Last fall, when the Brentwood School District received its pre-election survey results from ExcellenceK12, district leaders thought they knew what direction they would be heading for the April 2020 bond election.
The survey was intended to determine what to do with Brentwood’s two elementary schools – McGrath and Mark Twain – whose average age was 73 years and were in need of major upgrades and repairs.
“I am a strong believer in conducting pre-election surveys,” said Sam Rayburn, director of communications. “I have always had the philosophy the more information you have the better. Brentwood is a small community, so you can have one or two loud voices. It’s easy to hear the opinions of a few people, but I think it’s important to have scientific and quantitative data to know who your project advocates are before you put anything on a ballot.”
The telephone survey presented respondents with two options for dealing with the aging elementary schools:
- Option 1 – Consolidate Mark Twain and McGrath elementary schools into one campus in a new elementary school on the Mark Twain site.
- Option 2 – Build a new elementary school at the McGrath site and do extensive renovations to the Mark Twain site.
Survey respondents preferred Option 1 over Option 2, 54 percent to 49 percent. And based solely on the survey results, the decision was clear – or so the district thought.
“People were stirred up because they preferred the second option, although the survey showed it with a lower approval rating,” Rayburn said.
The results started a necessary conversation about what district patrons truly wanted and what they would be willing to support.
“There was a group in the community who would advocate for Prop E, as long as it included keeping the two elementary schools,” he said. “People really like having two elementary schools and having them be neighborhood schools. If we had gone solely with the survey results and not discussed them with the community, we probably would have been crushed at the ballot box.”
Once the decision was made for Option 2, the advocacy group went right to work – doing the legwork “and getting out in the community to gain support for keeping the two elementary schools.”
The district also held several community forums, including virtual ones, due to COVID-19.
“We and the advocacy group adapted and changed to the current situation to ensure voters, including the more passive ones, would still support and get out and vote for the option we put on the ballot,” Rayburn said.
The COVID quarantine also raised financial concerns around the community, especially for the patrons who had indicated they wanted to consolidate, instead of keeping both schools open.
“We realized we needed to address the community’s financial needs and reduce our footprint through some sort of consolidation,” he said. “We did this by deciding we will consolidate the Brentwood Early Childhood Center into one of our elementary schools.”
Additionally, with COVID delaying the bond election until June, the district was able to extend the conversation and continue advocating for keeping both schools.
“There was a concern our voter turnout would be low, due to COVID, and would either help or hurt our results,” he said. “But we worked with our citizens group and did contactless voter outreach to ensure we got the vote out.”
As a result, Prop E received 65% of the vote, which was more than enough to meet the 4/7th majority to pass the bond.
When the construction is complete, both schools will have secure building entrances with a visitor management system; better accessibility, such as ramps and lifts; improved science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) lab spaces; updated electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems; and flexible learning spaces.
Yet the bond would have not been successful had the district not conducted the pre-election survey and started the conversation to determine what its patrons really wanted.
“Using a pre-election survey to gather scientific data from our community was invaluable in helping us to have conversations with our community about our needs and priorities,” said Dr. Brian Lane, Brentwood superintendent. “Combined with other outreach efforts, it helped paint a full picture on what our community values.”
Rayburn added: “A pre-election survey will help you learn whether there is a strong opposition to your bond proposal and to know where the community stands now. It helps you to know what you need to do and is a starting point for where you need to begin the conversation of who you need to convince and who is already on your side. You don’t know what you don’t know and a pre-election survey helps you get the answers you need.”
To ensure you are getting the information you need, as well as community support, for your next bond election, call us today for a pre-election survey consultation at 913-484-0920.
