Oct. 11--The Pueblo City Schools board of education is asking voters to take it at its word when it says it has no intention of raising the mill levy more than 15 mills if ballot question 3A passes in November.

The school board held a special meeting Friday afternoon that was dominated more by a closed-door executive session to discuss legal and contractual matters regarding the county clerk than by what was anticipated to be a binding resolution keeping the proposed tax hike at 15 mills.

What the board eventually passed on a 5-0 vote was a motion restating its position and promise to keep the mill levy increase to 15 mills should voters approve 3A.

The statement also noted that it was the intent of the board to keep the increase at 15 mills when the ballot language was first approved in August.

The notion of taking an official action on a resolution was discarded after the board approved the statement. The decision came after a conversation with Terry Casey of RBC Dain Rauscher, who helped draft the language of the bond issue.

Casey reminded the board that Pueblo City Schools is one of three major school districts in the state not to have an override option and that most of the districts that do followed procedures similar to 3A.

If 3A passes, the board cannot increase the mill levy beyond what will generate $17 million in any given year, but the district said it never had any intention of raising $17 million in 2009.

Instead, it's planning to slowly increase its revenues each year as property valuations increase.

But the ballot language voters will see Nov. 4 makes no mention of that.

Instead, it asks voters permission to allow the district to override the mill levy and collect up to $17 million in revenue annually.

On Thursday, Pueblo County Assessor Frank Beltran noted that if the board wanted to collect $17 million next year, it would have to add 21.3 mills to its mill levy to get there.

"The observation is correct," Casey said. "But the intent of the board can be expressed every year when the board certifies the mill levy."

Casey also said the district's ballot issues are more restrictive than most because Question 3A can't be enacted without the approval of 3B, a bonding question to use a portion of the tax increase to pay for air conditioning at schools that don't have it.

He said most of the school districts he has worked with have slowly increased their revenues over time and no board has ever acted contrary to what it promised voters it would do during the campaign.

"As elected officials we put our intent on the record time and time again," said board member Shawn Yoxey. "The voters at the very least would (spread toilet paper) all of our houses if we did it all at once. We're subject to the wrath of the voters. It has never been our intent (to collect it all at once), and this board or others would lose so much credibility it would be political suicide."

Deputy County Assessor Rick Jones was at the meeting representing Beltran, who was out of town Friday.

Jones questioned how much weight the statement would have on future boards.

Board President Stephanie Garcia noted that the school board has broad authority in the district and that the board will keep its word and be held accountable every year when it sets its mill levy.

-----

To see more of The Pueblo Chieftain, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.chieftain.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.