Boulder Valley School District Educational Facilities Master Plan

Boulder Valley School DistrictEducational Facilities Master PlanBoulder Valley School District has building issues that need to be addressed and the public whoparticipated in the charrette process agreed. The question is whether the problem is seriousenough that action is required by the entire community. The question was posed on whetherthe community would support the need to address facility deficiencies. Only 50% of theparticipants felt that the community would support a bond issue. 30% of the participants felt thatthe community would not support a bond issue. A large percentage (21.72%) chose to remainneutral. These results led to interesting conversations during the small group process, givingparticipants an opportunity to explain their views.EXHIBIT 7.4PUBLIC PERCEPTION – BVSD COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR BOND ISSUEPUBLIC CHARRETTES22%9%20%20%29%Strongly AgreeNeutralStrongly DisagreeAgreeDisagreeSource: MGT of America, March 2006Small group conversations were lively on this topic. It is important to note that this question wasdesigned to ascertain the participants’ views on whether the community at large would support abond issue, not whether they would do so. That question would come later. The participantswere much more guarded on whether the community would support an issue. Their reasonswere clarified during the small group meetings.Participants were united in their belief that the community had supported bond issues in the pastbut that support would be difficult to garner for a future bond issue. However, the strongperception is that the community would do so if certain conditions were met. The reasons forthe current state of distrust included: promises were made to spend bond money one way butthose promises were not kept; increases in taxes would be an issue; there is not a strongconnection in people’s minds that a viable school district is good for property values; poordecisions have been made in the past for how bond money was spent; the community at largedoes not understand the building needs for BVSD; mistrust by the community has increasedbecause of how past bond issues were done; the District does not have a vision.Capital Improvement Planning Committee May 2006 Page 102