Craig Verley

As usual, there were a lot of districts with bond issues on the ballot in May. Many of them passed, while others did not. Either way, there is still plenty of bond issue related work to be considered.

If you are among the districts with an unsuccessful bond, I hope you, your superintendent, and board of trustees will allow for some thoughtful considerations before making decisions on how to proceed or not with the next one. Everyone always thinks they know why a bond or portions of a bond proposal do not pass. Now is the time to think through how to best find out why. Chances are it is a combination of things. Through some careful data diving, surveying, focus groups, etc. you may get a clearer picture of what kept voters from saying yes at the ballot box. The reasons can run the gamut from not enough supporter turnout, to the economy, to projects included or not included, to general public feelings about the district. The list could be rather lengthy.

Through some careful post-election steps and investigation, you may not only identify things that would help improve future chances of a bond passing, but you may also discover some gaps in trust, communication, customer service, and other items that would help support your district in other areas beyond a bond election. Take advantage of that opportunity to learn about those areas for future plans for your department.

You may think that if your district’s bond proposals passed, you and your department are in the clear. WRONG! Now you and your district should pivot to clearly involve the community and communicate regularly about the next steps. The voters will expect things to begin to happen quickly, or at least hear about what is to come and how long implementation of bond items will take. Perhaps there will be a need to get further public input on how some facilities, are designed. How are you going to keep the voters and your parents involved in moving forward and helping them take ownership of what is to come? They voted for it. Let them take some ownership pride in how things move forward and celebrate the milestones along the way.

Mostly, I just want to make sure that you and your district don’t just jump willy-nilly into the next steps. You know how important the process is. Now is the time to remind the powers that be of that and help guide them along that path. Pass or not, the bond election day is not the end game for school communicators. Not only will this give you an opportunity to show some of your leadership, but it also gives you another opportunity to serve your students and community in something that will have a lasting impact.

Regardless of the bond election result, this can be a time for you and your team to shine.