Survey shows support for small referendum

CLINTONVILLE – When a community survey presented operational referendum possibilities of $3.3 million, $2.95 million, and $2.5 million to the residents of the Clintonville School District, residents said they would be in favor of a referendum of a smaller amount.
The operational referendum results were presented to the Clintonville Board of Education at a meeting held Dec. 22.
Daren Sievers, project manager with School Perceptions, which the district contracted with to conduct the survey, told the board the survey was meant to gauge support of a potential operational referendum the district is considering to include on the the April ballot.
According to Sievers, 1,044 surveys were returned, which equated to a 22.6% response rate.
“That’s an excellent response rate,” Sievers told the board. “Our company average, across our history, is 18%.”

Based on the response rate, the margin for error for the survey was plus or minus 3%, Sievers said.
Of those who responded, 43% were 65 years old or older, 17% were ages 55-64, 16% were ages 35-44, 15% were ages 45-54, 8% were ages 25-34, and 1% were ages 18-24.
A majority of the surveys were completed by residents who reside in the city of Clintonville. They accounted for 44% of the responses. The town of Larrabee comprised 14% of the responses, with 11% of the responses from the town of Matteson residents. Rounding out the top five were the towns of Bear Creek and Belle Plaine, which each comprised 9% of the responses.
Sievers said 75% of the survey respondents do not have children attending a school in the Clintonville School District.
Survey results
When asked if an operational referendum was supported in general, but no dollar amount listed, 39% of non-parents and non-staff in the district supported a referendum, while 37% did not support a referendum, with 24% undecided.
For parents in the district, 51% supported a referendum, while 29% did not support a referendum, with 20% undecided.
Survey respondents were then given the opportunity to indicate their support for the following potential referendum amounts. For each referendum amount option, the school district’s portion of property taxes were projected to decrease.
$3.3 million
According to the survey, if district residents approved a $3.3 million per year for five years operating referendum, it would provide the following:
• Maintain current programs and services.
• Add staff/resources to address academic and social/emotional needs to increase student achievement.
• Renovate the football field to an athletic stadium that would include a new track, jumping pits, entrance, lighting, and field for use by multiple sports and activities.
• Improve outdoor spaces for school and community use.
• Pay off additional debt over five years.
$2.95 million
According to the survey, if district residents approved a $2.95 million per year for five years operating referendum, it would provide the following:
• Maintain current programs and services.
• Add staff/resources to address academic and social/emotional needs to increase student achievement.
• Renovate the football field to an athletic stadium that would include a new track, jumping pits, entrance, lighting, and field for use by multiple sports and activities.
• Pay off additional debt over five years.
$2.5 million
According to the survey, if district residents approved a $2.5 million per year for five years operating referendum, it would provide the following:
• Maintain current programs and services.
• Add staff/resources to address academic and social/emotional needs to increase student achievement.
• Replace and widen the track.
• Pay off additional debt over five years.
For non-parents and non-staff who responded to the survey, 11% supported a $3.3 million referendum, 9% supported a $2.95 million referendum, 18% supported a $2.5 million referendum, 12% supported a smaller referendum, 14% were unsure of their support, and 36% did not support a referendum of any amount.
For parents who responded to the survey, 27% supported a $3.3 million referendum, 9% supported a $2.95 million referendum, 15% supported a $2.5 million referendum, 6% supported a smaller referendum, 18% were unsure of their support, and 25% did not support a referendum of any amount.
Based on those results, Sievers provided the board with School Perceptions’ voter projections for each referendum dollar amount. He said only 15% of voters would approve a $3.3 million referendum, while 24% of voters would support a $2.95 million referendum, 41.3% of voters would approve a $2.5 million referendum, and 51.8% would support a referendum of a smaller dollar amount.
“While the smaller amount looks like it would have a chance to pass, we do have that margin for error (3%) that we need to account for as far as the reliability of this measure,” Sievers said.
According to Sievers, School Perceptions is correct 94% of the time when it makes a prediction as to whether a referendum would pass or not. He said based on the numbers, a $3.3 million, $2.95 million, and $2.5 million referendums would all fail to pass if they went to a vote, with a referendum for a smaller amount “too close to call.”
“Because it’s too close for the margin for error, and we’re still unsure about what that magic dollar amount is, we’re kind of guessing,” Sievers said.
Sievers said the survey also asked residents for their cost-cutting preferences in case a referendum was not approved by voters. The following items were given as cost cutting options: athletics – 44%, community services – 41%, busing routes – 40%, activities/clubs – 36%, dual/college credit – 26%, technology updates – 24%, staff/class sizes – 23%, fine arts – 19%, other – 16%, and safety/security – 11%.