Bond 2021

Through a 2021 bond, Manitou Springs School District (MSSD) has an opportunity to restore its facilities to honor their history and continue their legacy.

2022 will mark our sesquicentennial celebration/150 years since our founding and 100 years since Manitou Springs Elementary School opened its doors. As we celebrate the past, we are preparing to create the future. Every 15–20 years, our community makes an investment in education. With the bonds from the 2002 election paid off and access to $9 million in Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grants, it’s time to prepare our schools to serve students for the next 20 years and beyond.

With the BEST funding secured, the MSSD Board of Education declared their support on June 21, 2021 for moving forward with a financing plan that may result in putting a $43 million bond package on the November 2021 ballot. This package is aligned with the comprehensive master plan that was finalized earlier this year and includes generating the 65 percent in matching funding ($16.5 million) required to receive the BEST grants. The board will take official action to refer a bond question to the ballot on August 30, 2021. Specifically, a November 2021 bond is a $43 million investment that will include the following projects identified as part of a six-month master planning process that prioritized MSSD facility improvements:

1.  New and remodeled middle school/high school campus facilities.

2.  Funding for improvements, safety enhancements, and educational upgrades at Manitou Springs High School, Manitou Springs Elementary School, and Ute Pass Elementary School.

3.  Investments in outdoor facilities, where students can safely learn, train, and play.

4.  Projects that will maintain valuable amenities accessible to our entire community including the renovation of the historic Manitou Springs Elementary School auditorium and improvements and upgrades to school playgrounds and athletic fields districtwide.

The most recent improvements to our schools were completed in 1988 and 2002. Over the past 11 years, the Budget Stabilization Factor has resulted in $16M of lost funding for MSSD. The Colorado legislature has used the Budget Stabilization Factor (formerly the “negative factor”) since 2009 to reduce school funding by the percentage necessary to balance the state budget. Given the way school funding works in Colorado, MSSD simply doesn’t have the money in its budget to attend to these facility issues or provide the matching funds required by BEST without voters approving a bond.


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Disclaimer:
*Content provided on this website regarding the 2021 Bond is for informational purposes only and is not an endorsement of the 2021 Bond. Eligible voters are encouraged to review the pro/con statements provided on this website in conjunction with the factual information and to make their own decision regarding the 2021 Bond.