District overview
School District 27J
Funding structure, how it compares to peers, and where major projects stand.
Who runs 27J schools and how are they funded?
School District 27J serves Brighton, Commerce City, Thornton and nearby areas in Adams County with about 23,000 students. A seven-member elected Board of Education governs under a 'Policy Governance' model and meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays; Superintendent Will Pierce is the chief executive. Day-to-day costs come from the state school finance formula. Voters have also approved bonds for buildings (about $248 million in 2015 and $550 million in 2021) and a 2022 mill levy override. Citizen oversight committees review spending on the bonds and the override.
Bonds
The Aug. 26 recording says the final 2021 bond issuance in May 2026 used all the bonds voters authorized in 2021. The board considered Series 2026A bonds of up to $113.6 million and refunding bonds of up to $149.4 million in April.
Building plans
$92 million set aside for a planned Middle School 7 was reallocated toward a $37 million Rocky Vista High School classroom wing, leaving about $60 million for a PK-8 school.
Governance
Tom Green is president and Melinda Carbajal is vice president. Four seats were filled in Nov. 2025; four more seats have terms ending in 2027.
Budget
The board adopted the 2026-27 budget and fee schedule on June 10; the budget documents were attachments and were not collected.
Most figures here come from agenda text and auto-generated captions. Totals for the adopted 2026-27 budget, enrollment and final votes were not in the collected records.
Where the district stands
Major projects
Rocky Vista High School phase 2 classroom wing
fundedThe bond oversight committee recommended in June and the superintendent approved moving funds from a planned Middle School 7 to complete Rocky Vista High School to its planned capacity.
- Oversight committee recommends reallocation (reported Aug. 26)
- Reported to the board
Funding
2021 voter-approved bond (reallocated funds)
Series 2026A and 2026B bond sales
issued per Aug. 26 reportThe board considered authorizing up to $113.6 million of new bonds and up to $149.4 million of refunding bonds on April 22.
- Authorizing resolution on agenda
- Final 2021 bond issuance closed in May (day not stated; per Aug. 26 report)
Funding
General obligation bonds repaid by property taxes
The STEAD School charter renewal
renewal contract on agendaA renewal contract for June 1, 2026 to June 30, 2031 was on the May 27 agenda.
- Renewal process study session
- Renewal contract on agenda
Funding
Not stated
Recent news
View the news feed →Resources
Practical guides to school phone policies, district budgets, and administrator hiring.
Explore resources →Built from 39 board records collected from the district's Diligent Community portal (agendas for regular meetings, study sessions, planning sessions and joint meetings, Nov. 2025 to Nov. 2026) and auto-generated captions from five board-meeting recordings on the district YouTube channel. Minutes and attachments were not collected.
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