Specific factors that characterized successful 1976 election campaigns in Michigan school districts. (MLF)

School financial elections are won by analyzing what people know and need to know about the ballot issue; developing a ballot issue that is salable; then organizing, planning, financing, communicating, and finally evaluating to see what went right and what went wrong in the campaign. (Author/MLF)

This paper lists 12 common errors by school officials that can contribute to the failure of school finance elections and briefly discusses each of the errors in turn. These campaign errors include (1) disagreement by school board members over whether or not to hold a financial election, (2) failure to analyze community attitudes before launching a…

Methods and sample forms for postelection analysis and preelection surveys are supplied. Other guides include a campaign organization chart, a 12-week campaign calendar, an illustration of a proposed tax increase, and a list of 100 questions that must be answered before final plans for the issue are made. (Author/MLF)

This paper describes a successful financial election campaign that used a combination of computer technology and public relations techniques. Analysis, determination of needs, development of strategy, organization, finance, communication, and evaluation are given as the steps to be taken for a successful school financial campaign. The authors…