Area Vocational Districts

C.R.S. tit. 23, art. 61.5
in effect

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-101 Formation - petition of electors

23-61.5-101. Formation - petition of electors. (1) Any area or part of an area of the state which is designated by the state board for community colleges and occupational education as an area to be served by an area technical college and which also contains a local college district which is designated as an area technical college pursuant to article 60 of this title may be formed as an area vocational district as provided in this part 1. (2) An area vocational district may be formed upon the petition of five hundred eligible electors as defined in section 23-61.5-104. If the petition is for the formation of an area vocational district consisting of an area within a single county, it shall be filed with the county clerk and recorder of the county, and, if the petition is for the formation of an area vocational district situated in two or more counties, a copy of the petition shall be filed with the county clerk and recorder of each county in which a part of the district is located. The petition shall also set forth the rate of the levy which will be imposed to meet expenses during the fiscal year which immediately follows the year in which the election is held.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-102 Election to organize

23-61.5-102. Election to organize. Upon receipt of the petition provided in section 23-61.5-101, the county clerk and recorder shall give notice to the eligible electors of the respective school districts located in the area of the proposed area vocational district that at the next regular biennial school election, or at a special election which may be called for the purpose, the question of organizing an area vocational district will be submitted to them.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-104 Eligible electors - conduct of election

23-61.5-104. Eligible electors - conduct of election. (1) An eligible elector is an elector who has complied with the registration provisions of article 2 of title 1, C.R.S., and who resides within the jurisdiction of the area vocational district. At the time and place of the election, the electors shall proceed to vote by ballot on the question of whether or not the proposed district shall be organized. The ballot shall also contain the rate of the levy to be imposed to meet expenses during the fiscal year which immediately follows the year in which the election is held. Those in favor of the organization shall vote for the organization and those opposed shall vote against the organization. (2) All elections authorized under this article shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of articles 1 to 13 of title 1, C.R.S. The county clerk and recorder in each county in which a part of the district is located shall be the designated election official for an organizational election. Thereafter the designated election official shall be the secretary of the board unless otherwise provided by the board.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-106 Record of votes

23-61.5-106. Record of votes. (1) If more than a majority of the votes cast on the question of organizing an area vocational district are in favor of the organization, the district shall be formed in accordance with the provisions of this part 1. (2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 92, p. 846, § 46, effective January 1, 1993.) (3) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent the filing of a subsequent petition for the formation of a similar area vocational district.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-107 Board of control - members and terms - meetings - officers

23-61.5-107. Board of control - members and terms - meetings - officers. (1) Each area vocational district established pursuant to this part 1 shall have a board of control, referred to in this article as the "board". The board shall consist of the members of the board of control of the local college district contained in the area vocational district and one member from each of the school districts contained in the area vocational district, who shall be appointed by the school district's board of directors for a term of three years. (2) The board shall meet and select from among its members a president, a secretary, and a treasurer. The board shall prescribe by resolution the duties of said officers. In addition to other powers provided by resolution, the president shall preside over meetings of the board and shall vote as a member of the board. (3) The regular meetings of the board shall be held as the board shall decide; except that there shall be no less than four regular meetings each year. Additional or special meetings may be held upon call of the president or a majority of the board. The secretary of the board shall notify the members of all meetings. All special and regular meetings of the board shall be held at locations which are within the boundaries of the district or which are within the boundaries of any county in which the district is located, in whole or in part, or in any county so long as the meeting location does not exceed twenty miles from the district boundaries. The provisions of this subsection (3) governing the location of meetings may be waived only if the following criteria are met: (a) The proposed change of location of a meeting of the board appears on the agenda of a regular or special meeting of the board; and (b) A resolution is adopted by the board stating the reason for which a meeting of the board is to be held in a location other than under the provisions of this subsection (3) and further stating the date, time, and place of such meeting.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-108 District - body corporate

23-61.5-108. District - body corporate. Each regularly organized area vocational district which may be formed as provided in this part 1 is declared to be a body corporate, by the name and style of ".............. Area Vocational District", and in that name may hold property and be a party to suits and contracts, the same as municipal corporations in this state.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-109 Powers of board

23-61.5-109. Powers of board. (1) In addition to any other powers granted by law to the board, such board shall have the following powers: (a) To have and use a corporate seal; (b) To sue and be sued in its own name; (c) To incur debts, liabilities, and obligations; (d) To employ agents and employees; (e) To cooperate and contract with the state or federal government or any agencies or instrumentalities thereof and to apply for and receive grants or financial assistance from any of such entities; (f) To act as and on behalf of the state of Colorado pursuant to a statutory authorization; (g) To acquire, hold, lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property, commodity, or service; (h) To adopt, by resolution, regulations necessary for the accomplishment or performance of the powers granted by law; (i) To exercise any other powers which are essential to carrying out the provisions of this article; (j) To do or perform any acts authorized by this section by means of an agent or by contract with any person, firm, or corporation; (k) To provide for the necessary expenses of the board in the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties and reimburse a board member for necessary expenses incurred by him in the performance of his official duties, whether within or without the territorial limits of the district.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-110 Property tax - vocational services

23-61.5-110. Property tax - vocational services. Each area vocational district, acting through its board, has the power to impose an ad valorem property tax against property in the district to raise revenue for the purpose of meeting the cost of the postsecondary vocational services provided within the district by the area technical college which serves and is contained in the district, including but not limited to the cost of capital construction.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-111 Area vocational districts subject to local government revenue-raising limitation

23-61.5-111. Area vocational districts subject to local government revenue-raising limitation. For the purposes of part 3 of article 1 of title 29, C.R.S., a board shall not be deemed to be a school board.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-112 Additions to district - procedure

23-61.5-112. Additions to district - procedure. (1) If any part of the area designated by the state board for community colleges and occupational education as an area to be served by an area technical college desires to be annexed to an existing area vocational district, it may do so by the following procedure: (a) By obtaining approval of the existing area vocational district. The approval is given only upon a majority vote of the eligible electors of the existing area vocational district as expressed by a majority polled at the time of the regular biennial school election held in the area vocational district. The election must be called only upon the affirmative vote of the board. (b) By obtaining approval of the eligible electors residing in the part of the designated area desiring to be annexed voting on the question of annexation at a regular biennial school election. The election must be called only upon the filing of a petition for inclusion with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the part is located or with the county clerk and recorder of each county in which a part is located if the part is located in more than one county. The petition must be signed by ten percent of the eligible electors who reside in the part. The provisions of sections 23-61.5-104 and 23-61.5-106 apply to the election. If more than a majority of all votes cast at the election are in favor of the inclusion, the part is included in the area vocational district.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-113 Dissolution of district

23-61.5-113. Dissolution of district. Any area vocational district may be dissolved in the following manner: A plan for the dissolution of the area vocational district may be submitted to the eligible electors of the area vocational district at a special election held for that purpose. The plan shall provide for the payment of all district debts and liabilities and the distribution of all district assets. If the eligible electors authorize the dissolution by a vote of the majority of electors voting at the special election, the board shall proceed to carry out the plan so authorized and, upon accomplishment thereof, shall file its certificate of that fact with the county clerk and recorder of the county wherein the district is situate. Thereupon, the district shall be considered dissolved. If any property or funds remain in the hands of the board, credit after the dissolution of the property or funds shall be distributed as provided in the plan of dissolution for the distribution of the assets of the area vocational district.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-201 Procedure

23-61.5-201. Procedure. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the board shall determine in each year the amount of money necessary to be raised by taxation and shall fix a rate of levy which, when levied upon every dollar of valuation for assessment of taxable property within the district, will raise the amount required by the district annually to supply funds to defray its expenses, including but not limited to the cost of postsecondary vocational services provided by the area technical college and capital construction. (2) The first rate of levy to be imposed shall be the mill levy which was contained in the petition for organization and which was voted upon in the election for organization. Thereafter, the rate of levy shall be determined as provided for in subsection (1) of this section. (3) In accordance with the schedule prescribed by section 39-5-128, C.R.S., the board shall certify to the board of county commissioners of each county within the district, or having a portion of its territory within the district, the rate so fixed in order that, at the time and in the manner required by law for the levying of taxes, such board of county commissioners shall levy such tax upon the valuation for assessment of all taxable property within the district.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-202 County officers to levy and collect - lien

23-61.5-202. County officers to levy and collect - lien. It is the duty of the body having authority to levy taxes within each county to levy the taxes provided by section 23-61.5-201. It is the duty of all officials charged with the duty of collecting taxes to collect such taxes at the time and in the form and manner and with like interest and penalties as other taxes are collected and when collected to pay the same to the district. The payment of such collections shall be made monthly to the treasurer of the district. All taxes levied under this part 2, together with interest thereon and penalties for default in payment thereof, and all costs of collecting the same shall constitute, until paid, a perpetual lien on and against the property taxed, and such lien shall be on a parity with the tax lien of other general taxes.

C.R.S. § 23-61.5-203 Sale for delinquencies

23-61.5-203. Sale for delinquencies. If the taxes levied are not paid, delinquent real property shall be sold at the regular tax sale for the payment of said taxes, interest, and penalties in the manner provided by the statutes of this state for selling real property for the nonpayment of general taxes. If there are no bids at said tax sale for the property so offered, said property shall be struck off to the county, and the county shall account to the district in the same manner as provided by law for accounting for school, town, and city taxes. Delinquent personal property shall be distrained and sold as provided by law.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-23.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

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