PSD details first-year uses and multiyear plan for debt-free mill levy, including staff pay and facilities work

Poudre School District R-1 finance and school leaders presented the board Feb. 11 with an update on the district's 2024 debt-free mill levy and how the new revenue will be allocated over the coming years.

Chief Financial Officer David Montoya told the board that the district is moving existing operation-and-maintenance staff and corresponding operating budgets into the new mill-levy fund (Fund M). Transferring roughly $21.5 million in current staff and operating budgets into Fund M will free general-fund dollars for distinct investments the district identified in its ballot promise.

First-year actions and cash flow: Because property tax collections are staggered, PSD used available cash to provide a one-time, districtwide 5% payment to employees, distributed Jan. 31. Montoya said the district will receive the bulk of the new mill revenue in the spring and that cash-flow timing constrained immediate capital starts for some projects.

Planned use of funds (ongoing, once fully collected):

- Facilities and maintenance: An estimated $22.9 million annually is earmarked for facilities upkeep and replacement work (HVAC, boilers, electrical, plumbing), building automation, fire alarm systems, roofing design and future replacements, playgrounds and track-and-field projects, and other building systems. The district said it used an engineering inventory (McKinstry) plus internal facilities staff to prioritize a rolling five-year project list.

- Competitive wages: $15 million annually will go into salary schedules for all employee groups (licensed, classified, and administrative/professional) starting in the 2025-26 budget year; allocations are based on pro rata share of payroll costs and will be incorporated through the negotiated salary-schedule process. The district's one-time 5% payment this year was separate from that ongoing salary commitment.

- Small-school support and programming: PSD plans $4 million annually to support small neighborhood schools through three mechanisms: a $1 million pool for the very smallest schools (under 200 students) using a zero-based budget; a $2 million foundational fund establishing a minimum operating floor for small schools so they do not lose essential services as enrollment fluctuates; and $1 million to increase centrally funded assistant-principal support to allow small schools to reallocate site dollars to classified/licensed staffing (the district estimated roughly $67,000 of support per qualifying school, equivalent to about two paraprofessional positions or two-thirds of a licensed FTE).

- High-quality instruction and replacement cycles: The district identified $2.5 million to provision curriculum materials, replace consumable books (including decodables), fund career and technical education materials, and address instrument and arts-equipment replacement cycles so families are less frequently asked to pay course fees.

- Charter allocations: A pro rata allocation for charter schools is included; at the time of the presentation the charter pro rata was calculated at about $4.6 million.

Board discussion and next steps: Directors asked about project timing, McKinstry data and escalation assumptions, oversight and transparency. Montoya said major roofing replacements and some large projects may shift into the next fiscal year depending on contractor scheduling; the district will publish a multi-year project list on the mill-levy webpage and convene a Debt-Free Mill Levy Oversight Committee in spring 2025 to meet twice a year and review expenditures. The oversight group is advisory and will report to the board; the district also pledged robust public web reporting on all mill-levy expenditures.

Quotes: "That $22.9 million annually is going to be transformational for the district as we move forward with those replacements," David Montoya said. Superintendent Kristopher Kingsley and school principals described how targeted small-school funding could stabilize budgets and allow schools to expand counseling, paraprofessional, or specialist supports.

Ending: The board did not take a binding vote on specific capital projects at this meeting. Staff said detailed project timing and costs will be refined as the project list is prioritized, contractors respond with schedules and bids, and cash flow from property-tax collections is confirmed later in the spring.