During its special meeting held on Wednesday, July 22, the Archuleta School District (ASD) Board of Education (BoE) heard results from a poll conducted by New Bridge Strategy gauging the community’s appetite on a possible ballot measure for building a new kindergarten through eighth-grade (K-8) campus.
New Bridge Strategy Director Kathryn Hahne explained that the poll was conducted from June 25 through July 8, with the goal of getting 300 respondents, like the last poll conducted in the summer of 2025.
Hahne noted that this year’s poll reached 278 respondents who are considered to have a “likely voter profile.”
“We feel really good about this,” she said, noting the poll’s margin of error is at about 6 percent.
She also noted that respondents completed interviews either online or live on the phone.
Hahne explained that last year approximately 56 percent of respondents indicated they felt the school district spends its tax dollars wisely, and “that number is essentially exactly the same this year.”
She noted there was a “slight tick up” by respondents disagreeing, indicating that number was just outside of the margin of error.
“But, we do have a little bit of negativity here on this question,” she said.
Hahne explained that one of the first things tested was the ballot language, noting that it was written by working with legal counsel and primarily based on language used in other school districts around the state when going for a Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant.
“And we felt like this was a very conservative approach,” she said.
She explained that the language talks about increasing the district’s debt with a bullet point noting the construction of a new K-8 building in order to provide a safe and secure learning environment for students.
Hahne also explained that there was a third paragraph in the ballot language talking about how the district would go for a certain bond amount depending on if it is awarded a BEST grant, along with a “legalese” paragraph at the bottom.
Hahne stressed the importance of testing as close of an approximation of the exact wording expected to be used on the ballot as possible, noting that people will respond positively to the concept of something like supporting a new school; however, with certain language being used “it gets a little bit tougher for them to say yes” due to it being in “lawyer language, not common language.”
According to the poll results, 43 percent indicated they were in support of the ballot measure and 44 percent indicated they were against it, with 12 percent being undecided.
“Right now is a very difficult political environment,” Hahne said.
She explained that for attempts to pass tax measures for things that are new versus taking care of existing buildings, “we’re not seeing a lot of success across the state,” noting that is not limited to just school districts.
Hahne also explained that part of the poll gave respondents the opportunity to say in their own words why they would vote yes or no on the potential ballot measure.
According to Hahne’s presentation, the proposed potential ballot measure question asks, “SHALL ARCHULETA COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 50JT DEBT BE INCREASED BY UP TO $76,000,000, WITH A REPAYMENT COST OF UP TO $121,964,500, FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING A HIGH-QUALITY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CONSTRUCTING AND EQUIPPING A NEW K-8 SCHOOL WHICH WILL PROVIDE A MORE SAFE, SECURE AND INVITING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.
SUCH DEBT TO BE USED TO PROVIDE LOCAL MATCHING MONEY REQUIRED FOR THE DISTRICT TO RECEIVE A ‘BEST’ GRANT FROM THE STATE (THE GRANT IS NOT REQUIRED TO BE REPAID BUT IS CONTINGENT UPON THE DISTRICT’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE THE MATCHING AMOUNT); PROVIDED THAT NO BONDS WILL BE ISSUED UNLESS A ‘BEST’ GRANT IS RECEIVED; AND PROVIDED FURTHER THAT REVENUE FROM IMPOSITION OF THE MILL LEVY MAY NOT EXCEED $6,100,250 ANNUALLY; AND SUCH DEBT TO BE EVIDENCED BY THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS WHICH BEAR INTEREST, MATURE, ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION, WITH OR WITHOUT PREMIUM OF NOT MORE THAN 5%, AND BE ISSUED AT SUCH TIME, AT SUCH PRICE (AT, ABOVE OR BELOW PAR) AND IN SUCH MANNER AND CONTAINING SUCH TERMS, NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THIS BALLOT ISSUE, AS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MAY DETERMINE, AND SHALL PROPERTY TAXES BE IMPOSED WITHOUT LIMIT AS TO RATE TO GENERATE AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT IN EACH YEAR TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL OF, PREMIUM IF ANY, AND INTEREST ON SUCH DEBT OR ANY REFUNDING DEBT, OR TO CREATE A RESERVE FOR THE SAME?”
Hahne explained that the open-ended responses were then categorized, stating, “really what it comes down to is that ‘yes voters’ feel and understand and know that the … schools are old and that they’re in poor condition” and feel they need to be replaced.
She noted that the “yes voters” also responded with statements such as simply wanting to support kids, education, student safety and “just the broader benefits to the community.”
For “no voters,” Hahne explained that “really it comes down to taxes being too high,” which she noted was expressed in last year’s poll results as well.
“And it continues to be a major theme in our work this year as well,” she said, explaining, “When we test measures like this, debt tends to be a major concern.”
Hahne then mentioned that a new theme emerged in this year’s responses about the opposition to the location chosen for the new K-8 building.
In January, the BoE chose to go with the Vista site uptown as the location for the potential new K-8 campus.
Hahne also explained that follow-up questions were then asked, with respondents receiving more information about what the personal financial impact would be based on home values.
She noted that cost would roughly be $5.65 per $100,000 of value per month.
“We do get a slight bump up in support,” she said, explaining that figures increased from 43 percent supporting the measure to 46 percent of respondents supporting the measure.
Hahne noted that there is also a “positive reaction” when giving respondents a “plain-language explanation” about what the BEST grant would do in terms of providing funding for the project.
Hahne also noted that for measures like this across the state, she would feel better with a 55 percent “total yes” mark.
Hahne added that ASD’s initial poll results are “well below that 55 percent mark.”
She explained that statements tested relating to Pagosa Peak Open School (PPOS) and the BEST grant explanation in plain language were considered to be “compelling to voters.”
“Really, voters are telling us safety is the main motivator for voting ‘yes,’” she said.
Hahne also explained that a separate part of the survey gave respondents a potential number of investments ASD could do as part of the project plan.
“What we learn here is that items related to repairing and improving rise to the top,” she said, noting things like HVAC and roof repair at the high school “are really the ones that are the most important to voters.”
When asking questions to gauge respondents’ willingness to pay for certain things, Hahne stressed again that respondents were more supportive of maintaining and extending the life of existing buildings, and more hesitant to pay for something new.
She also explained that when adding potential investment items alongside the proposal for a new K-8 school, the majority of respondents indicated that it makes no difference in how they feel about the ballot measure.
“So, adding in these investments does not sweeten the proposal in any way,” she said.
Hahne added that open-ended responses from “no voters” concerned about property taxes and debt “were overwhelming.”
BoE member Butch Mackey asked if there was any indication on how the location of the proposed new K-8 building caused respondents to change their mind.
Hahne explained that she couldn’t answer that for sure due to the ballot language being different from last year’s poll and that specific question not being asked.
ASD Superintendent Rick Holt asked about how once specifics are narrowed down around these types of projects, such as choosing a specific location, if there is generally always some sort of pushback.
Hahne commented that 100 percent of people are never going to be happy with these things, noting that there is generally some sort of pushback, “especially in a smaller community.”
In response to a question from BoE President Bob Lynch, Hahne explained that there’s no guarantee that every voter will see any additional information relating to the ballot measure, and that in the current state of communities, it is “difficult to cut through the noise” when it comes to informing the public.
Hahne was also joined by Lynea Hansen, who has worked on polls with the district previously.
“This is a beast of a ballot question,” Hansen said, explaining that she spoke with Holt about trying to get the measure short and concise, and “non-legalese as possible.”
“This kind of breaks just about every one of those rules,” she added.
Hansen explained that one challenge with the ballot measure title is trying to explain the BEST grant.
Holt commented that people might get lost in the legal content, and that there is no “bumper sticker statement” to show how the BEST grant would essentially save the district 40 percent on the K-8 project.
Holt also commented on the status of BEST, noting that the program is “not going to last forever.”
Hahne also stressed that the poll from last year can’t truly be compared to this year’s poll.
“The language last year was different,” she said.
Hahne added that the result from last year indicated that 51 percent of respondents would support the measure, explaining that the district did not go from 51 percent support to 43 percent support, but that, “you asked a different question.”
Hahne also mentioned that there are a lot of questions for the district to consider, like if the economy will get better by November or if the community will stand up a robust campaign.
“This is a really complex problem you’re trying to solve,” she said.
Lynch commented that the cost for the project will go up in the future, and that the BEST grant program may go away, suggesting that educating the public on the matter does make a difference.
Lynch also commented that this is a “winnable thing, not a lost cause.”
Other comments were made by the BoE about how the district may need to change its plans for its facilities based on ballot measure results, and the potential timeline of a new school either being three to five years out, or possibly longer and up to 10 years out.
Holt indicated that more information in regard to the possible ballot measure would be presented at the BoE’s next regular meeting scheduled for Aug. 4.
For more information on the BoE’s scheduled meetings, visit www.mypagosaschools.com.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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