June 23, 2022 at 10:55 a.m.
Consultant outlines 'roadmap' for referendum communication
Consultant outlines 'roadmap' for referendum communication
The question to be posed to the voters is "shall the School District of Rhinelander, Oneida, Lincoln and Langlade Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $4,000,000 per year beginning with the 2023-2024 school year and ending with the 2026-2027 school year for non-recurring purposes?"
If passed, this new referendum would replace the current operational referendum which was approved in November 2018 and is set to expire in 2023. In that referendum, the voters authorized the district to exceed the revenue limit by $4,250,000 per year for four years.
According to a memo included in the May school board packet, "over the past twelve years, the District has enhanced its educational programs, co-curricular programs, and updated its facilities without asking for any additional referendum support. Because the non-recurring referendum has been in place, the District has been able to improve and expand Central Elementary, Crescent Elementary, Pelican Elementary, Mike Webster Field, and construct the Hodag Dome with the help of our community partners. All facilities have been well maintained and upgraded. Over the past 12 years, the District has made upgrades to save utility costs, made changes to its health insurance and benefit plans to save money, maintained competitive salaries in order to attract and retain the best employees, provided students with the latest technology and curriculum, added co-curricular opportunities for students and reduced fees to our families and residents."
The Donovan Group, a consulting firm that works with schools and school districts on messaging and communication, has been hired to assist the district in the run-up to the November vote.
Founding partner Joe Donovan appeared before the school board Monday evening to explain the services his firm will provide.
"In general, when we're talking about referendum communication ... our job is to inform and to engage and to tell the truth, maybe aggressively tell the truth, share information," he said. "We can't advocate, we can't cross over into the realm of telling people how to vote. That clearly crosses the line as it relates to what we are allowed to do under state law. But I always feel like it's our responsibility to share good, useful information for people as they go into the voting booth."
This is particularly true when it comes to operational referenda due to the complexity of school funding, he noted while showing the board examples of materials his firm has used recently in assisting the Tomahawk and Elcho school districts in passing referenda.
He started with "messages" which he referred to as responses to give if stopped at the gas station or grocery store and asked by a member of the public to explain the upcoming referendum.
The messages are "what we would want them to know and understand" he said, noting that the referendum questions themselves are not always easily understood.
He also showed the board members examples of "mailers" to be sent to voters.
Voters can expect to receive long and short-form mailers with information including an explanation of what a revenue limit is and why the district is requesting authorization to exceed it, he said.
"Typically, we do two long-form mailers and one short-form mailer that would be a postcard," he said, before segueing to social media messaging.
"We love to do frequently asked questions (FAQs)," he said. "Frequently asked questions are a great way to chunk down information. We can (list) the types of questions we know people might ask you if they run into you at the gas station, and we can answer those questions honestly and forthrightly on the district's website using social media."
Donovan also noted that his company does not refer to winning and losing with respect to referendum passage or failure.
"We see a referendum as a solution that was created with a process to address needs," he said. "Nobody wakes up and says I can't wait to go to a referendum, I can't wait to win a referendum. You go to referendum because you have to and a referendum is a solution to needs."
"The idea is we don't have to spin anything, we don't have to tell anything other than the truth," he added.
Board member David Holperin asked Donovan to explain the rollout timeline.
"When do we start re-initiating contact with our constituency?" he asked.
Donovan said that planning typically takes place in the summer months with some contact with voters starting in August. The bulk of the work will take place in September and October, he added, noting that the district will be competing for attention as the state gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races are likely to be fierce.
"I should mention that in November it's going to be very noisy here, because of the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races," he said. "There's going to be a lot of mail going out so we really try to get our message out in a hurry."
The Donovan Group will be paid $15,995 for its services. The district administrative team was able hire the firm as it's allowed to spend up to $25,000 without having to come to the board for approval.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.