Douglas County voters will decide on Nov. 3, 2026 whether to send the school district another $54 million a year.
At its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 25, the Douglas County School District Board of Education voted unanimously to put a mill levy override on the ballot. Superintendent Erin Kane presented the case to the board that night.
This guide lays out what the money would do, what it would cost you, and what both sides are arguing. We are not telling you how to vote.
What it would cost
If it passes, starting in 2027 homeowners would pay an additional $33.70 per year for every $100,000 of their home's value.
| Home value | Added annual cost |
|---|---|
| $300,000 | ~$101 |
| $500,000 | ~$169 |
| $750,000 | ~$253 |
| $1,000,000 | ~$337 |
One thing to understand going in: an override does not expire on its own. It is a recurring tax, not a one-time ask. That distinction is the center of most of the opposition.
Override or bond? They are not the same thing
This trips people up every cycle, and Douglas County has voted on both recently.
- A mill levy override pays for day-to-day operating costs — people and programs. Salaries, security staffing, what classes get offered. It is recurring.
- A bond pays for buildings and infrastructure. It is one-time borrowing that gets paid off.
The $490 million measure voters approved in 2024 was a bond. It builds and fixes things. It cannot be spent on teacher pay. This November's measure is the other kind.
What the district says it would fund
Per DCSD, the $54 million would go toward four things:
- Salaries competitive enough to retain and attract teachers and staff, and to better keep pace with inflation
- School security support, including school resource officers
- Reducing student waitlists for Career and Technical Education programming, including the trades
- Restoring student programming, such as instrumental music in elementary schools
Teachers and administrators from across the district spoke in support at Tuesday's meeting.
What supporters say
Kelly Mayr, a registered agent for Douglas County Parents, an organization backing the measure, has kids currently in the district and kids who have graduated from it. Her argument is that the district is digging out of a hole it spent twelve years falling into.
"Even though we have passed one in 2018 and 2023, we are still 2,000 per pupil behind other districts, and our teacher salaries are the lowest in the Denver metro area."
She points to a long gap with no funding measures at all: the district went from 2006 to 2018 without passing an override or a bond.
Mayr also pushes back on a common assumption — that rising property taxes already send more money to local schools.
"People say, 'Well, my property taxes just went way up, so why isn't that all going to our school district?' But that isn't how it works. So the property taxes go up, and that money goes up to Denver and gets reallocated, and it doesn't actually change the bottom line here. The only money that we control that stays directly here is through an MLO."
What opponents say
Opposition is not coming from one direction.
Tiffany Baker, who had four kids go through DCSD and runs the Douglas County Watch Facebook page, lives in Highlands Ranch. Her objection is affordability, and she is careful to separate it from the teachers.
"For me, it is all about affordability. For the people that would vote no, like myself, it's not that we're against teachers. It is that we are consistently being asked to put more money into taxes, and there might be other things that we have to pay for."
"This is not just a one-time ask. An MLO is an ongoing tax, so we don't know exactly how much this would cost all in, and it is scary for some of us."
Baker is a caregiver for two people on fixed incomes, and she raises a structural point specific to where she lives: schools in Highlands Ranch have been consolidating due to declining enrollment, while developing parts of the county need new schools built.
Matt Smith, First Vice Chair of the Douglas County Republican Party, has a child at Douglas County High School. His objection is timing and permanence.
"I think it's a bad time for it, the economy is not great. What I'm seeing, you know, across corporate is that everyone's tightening down."
"Eventually, we're going to hit a pendulum to where we're overfunded and one thing that's true with government is they never give money back, so taxes never come down after they go up."
The line that captured it
The vote to refer the measure was unanimous, but board members acknowledged the cost is real for some households. Board Secretary Kyrzia Parker, who supports the measure, said it plainly:
"$300 a year, $100 a year, that might break some people. So while I support the MLO, I feel like that has to be said."
When you vote
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, as part of the coordinated election with Douglas County.
This is not the only thing on your ballot. Douglas County voters are also deciding whether to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three seats to five, and Castle Pines voters have two citizen-initiated charter amendments on annexation.
Reporting on the Aug. 25 board meeting, including the quotes above, from Denver7's Douglas County reporter Tyler Melito. Superintendent Kane's full presentation to the board is posted by the district.
We cover what's actually on the ballot in Douglas County, plus openings, events and things to do — free, every week. Join 12,000+ locals on the newsletter.