USD 417 Board of Education President Terry Powell said Thursday that the board is listening and “recalibrating” after the district’s March 3 bond proposal failed.
Powell spoke during a special board meeting called to present results from community bond surveys conducted after the election. The district received 366 total responses, including 265 digital survey responses and 101 paper survey responses.
“We’re not here to present a new plan,” Powell told those attending. “We’re here because your voice matters to this board.”
The survey results were included in a combined digital and paper survey analysis provided to the Council Grove Republican by USD 417 Superintendent Tyson Eslinger. The document was intended to identify areas of agreement, disagreement and concerns for the board to consider before future bond discussions.
The analysis noted that neither survey was a statistically random sample of all district voters. The digital survey skewed toward parents, younger middle-aged residents and Council Grove respondents, while the paper survey skewed older, more geographically distributed and more heavily toward voters who opposed the March bond proposal.
Powell said the responses did not represent all district patrons, but they did provide “directional information” and themes the board should take seriously.
Powell said the March proposal was intended to address facility needs as the current bond nears expiration.
“The community told us very clearly they wanted a different approach, and we are listening,” Powell said.
Safety and security improvements were among the clearest points of agreement. In the digital survey, safety and security at all buildings ranked as the top priority, with 49.4% of respondents ranking it first. In the paper survey, safety and security ranked second.
Limiting the tax impact was also a major theme. In the paper survey, limiting tax impact ranked as the top priority. In the digital survey, it ranked second.
The survey also showed continued interest in career and technical education opportunities at Council Grove Junior Senior High School. CTE ranked fifth in the digital survey and third in the paper survey.
The 1918 building remained a major point of concern. Keeping the 1918 building ranked fourth in both surveys. However, the two survey groups differed on whether demolition should be considered. In the digital survey, 62% supported demolishing the building if the board determined that was the responsible decision. In the paper survey, 80% opposed demolition.
Powell said any future discussion of the 1918 building would need credible, third-party information and should not appear to be based on a predetermined outcome.
The removal of portable classrooms at Council Grove Elementary School showed the largest difference between the two survey groups. In the digital survey, 72% supported removing the portables. In the paper survey, 64% opposed removing them.
“I don’t really know what that tells us, except that there’s no right answer for everyone,” Powell said.
The district analysis said the difference may show that the need for removing portables was not successfully communicated to some residents, or that some respondents rejected the premise of the proposal.
Early childhood expansion ranked low in both surveys. Renovating the annex for early childhood ranked near the bottom in the digital survey and last in the paper survey.
Respondents also differed sharply on what level of tax increase they would support. The previous bond proposal was estimated at $9.58 per (Continued from Page 1) month on a $200,000 home. In the digital survey, 33.6% of respondents said they would support that amount. In the paper survey, only 3.5% supported it.
The $5 per month range received similar support in both groups, with 19.3% support in the digital survey and 20% support in the paper survey. A tax-neutral structure also appeared to have broader appeal than the previous bond amount.
Powell said the survey results indicate patrons may be willing to discuss keeping the current bond rate in place and extending it, but he said the board does not know yet whether that will be part of a future proposal.
The survey also asked respondents to rate the quality of education in USD 417. In the digital survey, 50.6% rated the district’s education quality as excellent or very good. In the paper survey, 34.7% gave the same rating. However, 38.7% of paper survey respondents rated education quality as fair or poor, compared to 13.2% of digital respondents.
“That’s alarming to me,” Powell said, adding that it is an issue the district will take seriously.
The combined analysis said both surveys reflected concern that the bond process was flawed. Respondents said the previous process was rushed, community input was not genuinely incorporated and financial information was incomplete or misleading.
The paper survey also reflected stronger concerns about district leadership, with some respondents calling for a change in leadership.
Powell said board members read every comment submitted through the surveys and that the board did not intend to split the community.
“In all honesty, what we wanted to do was what was best for kids,” he said.
The board does not plan to move immediately into a new bond proposal. Powell said community roundtable meetings are expected to begin in August and September. At those meetings, the board plans to present instructional priorities and related costs, then ask community members to help identify priorities.
Powell said the board will listen to the community, but final decisions rest with the board. If another bond proposal is developed, voters would still decide the question in an election.