Representatives from School Perceptions, Bray Architects and Miron Construction offered opinions regarding the recent Neenah Joint School District referendum at a special Board of Education meeting on April 30.

The meeting was intended as a way for the Board to learn what went well with the referendum process and what could be improved through the perspective of the hired agencies that work with numerous districts across the region. It also included an open forum with community members expressing their thoughts. It was not intended to provide solutions, but rather give the Board feedback on the next steps in should take in preparing for a possible referendum in 2020.

Bill Foster from School Perceptions coordinated the community survey that was used to guide the recent referendum process. On the positive side, Foster said that there was clear support from the community for pursuing a referendum. He also noted that respondents had high satisfaction for the District. He said the Board of Education must be united going forward and needs to find ways to describe the long-term planning beyond the first phase. He felt the split Board and some negative attitudes in the community hurt the vote.

Some Board members noted that they heard from community members concern over only a 17 percent response rate to the survey. Foster said that is a typical response for a District the size of Neenah and that the data would likely have not changed if more had taken the survey. Board members also asked if he would recommend doing a survey again. He said if the District pursues another survey, it should be simplified where one or two potential referendum questions are tested rather than giving so many options.

Matt Wolfert from Bray Architects said the Board should not get carried away with an overhaul to the process since the vote was so close. Wolfert said some small tweaks may be all that is necessary. He also said that cost and tax impact are always an issue whether people say it in their feedback or not. He believed the communications plan was solid and credited the Board for their willingness to listen and take feedback even though they were sometimes criticized for not being open enough. Wolfert said “success begets success” and that if the District is able to pass a successful referendum it can often lead to more changes in the future when people see what is possible.

Craig Uhlenbrauck from Miron Construction reiterated the point about encouraging the Board to be unanimous and remain engaged in the process after the question is developed. All of the representatives supported the idea of using focus groups to test potential ideas and discussed some of the ways they have seen focus groups used successfully in other communities.

At its next meeting, the Board will discuss its values and strategic plan and also determine some of the specific problems they are trying to solve. They also would like to develop a schedule and calendar of meetings to set up a timeline for the entire process and prepare dates for summer meetings. A next meeting date was not finalized prior to adjournment.