Poll to study why school bond lost
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

Oak Park school officials are considering conducting a poll to determine why voters did not support the H6 school bond measure in November.

The bond, which would have helped pay for repairs and renovations to school buildings, failed to generate the two-thirds vote needed to pass.

A poll proposal is expected to be presented at the next Board of Education meeting on Jan. 16. John Fairbank, a partner with Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin and Associates, a Santa Monica opinion research company, recommended a 20-minute sampling of at least 300 to 400 residents.

Although the cost of the poll was not discussed at the Dec. 12 Board of Education meeting, a Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin employee estimated the survey could cost as much as $25,000 depending on how many people are polled and how many questions are included in the survey.

Fairbank recommends postelection polls be conducted within a couple of months of an election.

"Don't you want the information early to have a strategy and sense of what voters are thinking?" Fairbank said. "It makes time, money and communication much more effective."

There were mixed feelings about the need for a poll. Board member Mary Rees suggested delaying the survey until just prior to the next bond measure, which could be in June 2008.

"I'd rather see this money spent on technology, programs and other needs," Rees said.

Oak Park district Superintendent Tony Knight said he hoped a poll would help the district learn what "people's attitudes are toward a parcel tax and bond measure on the same ballot."

Several residents spoke against paying for a survey, suggesting the board contact residents directly.

"I don't really think it's the pollsters' job to figure out what went wrong," said resident Ken Kossoff. "What you ought to do is get out there yourselves and talk to people and not only those with 'yes' signs on their lawns."

Board members discussed the ongoing challenges and frustrations of communicating with the community.

"It's hard to get people to come out to meetings but we have to find a better way of getting information from the community about what they think and getting information to them about the district's needs," board member Jan Iceland said.

There is more to the survey process than asking about the failed bond measure, according to Fairbank.

"We don't come in here and have a formula for figuring out why it didn't pass, but how you can understand voters in a scientific way so you can target who they are," Fairbank said.

Fairbank said he believes there would be a low refusal rate, especially among those with children in the schools.

"Many voters feel that nobody listens to them, that nobody really cares that much about what they think," Fairbank said. "Voters like to express their opinions."

School officials can listen in on survey phone calls. But the poll company would not disclose that it is working for the school district in order to make respondents feel comfortable expressing their views, according to Fairbank.

"These measures are a way of allowing people to express their opinions in a very safe manner," Fairbank said. "They have no idea who we are, as opposed to talking to a board member or parent."

The survey would analyze what information voters received about H6- - phone calls, mail, or newspaper editorials. If approved, the board discussed conducting the poll by March.

"I'm afraid if we don't do the right things it will have a disastrous effect on the community," board member Cindy Vinson said.