Survey results are in: A majority of Appleton Area School District voters show support for potential $130 million referendum
APPLETON - The majority of voters and staff in the Appleton Area School District are showing support for every component of a potential $130 million referendum, according to a survey conducted in April.
At a special meeting of the school board Monday night, Bill Foster from School Perceptions – the company that executed the survey – said that if the vote were held today, the operational and capital referendum projects, which would end up being two questions on a ballot, would likely be supported.
“These are really good results, really encouraging results,” he said.
The survey results were broken into three groups: staff, parents and all others, which Foster said covers the majority of voters.
Questions about individual projects such as building a new elementary school and renovating the high schools all received support from a majority of all three groups. The final all-in question received majority support, specifically 80% of staff, 73% of parents and 58% of other voters indicated “yes” to supporting the referendum overall.
The survey went out to 44,000 households in the district plus all staff, including those who live outside the district, and any families who open-enroll from outside district boundaries. There were just over 5,500 respondents with a margin of error of +/- 1.33%, Foster said. Almost half of respondents were between the ages of 35 and 54 and another quarter were 65 years old or older.
Foster said survey results from School Perceptions are usually quite predictive. However, one footnote for these results, he said, is the soaring gas prices and other economic changes that are hitting people’s pockets.
Another concern, brought up by board member Ed Ruffolo, is the two referendums the town of Grand Chute is also looking to get on the November ballot.
More: Grand Chute pursues referendums to pay for road improvements and hiring additional police officers
Living in Grand Chute, Ruffolo said he expects high interest and high turnout for the town’s referendums, so he asked if that should be a concern for AASD’s potential referendum. Foster responded to the question by asking if people were aware those referendums were on the table when completing the survey for Appleton.
If they weren’t, voters could get to the ballot and decide they can’t afford one. Of the people who completed the survey, 17% said they were from Grand Chute.
The current cost estimate for taxpayers is an increase of $39 a year for $100,000 of property. The owner of a $200,000 home would pay an additional $78 a year, or an additional $1,560 over the 20-year life of the debt. The owner of a $300,000 home would pay an additional $2,340.
Board Member Deb Truyman asked if there is a concern about the cost of the projects going up and the district needing more money than what’s being asked. Chief Financial Officer Greg Hartjes said the costs presented to the community in the survey already included a 15% contingency for inflation.
Even with the support, there is one remaining question, said Hartjes, who will start as superintendent in July. It still isn’t decided if students attending Houdini Elementary School would continue to attend Einstein Middle School or be switched to Wilson Middle School.
The district held a meeting with Houdini parents at which about 50 parents showed up, but feedback from those events was still pretty split, Hartjes said. So, the district plans to survey all families from Houdini in the next couple weeks to get a better understanding of what they want.
There is no financial difference between the two options.
No votes were taken at the meeting Monday. The board will need a decision in August in order to go to referendum in November, Hartjes said.
Correction: A previously version of this story incorrectly stated the cost of the potential referendum to taxpayers.
Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton Area School District's referendum plan gets survey support
