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In September, Lewis-Palmer School District 38's Board of Education voted unanimously to place a proposed tax increase, solely for teacher and staff salaries, on the November ballot. If approved, it would put teacher pay on par with other districts in the region and make it easier to attract and maintain staff, officials said.

The Monument-based district has consistently been one of the highest-achieving in the state, yet its teacher salaries rank among Colorado's lowest.

Since the Colorado Department of Education instituted its "Accreditation with Distinction" designation in 2009, Lewis-Palmer has been one of just four Colorado districts to earn that title every year. State performance frameworks show that D-38 ranked in the 94th percentile this year.

But the district's starting teacher salary, according to its pay schedule, is about $38,000 a year, making it the lowest-paying district in the region.

Academy School D-20 and Cheyenne Mountain School D-12, which have also earned "Accreditation with Distinction" every year since 2009, show a starting teacher salary of about $45,000 a year.

"We want to fix that," D-38 Board of Education Director Ron Schwarz said of the pay disparity. "And we don't want to put a Band-Aid on the wound. We want to cure the illness."

The cure, officials say, is in the hands of the district's stakeholders.

Teachers and community members have spoken passionately in favor of a pay raise at board meetings, but the measure is not without its opponents.

Critics of the measure say it increases the tax burden on Monument homeowners, with no "sunset clause," which means the measure would remain in effect in perpetuity.

"(Opponents of the measure) have a point," said D-38 spokesman Mark Belcher. "No one likes to pay taxes, and this increase would only put us in the middle of the pack as far as teacher salaries are concerned. But we're not looking to be the highest-paying district in the region. We're just trying to be competitive."

"It's the right thing to do," said Lewis-Palmer High School principal Bridget O'Connor, whose father taught at Lewis-Palmer High School for 30 years. "And this community can afford it."

According to estimates from the El Paso County Assessor's Office, the average privately owned Monument property is valued at about $500,000. The proposed tax increase would be just under $52 per year per $100,000 of property value, for an average tax increase of about $260 per year.

While acknowledging that a tax hike is not the ideal fix, officials said it's an affordable and just solution for a district that has done more with less for years.

"We have performed tremendously, and we haven't asked the stakeholders for any money," Schwarz said. "And we've been fiscally responsible."

Schwarz cited the district's partnership with Schneider Electric to develop an energy management program that will save nearly $10 million in future utility costs as proof of its solid financial stewardship. Additionally, by refinancing its existing bonds, the district will save taxpayers $1.9 million through the 2029-2030 academic year, officials said.

"This measure is expressly and solely for teacher and staff compensation," Schwarz said. "Not for principals, not for the superintendent, and not for administrators. Just teachers and staff."