Eagle County Voters Face $10.1M School Tax Hike

Aspen —Will a permanent $10.1 million annual tax hike actually improve test scores in Eagle County, or is it just more spending without results?

That is the core question behind Ballot Issue 5B, and according to an opinion piece published in the Vail Daily, the answer is a resounding no.

The proposal would impose a permanent property tax increase starting in 2027. For context, that translates to roughly $11 per month for every $1 million of assessed value on your home. There is no sunset clause. The money stays. Forever.

Let’s do the math on why that might be a problem. Since the 2021-22 school year, Eagle County School District enrollment has dropped by about 9%. We went from roughly 6,689 students to about 6,073. County population and birth rates are declining, which points to even fewer kids in the classrooms ahead. Yet total district spending has climbed from roughly $125 million in 2022-23 toward an estimated $158 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Spending is up. Students are down. So where did the money go?

The Vail Daily piece argues that the district hasn’t provided consistent multiyear retention data to prove that earlier mill overrides produced lasting improvements. In fact, the district’s own past strategic goal was to keep educator turnover at 10% or lower. The latest available figure is 19.4%.

Academic performance hasn’t kept pace with the budget either. Recent Colorado Measures of Academic Success figures show English proficiency at around 39% in the district, compared to a statewide average of 44.7%. Math proficiency sits at 29.2%, well below the state’s 37.3%. The district also received more than $10 million in temporary COVID relief funds that have since expired. Those were federal stopgaps, not a reason to bake higher local taxes into the permanent budget.

The ballot language for 5B is broad. The district suggests an 80/20 split between salaries and other uses, but that split is not binding. In practice, that means the district has significant flexibility in how it deploys the new revenue once voters approve it.

Voters already rejected a similar mill levy override in 2023. Conditions haven’t improved since then. Enrollment is still falling, and test scores are still below state averages. The argument in the Vail Daily piece is that adding a permanent, non-sunset tax increase to a shrinking student base isn’t a strategy — it’s just more spending.

Decades of research indicate that once basic resources are in place, additional spending has weak or inconsistent effects on student achievement. One highly effective teacher produces far more learning gains than multiple years with an average or below-average teacher. Eagle County is a resort community, which means higher turnover is structural. Matching salaries to retain teachers isn’t the same as producing better outcomes for kids.

For locals, this comes down to a simple trade-off: your property taxes go up permanently in 2027, and you hope the district uses that money to fix a system where spending is rising while results are lagging.

The practical impact for neighbors in Eagle County is direct. If you own a home assessed at $1 million, that’s an extra $11 a month. If your property is valued higher, the monthly hit scales up accordingly. And because there’s no sunset, that cost doesn’t disappear if enrollment drops further or if the district fails to close the gap with state averages.

Vote no on 5B, the piece concludes, if you believe accountability and measurable results should come before another permanent tax hike. Support our schools by demanding efficient use of existing resources, not just more money.