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 ordinance as amended.

Public commenters were sharply divided. Several speakers urged the council not to remove the tax on the grounds it would immediately harm students and teachers by cutting roughly $3 million a year from district revenue. Seventh-grade teacher Amy Jones told the council that losing the tax would force deep staffing and class-size cuts: "I can't do 40, 45 kids in one class at a time," she said.

Other speakers and a number of council members framed the board's draft resolution as an attempt to "leverage" or "hold hostage" the city's power over the tax. Multiple speakers described a clause in a leaked school-board document that would require the sale or transfer of the district facility to proceed within a set period if the sales tax were removed, and they characterized that clause as effectively tying the city's hands. Resident Sean Maddox told the council the IGA in its current form was difficult to support in light of the audit and the resolution.

Representatives of Merit Academy addressed the council as well. Nicole Wagner, who identified herself as a founder of Merit Academy and a current Merit board member, said the inclusion of a sales-tax clause could reflect a desire for "security for the district and security for Merit Academy" if the tax were stripped and the district faced a budget shortfall. "There are questions and negotiations that still have to happen," she said, and added the document circulating publicly was an early draft and "will begin conversation, not end it."

School-district representative Mick Bates acknowledged an agenda error and said the proposed item should have been listed as a discussion item on the school-board agenda rather than an action item. "That should have never been listed as an action item... It should have been a discussion," Bates said, and said the district would relist the item as a discussion.

Council discussion focused on trust and the council's authority over the local tax. Several council members said they had given the district repeated opportunities to comply with reporting and transparency obligations and concluded the draft resolution demonstrated a pattern of conduct that justified immediate action. Councilmember Jeff(rey) Gere said the situation "has got to stop, and it stops right here," and urged passage. Councilmember Carol Harvey said the clause would obligate city taxpayers for decades and that the council's plenary authority allowed it to end the tax.

After a brief amendment process to clarify language, the council voted on Ordinance 1493 as amended. The clerk recorded unanimous votes approving the emergency ordinance: Catherine Nakai (yes), Terry Baldwin (yes), Jeffrey Gere (yes), Carol Harvey (yes), George Jones (yes), Steve Smith (yes) and Mayor Kelly Case (yes). The motion carried unanimously.

The ordinance rescinds the portion of the city sales tax that supported the school district, reducing the city sales tax rate by 1.09%. The council characterized the ordinance as an emergency measure; the meeting record cites the council's authority to declare an emergency when that action is, in the council's judgment, necessary for the immediate preservation of public peace, health, safety or property.

Council and public comment left open several operational questions. School-district officials said they will relist the facility matter as a discussion item at the school-board meeting; district representatives said additional negotiations and clarifications remain. Multiple residents and educators warned the tax removal will force cuts to staff, programs and extracurricular activities, while others said the board's conduct and the draft resolution made continued partnership untenable.

The council closed the public hearing and moved on to other business. The city clerk announced the executive session had ended and read names of those who participated in the closed session for the public record.