Denver Public Schools wants another $44 million a year from property taxpayers—even as the district's property tax haul has already surged 40 percent in five years and its school board can't stop feuding long enough to govern.

The Denver Board of Education is asking voters to approve a mill levy override in November that would hike property taxes by $44 million annually to fund $1,750 raises for all district employees, plus mental health support and career-tech programs. The raises would come on top of compensation already promised through union contracts, and the Denver Post notes that DPS pay is already competitive statewide—with experienced teachers holding master's degrees at the very top of the scale.

The numbers tell the story the board doesn't want voters hearing. Denver Public Schools collected $1.01 billion from 48 mills in 2020. By last year, that climbed to $1.41 billion from 52 mills, according to Denver County's abstract of assessment. State contributions also rose—from $239 million in 2019-20 to $265 million in 2025-26—despite declining enrollment. The district has more money and fewer kids, and it still can't balance its books. DPS projects it will have to cut $28 million between 2027-28 and 2030-31.

Then there's the board itself. Directors have wasted time and money investigating one another, proposed spending a million dollars to fire a superintendent the Denver Post editorial board called "perfectly good," and held an eight-hour retreat to calm tensions—only for drama to spill back into public days later. The Post, which endorsed the no vote, framed the ask as premature and urged voters to wait for a functioning board to bring a proposal forward.

Meanwhile, in Lewiston, Maine, institutional priorities are failing students from a different direction. The Air Force deactivated Lewiston High School's Junior ROTC program after nearly 40 years, citing noncompliance with facility requirements. The school provided two closets—one for equipment, one for uniforms—a classroom, and a marching space. But the uniform room shares space with a teacher photocopier and contains a roof-access hatch, and the equipment room also stores graduation supplies for the principal.

Superintendent Jake Langlais pushed back, calling the spaces reasonable and noting that seven teachers at the school don't even have their own classrooms to store supplies. "It doesn't make sense for our kids," Langlais said. The Air Force said it gave Lewiston a three-year remediation window and documented deficiencies on three separate site visits before pulling the plug.

Two school systems, two failures. Denver's board can't stop fighting each other long enough to justify the billion-plus they already collect, so they're asking for more. Lewiston can't find a secure closet for uniforms, so kids lose a program that served hundreds. In both cases, the people who pay the price are working families—either through higher property taxes or lost opportunities for their kids.

The question for Denver voters in November is simple: what exactly are you paying for?