Dist. 203 may be calling you for input
If some residents can't or don't want to go to one of Naperville Unit District 203's community engagement meetings, the district will go to the residents.
Tuesday night the school board worked on tweaking questions it will be asking during a phone survey of 400 people next month to get input on possible facility renovations around the district.
Three plans are currently on the table ranging from $22 million to $168 million, two of which would require a tax increase via a referendum question in February.
The district is holding several dozen community engagement meetings and facility tours this month to educate residents about the options and ask for feedback as to which to pursue.
It has hired UNICOM-ARC to then perform a random telephone survey of registered voters in October to see how the additional feedback compares to the input they received at the meetings.
"This is a way of getting at the larger population and ... particularly the part of the population that doesn't have kids in school or they might not think they want to give up some of their time to go to a meeting or watch our videotape," Superintendent Alan Leis said.
The company is talking to focus groups of parents and staff this week to help fine-tune the survey to make sure all pertinent questions are being asked.
Each survey should take about 12 to 15 minutes. Sharon Gotter, project manager for UNICOM-ARC, said the demographic of those called will very closely match the demographics of the district and the company will be very honest about whether it thinks a referendum proposal could pass. The margin of error on the results is 4.9 percent.
Among the topics board members discussed including was boundary changes, often a hot-button issue. The district is considering an $11 million renovation to Mill Street Elementary School to relieve overcrowding but has considered changing boundaries around the school as an alternative.
However, board President Suzyn Price said she is concerned people outside of Mill Street might not have a grasp of the complexity of the issue.
Board member Dean Reschke said he would like to get some resident feedback on the issue sooner rather than later.
"I would sure hate to explain to the town when asked in the middle of a referendum that we ruled out options because we just didn't want to ask (tough questions)," he said.
The district also may ask surveyors to include questions unrelated to facilities to get a feel for what residents are thinking on other topics, such as the value they are getting for their tax dollars.
In the meantime, community engagement continues at 9:15 a.m. today with a tour of Mill Street Elementary, 1300 N. Mill St. The district has also recently added three tours of Naperville Central to its schedule at 1 p.m. Sept. 7, 14 and 21. For a complete list of presentations and tours or to watch the district's facilities video, visit www.naperville203.org and click on Touch the Future.