The Cherry Creek School Board of Education formally approved a call for a bond and budget election that will set a new course for students, teachers, staff and community members in the coming decades.

According to cherrycreekschools.org, when CCSD only agreed to hear election recommendations, they stated that “excellence in the Cherry Creek School District has always been a moving target — and it always moves up. It’s a standard that shifts with the advent of new technology and the changing demands of our increasingly connected world. In the coming decades, excellence will mean connecting students with a brand new level of technology, innovation and preparation for the demands of the 21st century.”

“Members of the Cherry Creek Board of Education got a glimpse into that future during their regular meeting on March 14, as district officials presented the budget, bond and innovation recommendation. The presentation detailed the district’s anticipated facility, budget and programmatic needs through the year 2021, offering a framework for a budget and bond election that would go to the voters in November, according to cherrycreekschools.org.”

Following the presentation last month, board members unanimously approved the plan during its regular meeting held April 11.

“This is one of the most difficult and yet impactful decisions a school board can make,” CCSD’s Superintendent Dr. Harry Bull said on the CCSD website. “Tonight’s decision is about the future of our children … and the future of all children who will be in Cherry Creek schools.”

The scope of the bond and budget plan goes far beyond immediate improvements to a few buildings in the district. In addition to providing funding for a new elementary and middle school, a host of facility improvements and safety and security updates, the election will decide the fate of a new approach to career education in Cherry Creek.

According to cherrycreekschools.org, the plans call for a stand-alone career and innovation academy that would be open to all high school students in the district. With curriculum rooted in real-world skills and trades ranging from automotive technology and computer science, to aviation and aerospace, the facility would offer students a new kind of bridge into viable careers.

“Chief Financial Officer Guy Bellville pointed out that the district is being underfunded by 50 million annually; since 2008, 306 million has been withheld from Cherry Creek. In that context, the election would seek 23.9 million in a budget (mill levy override) issue, and 250 million in a bond issue,” according to cherrycreekschools.org.

“It is time to ask our constituents whether they will continue to invest in our schools, which is an investment in the future and in our communities,”  Board Treasurer Karen Fisher said before casting her vote for the election, according to the CCSD website.

According to cherrycreekschools.org, “these improvements will pave the way for a meaningful and relevant approach to education for students in the district, even as they take care of important, day-to-day needs.”