflected a loss of trust in the school board’s recent handling of finances and a particular concern about the leaked resolution that appeared to tie the district’s ability to convey a building to the continued existence of the sales tax. Councilmember Carol Harvey said, “I do not think that the tax is any longer appropriate. We cannot prove where it was used over the last year, let alone the last 3 years. And for that reason, under our plenary authority, we can end that tax, and that’s what I intend to do.” Mayor Kelly Case said she had “lost my faith, my confidence, and trust in the board because they violated my integrity and the taxpayers.”

What the ordinance does and next steps

Ordinance 14‑93, as amended and passed by the council, repeals the portion of the city sales tax that funds the school district, described in the ordinance as reducing the city retail sales tax by 1.09 percentage points. The ordinance was declared an emergency measure and was adopted by a unanimous roll call vote. The transcript does not specify implementation timing or an effective‑on date in the public record; the council vote and the ordinance language (as read at the meeting) are the formal actions recorded.

Public and procedural context

Public speakers provided conflicting characterizations of a proposed district transaction: residents said a draft resolution would transfer the Merit Campus to Merit Academy for $5,000,000 while some speakers asserted that the campus’ market value is much higher (one speaker said about $35,000,000). Speakers also raised governance issues including an audit the district released after the council’s previous meeting (some commenters said the audit was submitted to the state three days late) and recent resignations in district finance leadership; the transcript references a district CFO resignation and related concerns but does not supply contract or personnel documents in the public record.

The council opened the meeting by taking legal advice in executive session under Colorado’s open‑meetings statute, then reopened the meeting for public comment and the vote. The meeting record shows the city clerk recorded an equal unanimous vote for the ordinance and for the technical amendments to the ordinance.

Ending

Council members acknowledged the meeting and the substantial public turnout and said the decision was difficult. The transcript records supporters and opponents of the repeal warning of practical consequences — either harm to district programs and staff if tax revenue is removed or harm to taxpayers if the district’s draft building sale placed the tax and city assets at long‑term risk. The transcript does not record subsequent actions by the school board; the council’s repeal of the dedicated sales tax is the formal action recorded in the city council minutes for March 10.