Community Supports School Board Pursuing a Referendum

The Fond du Lac School District has received a strong nod of support from the community to move forward on updating school district facilities according to the results of a community survey that was conducted last month. A presentation by School Perceptions, LLC, the firm that conducted the survey, shared the results at a Board of Education meeting on October 22nd.

The survey was completed by 2,259 people, including 850 parents of Fond du Lac School District students.   Respondents strongly support the District updating safety and security, addressing failing building systems, improving accessibility for people with disabilities and improving educational support spaces throughout the District.

“The survey gave us pretty clear direction on the wishes of our community,” shares Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Sebert. “It was affirming to see that all segments of our community support the need to invest in our schools.”

Bill Foster, President of School Perceptions, presented the data and noted the support for these projects affirms the community’s overall satisfaction with the school district. “The data shows your community is happy with the work that you are doing.” 

The survey asked residents to weigh in on security updates that include redesigning main entrances to better control visitor access, replacing heating, ventilation, electrical and plumbing systems as well as outdated and inefficient roofs, windows and doors and improving educational spaces to better meet students’ needs. Consistently, community members responded that they support the updates. 

While the District has identified $145 million in needed school improvements, survey data shows the community’s tax tolerance is closer to $95 million. “Your community understands you have needs, but as they reflect on what they are able to afford our recommendation is to target $95 million in projects at this time,” explains Foster. 

The District will continue the planning discussion at upcoming school board workshops on November 26th and December 10th. This work will determine if a referendum will be on the ballot in April.

“We are so appreciative of all the residents who took the time to complete the survey and be part of our planning process. We are making decisions that will impact this community for decades, so the voice of our community is important,” added Sebert.

The full survey results presentation can be found here.

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