Montezuma Cortez School District RE-1 2024 Ballot Measure Survey

Magellan Strategies is pleased to present the topline results of a survey of 987 voters within the Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1. The interviews were conducted from June 19th – 26th, 2024.

Magellan Strategies conducted a ballot measure opinion survey for Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 to assess voter attitudes toward the District and measure support for two potential November 2024 ballot measures — a $70 million bond measure to construct a new elementary school and a mill levy override to increase teacher and paraprofessional salaries. The District faced a deeply challenging environment heading into any potential ballot campaign, with 58% of respondents holding an unfavorable opinion of the District, 58% disapproving of its job educating students, and 62% believing the District was on the wrong track. Only 26% agreed that the District was fiscally responsible and spent taxpayer money wisely, while 48% disagreed. The most common concerns cited by skeptics included excessive administrative spending, lack of budget transparency, poor leadership, high teacher turnover, and a perception that resources were being directed away from core educational priorities.

Despite the challenging trust environment, 62% of respondents said the District should apply for a BEST grant from the Colorado Department of Education to help fund school building renovations or new construction, recognizing the need for capital investment even among those who were skeptical of the District’s management. When presented with the $70 million bond measure before receiving any additional information, 39% said they would vote yes and 47% said they would vote no, with 14% undecided — a deficit that reflected the District’s unfavorable standing with voters rather than opposition to the concept of a new elementary school itself.

The survey then tested a series of informational statements about the condition of the existing elementary school facilities to gauge their effect on bond support. The initial message about consolidating approximately 800 students from Mesa and Kemper Elementary schools and 90 preschool students into a new facility with capacity for 900 students actually produced a net negative result, with 45% more likely to reject the bond compared to 34% more likely to approve, suggesting that the consolidation framing raised concerns about school size and community identity rather than building support.

However, messages focused on the deteriorating physical condition of the existing buildings proved more persuasive. Learning that Mesa Elementary was built in 1960 and Kemper Elementary in 1957, and that both were in dire need of updated plumbing, heating, and electrical systems, each moved 46% of respondents toward approval compared to 38-39% toward rejection — a meaningful improvement from the uninformed baseline. The message that failing to pass the bond would force the District to face large and costly decisions about repairing both buildings moved 48% toward approval and only 35% toward rejection, as did the disclosure that both schools struggled to maintain appropriate temperatures due to heating systems more than 50 years old. The message about separate and safer student pickup areas for the new consolidated facility produced the strongest net positive result of the bond messages tested, moving 50% toward approval and only 34% toward rejection.

After being presented with all informational statements about the bond measure, support rose modestly to 44% in favor and 41% opposed, with 15% undecided — a 5-point improvement in yes support from the pre-information baseline of 39%. Supporters of the bond cited safety and comfort concerns in the existing buildings, the long-term cost efficiency of building new compared to ongoing repairs, the opportunity to create a modern learning environment, and the benefits of consolidating multiple aging facilities into one unified campus. Opponents cited distrust in the District’s administration and financial management, a strong preference for smaller community-based schools over consolidated facilities, general tax burden concerns, and skepticism rooted in the District’s handling of previous construction projects.

The mill levy override to increase teacher and paraprofessional salaries showed considerably stronger voter support than the bond measure, both before and after informational messaging. At baseline, 60% of respondents said they would vote yes on the mill levy override and only 27% said they would vote no — a reflection of widespread recognition that teacher compensation was inadequate. The survey tested four informational messages supporting the mill levy override, all of which produced strong net positive movement. Learning that Montezuma-Cortez teacher base salaries were tied for the lowest among nine comparable districts and more than $11,000 below Durango moved 63% toward approval. The messages that teachers were leaving the District for higher-paying neighboring districts, that 205 teachers would receive a $10,000 raise, and that 70 paraprofessionals would receive a $3,000 raise each moved between 64% and 65% toward approval. After the informational messages, post-information support for the mill levy override held steady at 60% in favor and 26% opposed, indicating that the baseline level of support was largely locked in and resistant to erosion.

When asked how they would vote if both measures appeared on the same November ballot, 31% said they would vote yes on both, 22% said they would vote no on both, 16% said they would vote yes on the mill levy override but no on the bond, and only 7% said they would vote yes on the bond but no on the mill levy override, with 24% undecided. The data indicated that the mill levy override to increase teacher salaries held a commanding advantage over the bond measure and represented the stronger of the two potential ballot campaigns. For the bond measure to succeed, the survey findings suggested the District would need to make a substantial investment in rebuilding public trust through demonstrated fiscal transparency, community engagement, and a clearer emphasis on the safety and infrastructure needs of the existing buildings rather than the consolidation benefits of a new facility.