Woodland Park council repeals 1.09% school sales tax after public hearing tied to proposed building sale

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. — On March 10, 2025, the Woodland Park City Council voted unanimously to approve emergency Ordinance 1493, repealing the 1.09% portion of the city sales tax that had been dedicated to the Woodland Park School District.

The vote followed an executive session for legal advice and negotiations and a public hearing in which about 23 residents addressed the council. Council members said the decision was prompted by a school-board resolution — circulated publicly by whistleblowers over the weekend — that they said would tie the district's handling of a district-owned facility and a proposed transfer of that facility to a charter operator to the city's sales tax in a way that could effectively lock the tax in place for decades.

The council first moved into executive session citing Colorado open-meetings statutory exceptions, "pursuant to CRS 24-6-402(4)(b) for the conference with the city attorney for the purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions and pursuant to CRS 24-6-402(4)(e)(I) for determining positions relative to matters that may be subject to negotiations," the record shows. When the council returned to the public meeting it opened a public hearing, heard about two dozen public comments, took technical amendments to the ordinance and approved the…