School leaders warn Black Hawk sales‑tax ballot question could negate key revenue stream

District leadership told the board a county sales‑tax question being discussed by a county commissioner could negate an existing intergovernmental agreement that has provided the district with revenue from a 1.5% Black Hawk sales tax earmarked for schools.

Explaining the funding mix, the principal said the district’s traditional revenue sources are property‑tax mills plus a state share (referred to as the total program). "If it does pass... it'll negate our agreement with Black Hawk," the principal said, adding that the Black Hawk sales tax has funded roughly $1 million of recurring expenditures (including teacher pay increases) the district has relied on since the pandemic.

The principal outlined options if the revenue is lost: use reserve funds to cover the next year, reduce or delay planned capital projects (the district said it would "wind up" capital work), and consider asking voters for a mill levy override or bond at a later election. The board discussed timing constraints: tax questions cannot be placed on April ballots and a replacement revenue question could take a year to reach voters.

The presentation included context on limits set by state rules (the district cited a total program mill cap and said its current levy is about 9.4 mills) and noted that bond issues are typically used for capital while mill‑levy overrides raise operating revenue. The principal said reserves and half a year of Black Hawk revenue would allow the district to operate for the coming school year while staff plan next steps.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the intergovernmental agreement and how a new county sales tax would be drafted; staff said details of any county ballot question and its language were not yet finalized. No formal board action was taken at the meeting; the board said it would monitor the county process and review budget options.