Tri-Lakes School District #38, Lewis Palmer estimates it will need an additional $3 million annually in order to avoid having to make any kind of deep cuts to educational services and programs.
Lewis Palmer is already at the low end of our areas pay scale for its employees. Superintendent Raymond Blanch in an interview with the Colorado Springs Gazette, warned that teachers' wages would likely fall to uncompetitive levels without pay increases. Teachers, he said, enjoy working in Lewis-Palmer partly because of small class sizes, parental involvement and its reputation.
Those non-financial perks make up for slightly lower wages, he said, but warned that Lewis-Palmer is within a few percentage points of being too far below its neighbors to effectively compete.
The additional financial burden of operating the new "Palmer Ridge" High School will force the district to go to the tax payers this fall. The idea would be to raise property taxes in order to avoid cuts.
Due to prices and home sizes, the Tri-Lakes area tends to draw families, the types of families that make schools a high priority. Given the current desirability of Lewis Palmer schools, specifically as they effect real estate prices, I think the increase in property taxes needs to be carefully considered.
The Tri-Lakes area already has a substantial inventory of homes on the market. Any negative impact on the quality of the schools reputation or their actual standing in the state would certainly effect home prices, down the road.
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