Bond-Vote Strategies Evaluated

By Jessamy Brown, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Feb. 6–SOUTHLAKE — Supporters of the Carroll school district bond package have now learned the same lesson Keller and Birdville officials were taught from their bond packages in recent years.

A slow economy coupled with active critics who say the district is mixing wants with needs will turn voters against some or all of the bond proposals.

On Saturday, Carroll voters approved the $24.5 million Proposition 1 for renovations, additions and maintenance projects with just 50.3 percent of the vote. But Proposition 2, which would have provided $19.5 million to create high-tech “model classrooms” and replace outdated computers, was backed by only 46.4 percent.

Anti-bond voters organized Helping Educators keep Learning a Priority, or HELP, to send Carroll a message.

“It’s like having a Flash Gordon, super-Bill Gates classroom for everyone. No school district can afford that. It struck people as excessive,” Southlake resident Charlie Broadaway said. “It’s our only chance to tell the district, ‘We want lower taxes.’ “

Years ago, voters in Northeast Tarrant County school districts would often approve bond proposals, especially as the area grew. Now, as residents are trimming their home budgets because of job cutbacks or higher utility costs, they are scrutinizing how their tax dollars are spent.

Both sides of the bond propositions said Sunday that the vote shows that Carroll residents do not agree on what is needed to educate Carroll students.

HELP began meeting in December and launched a Web site. The group said that district property taxes are too high and questioned the necessity of some proposed projects, such as laptops for every teacher. Members also passed out fliers at a Jan. 19 town meeting and posted red signs across the district. They also telephoned residents and sent out mailers.

“I think they were effective in getting the ‘no’ vote out,” Carroll school board President Erin Shoupp said. Shoupp noted the bond timing came just after families paid their property tax bills and also coincided with rising energy costs.

Supporters of the bond package, called DragonPac, put their signs out about a week before the vote and did not send mailers or make phone calls. They also had no Web site.

“There was a lack of urgency on our part,” said Jim Patterson, DragonPac’s co-treasurer. “We did a poor job of educating people about the technology needs and the dire needs of the schools, and we let the other group get away with a lot of misinformation. I think we did a poor job of getting people out to vote.”

In Birdville, voters in September rejected two of three propositions in a $215 million package after a group, BISD Citizen Awareness, campaigned against the package. Like HELP, BISD Citizen Awareness said that the package contained unnecessary items. The group also objected to Birdville’s plans to replace neighborhood elementary schools with larger schools.

Similarly, Keller district voters rejected a $152.3 million bond package in September 2004, with many saying the district was wasting money on frills, including artificial turf and fancy schools. Six months later, district voters approved a scaled-down $99.75 million bond package. The district had recruited some critics to help it put the revised package together.

“Things have gotten tighter for everyone, and they expect them to keep it to needs and not wants,” Jim Maine, a critic of Keller’s first bond package. “They aren’t afraid to get involved. They used to sit on the sidelines.”

Carroll school district officials say they, too, will work to bring critics to the table to determine what residents will fund.

“We need to make sure that we understand what the residents feel is necessary. What tools do we want to have available to continue to provide the best educational experience for our kids,” Shoupp said. “I think we can reach some common ground.”

Jessamy Brown, (817) 685-3876 jessamybrown@star-telegram.com

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