Patron Insight Survey Summary

KSCB news will take one final look at the Patron Insight survey that talked with 400 patrons from the USD 480 school district. A portion of the summary of the survey according to Patron Insight is as follows.

The people have a positive view of the school buildings, the people who work there, and the educational product they produce. They believe that the teachers, the community, and the curriculum are the districtź??s strong suits. They have numerous suggestions for improvement including better teacher pay, more listening to the district, and more focus on academics than on athletics.

The patrons believe the economy was the primary reason the bond failed, along with the perception that the district doesnź??t spend money wisely, and a lack of interest in paying for artificial turf. The people get their news about the district mainly from friends and neighbors.

According to the survey the people are measurably concerned about several aspects of the relationship between the people and the district. The people donź??t have any significantly different ideas on how to get the word out more effectively the next time the school district tries a bond though. According to Patron Insight this creates a significant issue when asking support at the ballot box, and without the sense of connection the default for many people is to distrust the proposal. Patron Insight states that the focus must be on engaging the community at a significant level to build up a stronger sense of community so that when the next ballot box proposal appears that the people with concerns will feel as though they have been heard.