The Garfield Re-2 School Board heard a presentation Wednesday from community members advocating for a mill levy override and bond proposal to be placed on the November ballot.

Graham Riddile, Garrett Robinson and Mely Irigoyen, all graduates of Garfield Re-2 high schools have taken an interest in Garfield Re-2’s financial well-being, spoke to the board about putting a mill-levy override on the November ballot and how the additional funding could be used.

Robinson reviewed findings of the group’s research, including an analysis conducted after Superintendent Kirk Banghart stepped into his role last year. 

The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis showed that competitive pay, less housing opportunities, and state funding are the biggest issues the district is facing. 

To find more information, the group engaged Magellan Strategies to complete a survey of around 600 voters living within the Garfield Re-2 School District from June 4-11, 2026. The data was weighted to reflect expected voter turnout. 

Around 61% of these voters said they had a favorable opinion of Garfield Re-2, while 63% viewed the district’s educational performance favorably,and 71% had a favorable opinion of its teachers.

The proposed bond mill levy override could fund several district priorities, including expanding Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways, increasing space at Coal Ridge High School, which is at capacity, specifically creating more CTE pathway classes at Coal Ridge, and improving Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) classes. 

Other possibilities include building an early childhood care center, starting teacher salaries at $10,000 more than they are which would match neighboring districts, and help with staff housing.

“Our mission became clear on where we wanted to go as a district, to do a mill levy override for staff, that would be a small tax increase, that would go strictly to funding for our staff and increasing salaries,” Robinson said. “To extend our existing bond for capital, that would be no taxes to the voters.” 

Robinson said the mill levy override would help the district retain teachers and remain competitive with not only neighboring school districts, but also with other employers within the communities. 

“When you look at local jobs, some of these jobs are getting surpassed by different jobs in our community, we’re not just competing with local districts,” Robinson said. “We’re also competing with jobs in our communities that can pay more.”

According to the presentation, the Garfield Re-2 School District currently sits at the lowest pay to teachers in the surrounding area at $44,731 a year. The next lowest is Garfield 16 in Parachute, which pays teachers at $45,000. The highest pay is the Aspen  School District at $54,000. 

If the mill levy override passes, Garfield Re-2’s starting teacher salary would increase to $47,414 a year, which would still rank third-lowest among neighboring districts.

The current mill levy is 31.112 mills. The override would bring it up to 35.812 mills. 

Under the proposal, Rifle homeowners would see a monthly property tax increase of about $14 per $100,000 of assessed home value. Homeowners in Silt would pay roughly $20 more per month per $100,000 of assessed value, while New Castle homeowners would see an increase of nearly $23 per month per $100,000.

The bond proposal would extend the district’s existing bond for 25 years and would primarily fund capital projects, including additional space at Coal Ridge High School. 

“Not every teacher at this point has a dedicated classroom,” Riddile said. “I think a lot of spaces at Coal Ridge were designed one way and being used another, we have classrooms that are physically separated from the building, which is a potential security issue.”

Around 200 staff members have expressed interest in staff housing, Riddile said. The presentation included a concept for about 45 to 50 units, potentially including apartments, townhomes or other residences. 

The presentation also included a conceptual plan for a childcare center behind Cactus Valley Elementary School in Silt as one potential location.

Irigoyen asked the board to consider placing the mill levy override and bond proposal on the November 2026 ballot before the Sept. 4 deadline. 

“We’re not asking for your final financial commitment, we’re just giving that power back to the voters,” Irigoyen said. “We’re letting our parents, neighbors, taxpayers decide the future of our students.”