Survey identifies key concerns with schools
Immigration, taxes,underfunded mandates seen as areas to address
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

The results of a survey that sought to find out why Freehold Borough voters have twice rejected a $7.8 million construction referendum are in.

The survey was performed by Zander Consulting LLC, of Sparta. It revealed three key areas of concern that led a majority of those who went to the polls to vote no when asked to fund a construction plan that would have given students more space in school, among other improvements.

The referendums were held in December 2005 and in April 2006.

According to the consultant's analysis of the survey responses, the key issues for residents are the impact of a construction project on property taxes, concerns regarding how immigration has impacted the school district and underfunded mandates imposed on borough schools by the state and federal governments.

In response to the survey results, Board of Education President James Keelan said he is willing to bring guest speakers to the district to talk about school issues in an effort to keep residents informed.

Keelan said the issues the district are facing are not going to disappear. Meetings with state legislators are being scheduled and he said district administrators expect to be joined by representatives from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and members of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey.

Keelan said board members will meet with legislators for a second round of talks. He's hoping the responses he receives will differ from those he has received in the past from government officials who told him, "If I had the money in my back pocket, I would give it you."

Terry-Ann Zander presented the findings of the survey at the board's Jan. 22 meeting. The survey was sent out in November and returned in December. The purpose of the survey, according to Zander, was twofold - to understand why a construction referendums was defeated twice and to better understand residents' perceptions about the schools.

The survey was mailed to 2,750 households that had at least one registered voter. There are 5,068 registered voters in the borough and, according to Zander, the board decided to reduce the printing and mailing costs by only mailing a survey to one registered voter in a household.

A total of 243 surveys were returned and 239 surveys were used in the tabulation of the results. Four surveys were incomplete and could not be used. The 239 responses represent 8 percent of the number of surveys mailed, which Zander said is an acceptable sample size.

The three themes - the impact of immigration, taxes and underfunding of certain mandated programs and initiatives - were common among all surveys, according to Zander.

Although those themes may have expressed negativity, Zander said there was also a positive theme running through the surveys as well - that residents value education and believe in maintaining property values.

Zander explained that she drew some of her conclusions based on the responses to open-ended questions that were part of the survey. People responding to the multiple choice questions also had an opportunity to share their thoughts on a number of issues.

Among the results, 65 percent of those responding have no school-age children; 24 percent have school-age children; and 11 percent said they have preschool children.

The average age of a respondent was between 40 and 50 years old; 65 percent of the respondents were female and 35 percent of the respondents were male.

The survey asked how the respondent voted in the April 2006 bond referendum. The results showed that 46 percent of the respondents voted against the referendum; 25 percent voted for it; 19 percent did not vote; and 11 percent could not recall how they voted.

People who responded said voting for or against the referendum was the only way they felt they were being heard.

Respondents were asked why they voted or did not vote a certain way. The replies indicated that 46 percent voted the way they did due to immigration concerns; 43 percent said tax increases were too high; 20 percent said the schools are overcrowded; and 15 percent said because of the general economy.

In response to the question, Should the district continue to evaluate long-term options to address increasing student enrollment and other facilities issues?, 84 percent of respondents said the district should do so; 16 percent said no to this question.

That 16 percent was then asked what suggestions they had to accommodate the district's increasing enrollment. Answers to this question included 66 percent who suggested adding portable classroom trailers and 9 percent who suggested eliminating programs and moving toward regionalization with another school district.

In answer to the question, Are you likely to vote if there is another bond referendum in the future?, 82 percent of the respondents said yes. They did not say how they would vote.

When asked what factors motivated them to vote in a referendum the results were as follows: 51 percent said they voted because taxes are too high; 47 percent said education is important to them; 37 percent said maintaining property values is important; and 22 percent said they voted because they have children in the school system.

Some respondents indicated they might like to help the board address school issues. Administrators said those residents would be contacted personally.

Board member Andrew DeFonzo said he did his best to publicize the meeting at which the survey results would be discussed. He said he was glad that people showed up, but was somewhat disappointed because the attendance was not larger. About 25 residents attended the meeting.

DeFonzo said that judging from the survey results, approximately 25 percent of the returned surveys were filled out by parents who have children in the district.

"It is really important to get more parents involved," he said. "Besides the children, the parents are the largest stakeholders in this entire situation."

DeFonzo said he would explore ways to encourage more parent involvement, including the possibility of providing child care at board meetings so that parents are able to attend.

In addition, he said he will suggest that the board consider different meeting times in order to accommodate more parents.

"It is nice to see that people want to be involved and be a part of the process," Zander added.

Zander said the results of the survey need to have input from the board. She said she would hold her recommendations until the board members have a chance to review the results.

Zander said coming up with a well thought-out plan, assessing the district's needs, pursuing additional funding and addressing the community's needs in a timely manner are all important strategies.

"Getting a commitment from voters to show up and press the button is what you need to do. Is there enough passion in this community about school issues?" Zander asked, then answered the question herself, saying, "Yes, I believe there is.