News
Posted Sept. 11, 2009
LEV presented at the Seattle-Northwest Securities 2009 Schools’ Election Conference yesterday. If you missed the conference, we’ve posted some of the presentations below:
School Elections’ Conference 2009 Presentations
- League of Education Voters: Simple Majority & Levy Library
- Seattle-NW Securities: Making Sense of the Numbers (Levy and bond trends)
- Seattle-NW Securities: Voter Opinions About Education Survey 2009
- K & L Gates: Living with the Public Disclosure Commission
- Spokane Public Schools: Lessons Learned (March 2009 levy and bond)
Posted Sept. 4, 2009
A case study in success: How Yakima got voters to OK its school bond
by MaryBeth Wright, Yakima
It was all about relationships. . .
After failing two bond measures in 2006 and 2007, we conducted a survey of our community to try to understand why they were not supportive of our schools. We learned from this survey that the community was unhappy with many societal issues – such as education, immigration reform, and gang activities – and much of the blame was placed on the doorsteps of the school district.
Because the problems identified by the community were much broader than we as a district could address alone, we initiated an alliance with local leaders in the business and faith communities to discuss what we could do together to make a difference.
We came up with a character development initiative to focus on a desired trait as the “word of the month,” which we launched community-wide. At the same time the schools were practicing the word, more than 40 business and church reader boards displayed the word of the month and it was discussed regularly within groups such as Boy Scouts, the YMCA and other community meetings. These partnerships were instrumental in the passing of the bond. At campaign time, these same reader boards all displayed “vote yes for schools.”
. . .and our students.
Student leaders from three of our high schools rallied over 1,000 of their peers to campaign for the bond measure. With the help of a recent college graduate (Poly Sci major), the students telephoned, went door to door, waved signs on street corners, spoke at Rotary and Kiwanis meetings, created PSAs for radio and tv, and held a student march, barbeque and concert in the park. Their endless energy and persistence definitely made the difference in this campaign.
“Classic case of the community coming together to prove it values education.”
Yakima Herald-Republic, May 21, 2009
