Education

After patiently idling in a line of cars in line for several minutes, it’s finally your turn. You ease your car into the designated spot, and suddenly a dozen high-schoolers surround it, sponges in hand. A parent volunteer sprays a sharp jet of water on the hood. And, after a few minutes’ cleaning, a barrage of towels descends, swirling around the windows and creating a brief respite of shade from the hot August sun.

After months of deliberation, the Jeffco school board on Aug. 2 formally approved resolutions to put a proposed $535 million bond issue and a property-tax increase that would generate $33 million annually on the November ballot.

At last week’s special meeting of the board, members voted unanimously to put both measures on the ballot this fall, saying it’s time for the district to put its financial future into its own hands.

The Jeffco school board on June 2 wrapped up two key priorities for the end of fiscal 2015-16: approval of agreements between Jeffco Public Schools and its two primary employee unions and approval of the district’s budget for fiscal 2016-17.

In a unanimous vote last week, the board formally approved the ratified contract agreement between the district and the Jeffco Education Association. The five-year agreement includes $14.1 million in annual raises and $10.4 million for a one-time pay increase.

Jeffco students are largely outperforming national averages when it comes to reading and math, but semester-to-semester growth is lacking.

According to the Jeffco school district’s presentation of its year-long Measures of Academic Progress, student scores in math and reading improved over the last year, with about 60 percent of all students in grades three through 10 scoring in the high-average or above-average range for math and reading.