Measures focus on staff compensation, school facilities and long-term needs of students and communities

RIFLE, Colo. — Following months of community conversations and long-range planning, the Garfield Re-2 Board of Education voted unanimously at their regular August 26, 2026 school board meeting to place a bond measure and mill levy override before voters in the November 3, 2026 election.

The two measures address different needs facing the district. The mill levy override would provide additional local funding for staff salaries. The bond would extend the district’s current bond, without imposing a new tax, to address school facilities, learning spaces, staff housing, early childhood education and technology infrastructure.

Board member Cassie Haskell summed up the distinction during Wednesday’s discussion.

“I just wanted it to be very clear: the mill levy override is for salaries. The bond is for buildings and infrastructure,” Haskell said. “We can’t use the bond for salaries.”

The Board’s action places both questions before voters. Voters will decide each measure separately in November.

Supporting and retaining staff

The proposed $4.7 million annual mill levy override would be dedicated to compensation for Garfield Re-2 employees.

If approved, the additional local revenue would be placed on employee base salaries, supporting teachers and staff including paraprofessionals, bus drivers, custodians and nutrition services employees. The goal is to help Garfield Re-2 remain competitive in attracting and retaining the people who work directly with students every day.

During Wednesday’s discussion, Superintendent Kirk Banghart emphasized that the MLO revenue would go to employee base salaries.

Board members also discussed the challenge of competing for employees in a region where housing and other costs have increased and neighboring school districts can often offer higher wages. Keeping experienced employees in Garfield Re-2, they said, means keeping relationships, knowledge and consistency in classrooms and schools.

Banghart also noted that mill levy override dollars remain local, giving the locally elected Board of Education control over how those dollars are used.

Investing in schools without a new tax

The bond measure would extend the existing bonds, rather than impose a new tax.

The projects identified in the ballot language include:

• Constructing a new access road at Rifle High School to improve safety and traffic circulation for students, staff and community members;
• Renovating Rifle High School science classrooms and aging lab systems and creating dedicated career-ready and engineering labs;
• Expanding Coal Ridge High School to provide additional space for trades, agriculture and career-ready training, athletics and performing arts;
• Building a new early learning center to provide early childhood education and care;
• Acquiring and constructing affordable rental housing in Rifle, Silt and New Castle to help attract and retain teachers and staff; and
• Upgrading districtwide technology infrastructure that supports teaching and learning at all schools.

Board members said they see the projects as more than building updates, but rather as investments in the students and staff who use those spaces every day, and in the communities those schools serve.

Board President Fathom Jensen pointed to the proposed career and technical education spaces and facility improvements as a way to expand opportunities for local students.

“A kid from Rifle, Silt and New Castle deserves the same opportunities as a student from Cherry Creek,” Jensen said, paraphrasing Re-2 Technology Director Roger Gose, who used a similar phrase when accepting an award earlier this year. She said the proposed improvements to educational facilities, skilled trades and career pathways would help Garfield Re-2 provide those opportunities.

Board Member Steve Beaulieu also connected the proposed investments to the district’s ability to attract and keep employees and families in the region.

“Communities are built around your schools,” Beaulieu said. He noted that staff housing and early childhood care address challenges that salary increases alone cannot solve, while expanded career and technical education spaces can help prepare students for opportunities close to home.

Board members also highlighted the proposed early learning center as an investment that could support working families, help retain staff and give young children an earlier start in education.

Community conversations shaped the proposal

Wednesday’s decision followed months of work by district staff, community members and the Board of Education.

Garfield Re-2 held community meetings in Rifle, Silt and New Castle to share information about district finances, staffing and facilities, answer questions and gather feedback. Board members said Wednesday that those conversations helped shape both the projects ultimately included in the bond and the district’s approach to communicating the measures.

Both measures will appear on the November 3, 2026 coordinated election ballot.

Additional information about the measures, including project details, estimated tax impacts, school finance information, and frequently asked questions, will be available on the Garfield Re-2 School District website.