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Jeffco Schools still waiting final results on bond election: 'We're all holding our breath'

"Between the recession and not being able to pass mill and bonds, a lot of us are way behind in our pay compared to what we could be making in neighboring districts."

JEFFERSON COUNTY — The war paint is still fresh.

The battle is still unknown as people like Kay Slater wait to see if the Jefferson County bond proposal will pass. "Definitely, we're all holding our breath," Slater said.

She is a stay-at-home mom turned co-chair of We Are JeffCo, a parent and community run organization behind the campaign supporting measures 5A and 5B.

"For Jefferson County, 5A was past due and we're thrilled that it looks like it's going to pass," Slater said.

5A raises property taxes to pump $33 million more into the operating budget which will increase the salaries of teachers like Erin Murphy from Alameda High School.

"Yeah, it's been a really long time," Murphy said. "Between the recession and not being able to pass mill and bonds, a lot of us are way behind in our pay compared to what we could be making in neighboring districts."

5B is supposed to bring in a $567 million bond issue to fix buildings around JeffCo like Green Mountain High School. Currently, its gym is unusable due to a water problem underneath the floorboards. Or at Alameda High School where conditions are deteriorating in the 60-year-old building.

"We have a lot of buildings like our building here at Alameda that are very old and reaching a point of being dilapidated," Murphy said.

Measure 5B promised millions of dollars to campuses like Alameda and Green Mountain.

"Well, we're still waiting for the final count," Slater said. "We're all really nervous about that."

The first voting results posted Tuesday night had measure 5B losing by more than 9,000 votes.

"Last I heard, it's still down, but the gap is starting to close," Murphy said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 5B was behind by 3,224 votes, a difference of 1.2 percent, giving Slater final hopes that perhaps the numbers will swing at the end.

"There's nothing to do but wait and so that's what we're doing, we're waiting," Slater said.

The Jefferson County School District is waiting as well. It issued a statement Wednesday evening:

“Thank you to our voters who supported the Jefferson Public Schools ballot questions 5A and 5B. At present, we do not have the final results from the Jefferson County Clerk and the Secretary of State’s office. It appears that 5A, the Mill Levy Override has been approved by voters. The bond results are not conclusive and we await the final data. We will update our families, staff, and the community when we have more information.”

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