Voters across Mesa County have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed mill levy override for Mesa County Valley School District 51, according to unofficial election tallies provided by the Mesa County Clerk’s office. Updated vote counts released early Wednesday morning showed 24,568 ballots cast in favor of the school property tax measure compared to 43,147 ballots cast against it, establishing an insurmountable 18,579-vote lead that handed the proposal a decisive defeat.
The ballot question asked District 51 property owners to approve an increase to local property taxes of 7.85 mills. Had voters approved the measure, the tax increase would have generated an estimated $23.2 million in additional revenue for local public schools in the year 2027 alone. For residential property owners across Mesa County, the passage of the measure would have added an estimated annual tax cost of $54.28 per $100,000 of a property’s taxable valuation.
Although election workers in Mesa County had not fully completed processing all remaining ballots by noon on Nov. 4, the unofficial count published shortly before 3 a.m. showed the measure failing by a wide margin. In an email communication sent to a local news report late Wednesday morning, Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross stated that her office still had approximately 4,000 ballots remaining to be counted. However, given the 18,579-vote gap already recorded between supporters and opponents, the remaining uncounted ballots meant that passing the measure was a mathematical impossibility. The tally recorded as of 2:48 a.m. on Nov. 4 formed the basis of the unofficial election figures, though final certified tallies in Mesa County could reflect minor adjustments in the final count.
In a public statement released on Tuesday night following initial election returns, District 51 Superintendent Brian Hill acknowledged the outcome, calling it "disheartening that the results ended up" the way they did. Hill noted that while the district will not receive the expected supplemental funding, District 51 remains committed to offering a safe, supportive, and high-quality education to all students. A separate social media message posted on District 51’s official Facebook page around 10 a.m. Wednesday added that district officials were disappointed that schools would not receive the extra financial resources needed to address important infrastructure and academic requirements across area campuses.
Had the ballot initiative succeeded, District 51 leadership had identified four primary areas for the newly generated tax revenue. The district intended to allocate the funds toward upgrading physical school security features, providing pay raises for district teachers and staff members, expanding local Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings, and enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) programs for students.
Prior to the Nov. 3 election, Superintendent Hill had framed the 7.85-mill tax request as a modest measure aimed at helping District 51 meet its operational needs. Hill pointed out that the local school district’s operating budget currently lags behind those of other Colorado school districts that serve comparable student enrollment numbers. Following the defeat at the polls, Hill stated that district leaders will continue to manage operations within existing fiscal boundaries, re-evaluate local administrative priorities, and identify internal avenues to assist staff and students. He emphasized that school safety, career readiness initiatives, and the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers will remain central priorities for District 51, even as the district faces ongoing challenges due to inadequate state and local funding levels.
Tuesday's vote marks a departure from recent district ballot measure outcomes in Mesa County. District 51 voters previously approved a bond and mill levy override measure in 2017, which raised local annual property taxes by $56.52 per $100,000 of taxable property valuation. More recently, in 2024, voters passed another override measure that maintained tax levels without imposing a rate increase by eliminating a sunset clause that had been built into the 2017 measure. Unlike the 2017 ballot measure, the 7.85-mill override proposal placed before voters this year did not include a sunset clause.
