BUCKEYE VALLEY LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT FACILITIES SURVEY RESULTS
401 Registered Voters in the Buckeye Valley Local School District, within Delaware County, Ohio Telephone Interviews Using a Combination of Valid Residential and Cellular Telephone Listings +/- 4.89% Overall Estimated Margin of Error, with a Confidence Interval of 9.78% Within Which the Results Could Vary February 19 February 22, 2013 Data was Stratified so that the Differences in Vital Characteristics, such as Age, Gender and Geography are Represented in Proportion to Their Percentages of the Electorate Due to rounding, not all results add to 100%, and the data is presented in a different order than the questions were asked Methods
The Opinion Environment
There is a high degree of general contentment and, presumably, satisfaction among residents 80 69 60 40 20 17 11 3 0 Right direction Wrong track Mixed Unsure Generally speaking, would you say that your community is going in the right direction, or has it gotten off onto the wrong track?
The public seems to have favorable views of the economy, so it may not impede them from supporting worthy new initiatives that require more taxes 60 40 41 36 22 20 1 0 Excellent/good Fair Poor/very poor Unsure How would you rate the current state of the local economy?
Despite local optimism about the economy, personal and household finances have not caught-up, which may make the public timid about raising taxes 60 45 40 34 20 20 0 Better Stayed the same Not as good Unsure Over the past year or so, would you say that your financial situation has gotten better than it was before, stayed about the same or is not as good as it was before? 1
60 44 40 32 24 20 0 Better Stayed the same Not as good Unsure Over the past year or so, would you say that your financial situation has gotten better than it was before, stayed about the same or is not as good as it was before? Among Current & Future Parents n=117 0
There also is modest sensitivity to the rate of taxation, which could prove to be a greater stumbling block to building a consensus 60 53 42 40 20 1 4 0 Too high Pretty fair Too low Unsure Generally speaking, would you say that property taxes in your community are too high, mostly pretty fair or too low?
80 66 60 40 32 20 1 1 0 Too high Pretty fair Too low Unsure Generally speaking, would you say that property taxes in your community are too high, mostly pretty fair or too low? Among Current & Future Parents
Schools & Education
Unlike the community, voters exhibit restless and discord about the current state of the school system, which creates an environment that make consensus difficult to find 60 40 33 40 24 20 4 0 Right direction Wrong track Mixed Unsure Thinking about the Buckeye Valley Local School District that serves your community, would you say that it is generally going in the right direction, or has it gotten off onto the wrong track?
60 42 46 40 20 9 3 0 Right direction Wrong track Mixed Unsure Thinking about the Buckeye Valley Local School District that serves your community, would you say that it is generally going in the right direction, or has it gotten off onto the wrong track? Among Current Parents n=99
13% Quality of education is good 11% Scores and ratings are high 10% Have not heard anything bad 8% School system has been financially responsible 7% Good teachers 7% Improving infrastructure 6% Moving towards having one school 5% Like the administrators and principals 4% Keeping up with growth and enrollment 3% Seems fine/heard from others that it is good 3% Communicates well with the community 2% School system is better than others 2% Approve of recent decisions/have made good decisions 9% Other 12% Unsure What is the biggest reason you feel that it is going in the right direction? Open-ended Question n=131
I have a son in elementary school and I m happy with the learning and the teachers. What is the biggest reason you feel that it is going in the right direction? Verbatim Response
I think the teachers have the right idea. I think they are open to new things and they seem to care about our children very much. What is the biggest reason you feel that it is going in the right direction? Verbatim Response
They seem to have a good curriculum. I have some nieces and nephews who attended schools in the district and I don't know more than what I heard from them and others. What is the biggest reason you feel that it is going in the right direction? Verbatim Response
22% Does not represent the interest of communities 16% Mismanagement of funds 7% Opposed to consolidating schools 7% Unhappy with administration or school board 7% Opposed to higher taxes 6% Schools are closing 6% Dissatisfied with quality of education 5% Lack of funding 3% Need to focus on education 3% Unhappy with teacher performance 2% Programs are being cut 2% Lack of community support 1% Have heard negative things 11% Other 2% Unsure What is the biggest reason you feel that it has gotten off onto the wrong track? Open-ended Question n=159
Because they closed down the north elementary school for one and that created lots of problems like overcrowding. What is the biggest reason you feel that it has gotten off onto the wrong track? Verbatim Response
Teachers are too worried about keeping the schools open and less worried about teaching the kids in the schools. Teachers worry about protecting their jobs and not about spending money wisely. What is the biggest reason you feel that it has gotten off onto the wrong track? Verbatim Response
The school board feels they can make all the decisions without the public's input and I feel the taxpayers should have a say. What is the biggest reason you feel that it has gotten off onto the wrong track? Verbatim Response
Despite restlessness and disenchantment about finances, the public seems to place a high value and premium on the quality of education being offered to students Overall, how would you rate the quality of education being provided by the Buckeye Valley Local School District? In your opinion, how would you rate the job that the Buckeye Valley Local School District is doing managing and spending its tax dollars? Overall, how would you rate the job the Buckeye Valley Local School District has done communicating with parents and the public, in order to keep them informed? 64 18 4 15 28 32 25 16 37 24 27 14 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Total positive rating Fair Total negative rating Unsure
Overall, how would you rate the quality of education being provided by the Buckeye Valley Local School District? In your opinion, how would you rate the job that the Buckeye Valley Local School District is doing managing and spending its tax dollars? Overall, how would you rate the job the Buckeye Valley Local School District has done communicating with parents and the public, in order to keep them informed? 86 13 10 38 33 21 8 53 21 25 1 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Total positive rating Fair Total negative rating Unsure Among Current Parents
There appears to be a deep division among the public about whether to make more cuts or seek a levy to preserve services 40 40 43 20 6 11 0 Make more cuts Seek approval for levy As you may or may not know, because of uncertainty regarding future state funding, the Buckeye Local School District will likely be facing a deficit, in which it will be spending more than it is receiving in funding. As a result, do you think that the school district should Both Unsure
70 67 60 50 40 30 20 10 40 43 15 49 36 50 35 56 24 47 37 0 OVERALL Current parents Non-parents Republicans Democrats Unaffiliated More cuts Seek levy As you may or may not know, because of uncertainty regarding future state funding, the Buckeye Local School District will likely be facing a deficit, in which it will be spending more than it is receiving in funding. As a result, do you think that the school district should
70 60 64 50 40 30 40 43 40 49 27 45 33 47 36 20 10 0 OVERALL 18 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 59 60 and older More cuts Seek levy As you may or may not know, because of uncertainty regarding future state funding, the Buckeye Local School District will likely be facing a deficit, in which it will be spending more than it is receiving in funding. As a result, do you think that the school district should
Buildings & Facilities
As you may or may not know, this past August voters in the Buckeye Valley Local School District rejected a combined.25 percent income tax for additional operating dollars and a $30 million dollar bond issue to build a single elementary school on Coover Road, which was part of a proposed plan to replace the three existing elementary schools in various parts of the District.
There is very little public support for the idea of a consolidated elementary school, which may have been presaged by the August election results 80 60 57 40 31 20 11 0 Good idea Bad idea Mixed Unsure Regardless of how you may have voted on this issue, generally speaking, do you think it is a good or bad idea to build a single elementary school on Coover Road to replace the three existing elementary schools in various parts of the District? 2
70 60 50 40 30 20 31 57 36 58 26 61 28 55 41 51 10 0 OVERALL Current/future parents High propensity Moderate propensity Low propensity Good idea Bad idea Regardless of how you may have voted on this issue, generally speaking, do you think it is a good or bad idea to build a single elementary school on Coover Road to replace the three existing elementary schools in various parts of the District?
39% Will create transportation problems/too far away 11% It s not necessary 8% Dislike consolidating schools/prefer small schools 8% Would rather renovate current schools 6% Is bad for the community 5% Cost is too high 5% Will be too crowded 3% Can t afford it/poor economy 2% Taxes are high enough 1% Opposed to having all ages in one location 11% Other 1% Unsure What is the biggest reason that you feel it is a bad idea? Open-ended Question n=234
I think that the extensive amount of time on the bus for young children would be a problem; the schools are spread out throughout the communities and you would lose the feel of the community by building a mega school. What is the biggest reason that you feel it is a bad idea? Verbatim Response
I don't think there is anything wrong with the schools there. I think the students will get more attention the way it is currently. Having all elementary students in one school will have some kids neglected. What is the biggest reason that you feel it is a bad idea? Verbatim Response
I guess spending $30 million to save a small amount of money. That's the way it was presented to the district - to save a little bit of money in order to spend $30 million is crazy. Penny-wise, it sounds foolish. What is the biggest reason that you feel it is a bad idea? Verbatim Response
The public is polarized about the decision to close North Elementary School 40 41 39 20 20 0 Favor Oppose Unsure Do you favor or oppose the decision made this past summer to close the North Elementary School, in order to reduce operating costs?
60 50 40 30 41 39 51 43 48 44 46 40 45 35 29 41 20 10 0 O VERALL C urre nt/future pare nts 18 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 59 60 and older Favor Oppose Do you favor or oppose the decision made this past summer to close the North Elementary School, in order to reduce operating costs?
The public is divided about the configuration of the elementary schools 37% 3 elementary schools, which would mean using the existing East and West Elementary School buildings, and re-opening the North Elementary School 26% 2 elementary schools, which would mean just using the existing East and West Elementary School buildings 23% 1 elementary school, which would mean building a larger new building to accommodate all the elementary school students 14% Unsure Supposing for a moment that you were deciding how many elementary schools there would be in the Buckeye Valley Local School District, would you prefer to have... Forced Choice Battery
And so are parents! 40% 3 elementary schools, which would mean using the existing East and West Elementary School buildings, and re-opening the North Elementary School 27% 2 elementary schools, which would mean just using the existing East and West Elementary School buildings 28% 1 elementary school, which would mean building a larger new building to accommodate all the elementary school students 5% Unsure Supposing for a moment that you were deciding how many elementary schools there would be in the Buckeye Valley Local School District, would you prefer to have... Among Current & Future Parents
If forced to choose between just 2 options, a majority support the idea of 3 neighborhood schools over a single one 60 58 40 29 20 13 0 3 neighborhood schools, so there is one in each area of the district A single school, which will cost less to staff and operate Unsure Generally speaking, when leaders are making decisions about how many elementary schools there will be in the Buckeye Valley Local School District, do you think it is more important to have
60 56 40 32 20 12 0 3 neighborhood schools, so there is one in each area of the district A single school, which will cost less to staff and operate Unsure Generally speaking, when leaders are making decisions about how many elementary schools there will be in the Buckeye Valley Local School District, do you think it is more important to have Among Current & Future Parents* * Differences were not statistically significant
There is a no clear or actionable -- consensus among public about the disposition of the buildings North Elementary School building be replaced, renovated or have nothing done to it at this time? East Elementary School building be replaced, renovated or have nothing done to it at this time? West Elementary School building be replaced, renovated or have nothing done to it at this time? 9 28 34 29 5 31 28 36 5 32 34 29 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Replaced Renovated Nothing Unsure In your opinion, should the
North Elementary School building be replaced, renovated or have nothing done to it at this time? East Elementary School building be replaced, renovated or have nothing done to it at this time?* West Elementary School building be replaced, renovated or have nothing done to it at this time? 14 25 38 22 7 34 30 30 6 33 46 15 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Replaced Renovated Nothing Unsure In your opinion, should the Among Current & Future Parents * Differences were not statistically significant
It appears that paying for 3 elementary schools is not as popular as having them Disagree 40% Unsure 8% Agree 51% Do you agree or disagree with people who say that they would be willing to pay more in property taxes, in order to have 3 neighborhood schools, so there is one in each area of the district and students can attend schools closer to their homes?
70 60 50 40 30 51 40 55 39 62 38 54 48 40 41 55 34 20 10 0 O VERALL C urre nt/future pare nts 18 to 29 30 to 44 45 to 59 60 and older Agree Disagree Do you agree or disagree with people who say that they would be willing to pay more in property taxes, in order to have 3 neighborhood schools, so there is one in each area of the district and students can attend schools closer to their homes?
60 40 46 44 41 53 34 58 20 0 High propensity Moderate propensity Low propensity Agree Disagree Do you agree or disagree with people who say that they would be willing to pay more in property taxes, in order to have 3 neighborhood schools, so there is one in each area of the district and students can attend schools closer to their homes?
Conclusion
Voters are ambivalent about the job the District is doing managing its finances, and whether more funding is needed. These indicators portend potential difficulty that an operating levy might encounter, if one is placed before voters for consideration There is not a clear consensus about elementary school facility needs, but survey results unambiguously indicate that there is little support for a single consolidated elementary school The community is polarized on the matter of closing the North Elementary School, and less than half of the respondents said they would prefer re-opening it, and operating all 3 elementary schools Slightly less than half of the respondents said they would be willing to pay more property taxes in order to have 3 neighborhood schools, so such a request could encounter modest resistance from voters, including a notable portion of District parents It appears that the primary point of dissension within the community is money, rather than buildings, which are merely serving as a context for the dialogue about the District s future The fact that nearly two-thirds of the voters rated the quality of education provided by the District as excellent or good indicates that the public is quite satisfied the District s performance of its core function of educating children in the community, and that other tangential matters have not affected views about this aspect Key Findings Re-cap
QUESTIONS?