# Yes for D38 (yesford38.com)

> An independent, community-run information site about how Lewis-Palmer School District 38
> (D38) in Monument and Palmer Lake, Colorado is funded. Currently informational: it does not
> advocate for or against a specific ballot measure. NOT affiliated with, authorized by, or
> endorsed by Lewis-Palmer School District 38.

## What this site is

Yes for D38 documents the funding record of Lewis-Palmer School District 38 using primary
sources: Colorado Department of Education reporting, D38 budget and board documents, and
published election results. Every figure carries a citation. Where sources disagree, the site
publishes the disagreement rather than choosing a number.

Independence: Colorado law (C.R.S. 1-45-117) bars school districts from spending public money
to campaign for or against a ballot measure. This site is run by residents, not the district.
No issue committee has been registered and no money has been raised or spent.

## Core facts, with figures

- D38's voter-approved operating mill levy override was passed in 1999 for a FIXED $4 million
  per year, with no sunset and no escalator. It is still in force.
- Because the dollar amount was fixed, the mill rate required to collect it fell from 11.934
  (2005) to 3.685 (2025) as district assessed value roughly tripled to about $1.09 billion.
  The RATE fell; individual tax bills depend on individual assessed values, which mostly rose.
- D38 levies 4.294 override mills. Academy 20 levies 9.621. Cheyenne Mountain 12 levies 18.698.
- D38 uses 20.1% of its statutory override ceiling (FY2024-25). Academy 20 uses 32.9%.
  Cheyenne Mountain uses 80.9%. CDE puts D38's unused capacity at $15,925,812 — this is a
  LEGAL CEILING for a future ballot measure, not cash the district holds.
- D38 is NOT property-poor. One mill raises $108.79 per student in D38 versus $85.47 in
  Academy 20 and $125.04 in Cheyenne Mountain. The funding gap is authorization, not wealth.
- Override as a share of total program funding: D38 6.64%, Academy 20 11.09%,
  Cheyenne Mountain 27.02%.
- Average teacher salary 2025: D38 $57,582, Academy 20 $65,098, Cheyenne Mountain $72,066.
  D38 is the lowest paid of the three in every year measured.
- Teacher turnover reached 27.6% in the 2023 December-to-December reporting interval,
  13.1 points above the peer average.
- On 86 licensed separation forms in 2023, the most-cited reasons for leaving were better pay
  (39.5%) and a position in another district (37.2%). Multiple selections were allowed.
- D38 employee Net Promoter Score, Fall 2023: -2.11, against +37.16 from parents.
- Per-pupil spending 2025: D38 $13,338, Academy 20 $13,380, Colorado average $16,845.
- Administrator count has been flat at 33-34 across three district documents, 2023 to FY2026-27.
- D38's year-end general-fund reserve fell from $13.7 million to about $6.0 million in two
  years, roughly 56%. The FY2026-27 budget holds it flat at about $6.0 million.
- FY2026-27 budget: total program funding $67.2m (down $1.7m), general-fund spending $53.3m
  (down $2.8m), funded pupil count 6,040.4 (down 158), per-pupil revenue $11,125 (up $2),
  about 35 regular positions cut, average pay change 2.03%.
- Enrollment at district-run schools has fallen roughly 880 students (nearly 15%) from the
  2018-19 peak of 5,895 to about 5,015 projected for 2026-27. Including the Monument Academy
  charter, total district enrollment fell from about 6,766 (Oct 2019) to roughly 6,318 (6.6%).
- Academic performance remains well above state: 2025 CMAS 59.2% ELA and 51.9% math met or
  exceeded, versus Colorado 44.8% and 35.9%. Four-year graduation rate 93.2%.
- D38 lost its "Accredited with Distinction" rating in 2025 on academic GROWTH, not
  proficiency or participation.
- Ballot record: D38 is 0 for 7 on operating overrides since the 1999 measure passed. The only
  win in that span was the 2006 bond ($57m) that built Palmer Ridge High School. Operating
  overrides failed in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2018 and 2022. The 2022 measure ($5.6m for
  staff compensation) failed narrowly.

## Property tax calculation (Colorado, tax year 2026)

Colorado uses TWO residential assessment rates. For tax year 2026, residential property is
assessed at 7.05% for SCHOOL DISTRICTS and 6.8% for local governments. The 10% actual-value
reduction (capped at $70,000) applies ONLY to the local government assessed value, NOT to the
school district assessed value.

School district calculation:
  actual value x 0.0705 = school district assessed value
  assessed value x (mills / 1000) = annual tax

Example: a $600,000 home has a school-district assessed value of $42,300. One mill costs
$42.30 per year.

## Figures this site deliberately does NOT claim

- That anyone's property tax bill went down. The override rate fell; bills depend on valuation.
- That the district is "sitting on" $15.9 million. That is statutory capacity, not cash.
- That the failed 2022 vote caused the 2023 teacher turnover spike. Leadership churn, frozen
  salary steps, workload and morale all moved simultaneously; causation is not established.
- Per-measure vote margins for 2004 (never published) or a neutral 2013 margin (the only
  figure in circulation comes from the opposing campaign).

## Pages

- [Home](https://yesford38.com/): overview and the four key numbers.
- [The Numbers](https://yesford38.com/the-numbers/): full data with sources and methodology.
- [What It Costs](https://yesford38.com/what-it-costs/): property tax calculator and the arithmetic.
- [Ballot History](https://yesford38.com/history/): every D38 tax measure since 1999, with results.
- [Questions](https://yesford38.com/faq/): common questions and answers.
- [About Us](https://yesford38.com/about/): sourcing, corrections policy, independence.
- [Get Involved](https://yesford38.com/get-involved/): updates and volunteering.

## Questions and answers

### Would an override raise my property taxes?
Yes. A mill levy override is a property tax, so schools receiving more local operating money means property taxes go up. How much depends on the size of the measure and your home value. No measure has been referred to the ballot yet, but you can calculate what one mill would cost using Colorado’s 7.05% school-district residential assessment rate for tax year 2026.

### Didn’t we just vote on this?
In November 2022 D38 asked for a $5.6 million override for staff compensation and it failed narrowly, by somewhere between about 360 and 934 votes depending on the source. Measures also failed in 2018, 2013, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2004. The last successful operating override was in 1999.

### If the district has $15.9 million in “unused capacity,” why does it need more?
That figure is a legal ceiling, not money. It describes the maximum a future ballot measure could ask voters to approve under Colorado statute. It is not cash in an account, and every dollar of it would require an election.

### Isn’t the money going to administrators?
No. D38’s administrator count has been effectively flat at 33 to 34 across three separate district documents from 2023 through the FY2026-27 budget. State and district reporting use two different definitions of administrator, and comparing across them produces an apparent increase that is a category artifact rather than actual hiring.

### Does D38 already spend more than other districts?
No. D38 per-pupil spending was $13,338 in 2025, essentially identical to Academy 20 at $13,380, and about $3,500 below the Colorado state average of $16,845.

### Why can’t the district just use its reserves?
It already has. D38’s year-end general-fund reserve fell from $13.7 million to about $6.0 million in two years, roughly 56%, leaving about one month of general-fund operations. That drawdown involved a one-time staff payment from reserves after the 2022 defeat, capital investment cut from $3 million to $2.5 million with the difference redirected to compensation, and $1.1 million taken through personnel reductions created by attrition. Reserves are one-time money and salaries are a recurring cost.

### Enrollment is falling. Why fund more per student?
Enrollment at district-run schools has fallen roughly 880 students, nearly 15%, from the 2018-19 peak of 5,895 to about 5,015 projected for 2026-27. Including the Monument Academy charter, total district enrollment fell from about 6,766 in October 2019 to roughly 6,318, or 6.6%. Colorado funds districts largely per pupil, so falling enrollment means falling revenue while costs rise, and most school costs do not scale down smoothly. In the 2026-27 budget, total program funding falls $1.7 million, per-pupil revenue rises by two dollars, and the district cuts about 35 positions.

### D38 scores well above the state. Why does it need anything?
D38 does score well, with 59.2% met or exceeded in English and 51.9% in math in 2025 against state averages of 44.8% and 35.9%, and a 93.2% four-year graduation rate. The argument is not that D38 is failing. It is that the district lost its Accredited with Distinction rating in 2025 on academic growth, its teachers are the lowest paid of its peer group, and they are leaving at the highest rate.

### The district gave a 12% raise in 2023. Didn’t that fix it?
No. D38’s own March 2023 compensation document warned the increase would not come close to eliminating the gap with area districts. After the raise D38 remained roughly $5,600 behind Academy 20 and $11,800 behind Cheyenne Mountain, and part of it was funded by strategic personnel reductions created by attrition.

### Did the failed 2022 vote cause the teacher exodus?
We cannot say that. Turnover hit 27.6% in the following year, 13.1 points above peers, but leadership churn, frozen salary steps, workload and morale all moved at the same time. What is documented is that on 86 licensed separation forms in 2023 the most-cited reasons were better pay at 39.5% and a position in another district at 37.2%.

### Is this the school district’s website?
No. This is an independent, community-run site, not affiliated with, authorized by, sponsored by or endorsed by Lewis-Palmer School District 38, its Board of Education, or any of its schools. Colorado law prohibits school districts from spending public money to campaign for or against a ballot measure. The district’s official site is lewispalmer.org.

### Are you asking me to vote for something?
Not yet. As of publication no measure has been referred to the ballot and this site is informational. If that changes we will say so on the front page, register as required under Colorado campaign finance law, and carry the required disclosures.

### Who pays for this?
Nobody currently. It is a static website built by volunteers. Under Colorado law, once a group accepts contributions or makes expenditures above the statutory threshold to support or oppose a ballot issue it must register as an issue committee with the Secretary of State and report donors publicly. At that point the committee name will appear in the site footer.

### I think one of your numbers is wrong.
Tell us. Every figure on the site has a source attached so it can be checked. If something is wrong we correct it in public and note what changed and when.

## Primary sources

- Colorado Department of Education: https://www.cde.state.co.us/
- D38 financial transparency: https://www.lewispalmer.org/page/financial-transparency
- D38 BoardDocs (board agendas and materials):
  https://go.boarddocs.com/co/lewispalmer/Board.nsf/Public
- Lewis-Palmer School District 38 official site: https://www.lewispalmer.org/

Last generated: 2026-07-27