The Garden City Telegram
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Results show support for replacing high school
Published 2/19/2008 in None : Area coverage
By EMILY BEHLMANN
ebehlmann@gctelegram.com
USD 457 residents generally see a need to address high school overcrowding, and they're leaning toward a larger school to replace Garden City High School, instead of a second high school, researcher Rick Nobles told the Board of Education Monday night.
However, the phone survey Nobles' firm conducted showed mixed results on the tax burden citizens would be willing to shoulder for a new school.
The board commissioned the firm DeSieghardt Strategic Communications of Salina to conduct the survey. Researchers completed 400 of the 10-minute surveys last month, conducting 100 in each of four quadrants bisected by Kansas Avenue and Main Street.
The survey sought input on how patrons feel the district is performing, their preference for and willingness to pay for facility ideas, and their overall interest in school news.
For board members, the crux of the survey -- and the crux of the district-wide facility plan they're developing -- was a solution to the high school crowding issue. All on the board have expressed a need to address the concern, likely with a building project that would require a bond issue to go on the ballot by November.
The board has been wrestling with the two options recommended by a community/staff study group -- replacing GCHS with a new, larger high school or adding a second high school to the district.
On the survey, 43 percent of respondents said they would "strongly favor" or "favor" the idea of replacing GCHS with a new, larger high school, while 33 percent said they would "strongly oppose" or "oppose." Others said they didn't know or that it would depend on the cost.
When asked about a second high school, 37 percent said they would "strongly favor" or "favor," while 46 percent said they would "strongly oppose" or "oppose" the idea.
The results don't present a "loud and clear winner," the survey report said, but they show the community support is leaning toward a specific direction -- a single high school.
Past failed bond issue votes in 1998 and 2000 also have shown opposition to a second high school in the community.
On last month's survey, top reasons mentioned for opposing a second high school included comments that it would create rivalry and separate friends, and that the "population isn't big enough to support two high schools."
Those who liked the idea of two schools, however, said it could reduce class sizes, make it "easier to operate and maintain" and provide more opportunities for extracurricular participation.
A slim majority of those questioned -- 53 percent -- indicated they would be willing to pay up to $150 annually on a $100,000 home for a bond issue. An additional 3 percent said they'd accept paying $100, and 3 percent said they'd pay $67.
But Nobles emphasized the survey has a margin of error of plus/minus 5 percent. He also discouraged the board from counting too much on the "tax tolerance" indicated on the survey, as a potential election is several months away, and the nation's economy is uncertain.
"Clearly, there is work to be done, but you have passable proposals in place," Nobles said.
Another survey topic was a concept the district has been discussing for the younger grades -- converting elementary and intermediate schools into kindergarten-through-sixth-grade centers. Currently, elementaries stop at fourth grade, and intermediate centers teach fifth and sixth.
On the survey, 66 percent of patrons said they would "support" or "strongly support" a conversion that kept students at one school through sixth grade.
"In our world, that's a slam dunk," Nobles said, adding that any idea with support beyond 65 percent shows the move would have the public's blessings.
Nobles said the results on public perception of the district were fairly positive, especially in areas focused on what happens in the classroom.
The Board of Education's performance received a score of 3.92, with a 4.0 representing a grade of B. It was the highest school board score Nobles said he has ever seen in 16 years of conducting similar surveys.
Respondents gave the lowest grades to "value for tax dollars spent," class sizes and graduation rates.
Nobles said the survey showed strong public interest in what happens in the school district, with patrons getting news from a combination of third-party sources. The Garden City Telegram was the No. 1 source, with 62 percent of respondents saying they consult it frequently, and 23 percent sometimes. "Friends and neighbors" was next, followed by teachers, the board and principals.
Nobles said the heavy interest -- greater than in many districts the firm has studied -- is a good sign.
The firm has used surveys in about 45 school districts considering bond issues, Nobles said. The cost of the research in USD 457 was capped at $13,800.
Board member Gail Dunford said she thought the results were encouraging, and that she's glad the board used the survey to seek input.
The results are likely to play a role in the decision-making process, board member Bruce Reichmuth said.
"For me, I will take the results very seriously," he said.
The board is aiming to hash out a district-wide facility plan at a retreat starting at 8 a.m. March 8.
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