Schools to discuss another levy with focus groups
By Jeff Gallatin
North Olmsted
Published Dec. 21, 2005

School district officials plan to take their case for passing a levy to the community again in January.

Superintendent Kurt Stanic said the district is setting up both community meetings between school officials and the public as well as focus groups in which education officials won't be involved.

"We're taking more than one approach in trying to learn what the people want for the schools and the community," Stanic said. "We need to see how people perceive the system and what they think it needs in order to proceed with trying to pass a levy."

School board members have said it's likely they will place some kind of levy on the ballot in May. They also indicated it hasn't been decided yet if it will be a combined capital improvement and operating levy like the ones voters rejected in November, if they will separate the two proposals or just place a single issue on the ballot.

Stanic said the community meetings between school officials and the public serve as good give-and-take sessions between the district and city residents if done right.

"Ideally, we can talk about issues, ideas or concerns people have about the district," Stanic said. "Those certainly will have an influence as to how the district would proceed with any levy before it goes on the ballot at any time."

Stanic said the meetings can be general in nature or address a specific issue or idea, such as whether or not the district should convert Pine School into a middle school as was proposed in the capital improvements. District officials met with the public at Pine during the last levy campaign.

"We will have information about the possible levy or capital improvements plan available at the meetings as well as current information about the district," Stanic said.

Referring to the focus groups, Stanic said an independent group will run those for the district.

"There won't be people there from the administration and the district," Stanic said. "We've been told that they can get a better reading on how many people feel if we're not present. So we'll just be getting the data and analysis after they're done."

School board member Don Frazier, who's the longest serving member of the board with more than 20 years, said the focus groups have been useful for the district.

"They provide you with a good cross section of the community," Frazier said. "You'll have parents of children in the district there, business people such as the chamber of commerce, and a good mix of different types of jobs and other people in the city who this will affect. We'll get a good range of opinions with this."

Frazier noted that the district has used focus groups in more than one way.

"We've used them to gather information for levies and we've also gotten very useful information for non-levy work as well," Frazier said. "They're a good way of gauging public feelings on an issue or proposal."