Elbert School District BEST Grant Award Update

Project Cost Illustration - Tax Impact Fact Sheet

Project Timeline

• November 2, 2010: Elbert School District lost the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant for a new school, as the matching money bond issue was not passed by the voters. As a result, our BEST grant funds were awarded to Akron School District, an alternate BEST project school, which passed their bond election.
• December 2010 – April 2011: Elbert School District reached out to the voting community and listened to questions and concerns about the BEST grant process to determine the next steps to be taken.
• April 2011: Encouraged by the voters, we returned to the State BEST Board and re-submitted an application for grant funding. We also attempted to lower the tax burden for our residents by applying for an additional hardship waiver.
• June 2011: The State BEST Board narrowed the list of 46 large project applications with matching money bonds to 11 approved projects and 5 alternates. The State of Colorado has once again recognized our extensive facility needs and has awarded a BEST grant to our school district.  We have also been granted a hardship waiver which allows us to contribute a half a million dollars from the District Capital Building Fund in order to lessen the overall tax burden of our residents.
  • The State of Colorado recommended a BEST grant for Elbert School District in the amount of $16,279,437 to be used to fund the construction of a brand new $19,963,485 PK-12 school facility.  The total project figure includes contingency and inflation costs. This grant is contingent upon the passage of a local bond in the amount of $3,184,048. This local bond amount has been reduced by the $500,000 the Elbert School District has committed to contribute. That means our community will receive the educational facility we need and deserve for only 16 cents on the dollar!
  • The BEST program was developed to address school districts with needs like ours.  Because of our small tax base, and without assistance from sources like the BEST program, our school district is unable to raise the money necessary to fix all the existing facility deficiencies OR build a new school.  The State of Colorado recognizes that the condition of our seventy-year plus facility warrants replacement.
• November 1, 2011: Elbert School District registered voters will have the opportunity to vote on the BEST grant bond issue to cover 16% of the total cost of a new school facility. If the bond issue does not pass, the grant will be awarded to an alternate school district. Last year, our grant funds were awarded to Akron School District. This year, there are five school districts with alternate project status waiting to take our 16 million dollars.

Questions?

• Please feel free to call the District office with questions- 303-648-3030
• Our goal is to visit every resident in the community in order to provide accurate information about this project and to answer any questions that arise.
• Look for additional BEST grant updates in our monthly community newsletter. Community members are also invited to our special board meetings on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. upstairs in the Library. 

Project Facts

• The new school facility is to be built on the northwest section of our current campus.
• If the bond issue passes in the upcoming November election, construction will begin in early Spring 2012 and be complete by Summer 2013.
• Proposed new campus highlights:
• 67,000 square foot campus and a 3,000 square foot Maintenance/Bus support building
• Preschool through post-secondary educational opportunities
• All safety, security and ADA requirements to be met
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard energy-efficient facility and systems
• 21st century learning environment and equipment
• Combined Public & School Library/Technology Center
• Multi-purpose gymnasium with double court capabilities for community use
• The District has contracted with RLH Engineering to be the Owner’s Representative to ensure budget and project timeline compliance.

How Much Will It Cost Us?

• Elbert School District’s 16% taxpayer share is approximately $3.184 million.
• Residential: Approximate $6.31* per month per $100,000 actual home value from your 2012 tax bill
• Commercial:  Approximate $22.97 per month per $100,000 commercial value from your 2012 tax bill
• Agricultural:
  • Grazing: Approx. $0.09 per acre, annually
  • Dry land: Approx. $0.25 per acre, annually
• *A decrease from last year’s $10.17 estimated figure due to a 14.2% average decrease in residential home value and the district’s $500,000 contribution. The mill levy increase is approximately 14.491.

How Does the State Pay for the Project?

• These state funds are NOT generated from tax dollars!  The money already exists in the State Land Trust and has been awarded to Elbert should we pass our required local matching money bond.
• In 1876, land was set aside by the Federal government such that revenues from ranching, mineral, oil, and gas would help generate funds for public schools.
  BEST grant funds come from revenues from approximately 3 million acres of State Trust lands. This does not constitute a new tax, and these funds can only be used for school projects.
• The goal of the BEST program is to help improve the condition of schools, usually in poor and/or rural districts that cannot afford to build school facilities on their own due to low bonding capacity.
• The BEST program began awarding large lease purchase grants such as ours in 2009.  The State BEST board anticipates being able to fund projects of this size only one more year.

Information provided and distributed by the Elbert School District.