Results of a study of voter behavior in three actual and two hypothetical school budget and bond elections in Missouri's Columbia Public School District suggest that voters can be effectively classified so that voting behavior can be predicted. Over 450 registered voters responded to a mailed questionnaire featuring 46 items that measured…

A random sample of 750 adults stratified on the basis of age, sex, and employment status was surveyed to determine attitudes toward the importance of a college education for high school graduates in the college district, college plans for their children, attitudes and knowledge about the college, and voting intentions on a future bond issue. On…

Reports on a study that sought to identify those factors which were successful determiners of initial school budget election outcomes. The research focused on a sample of some 200 New York State school districts, half of which experienced budget defeats in the Spring of 1972. (Author/JF)

Ohio schools are particularly hard hit by the taxpayers' rebellion." (Author)

Kansas City residents were questioned about their attitudes toward education, the school district, schools in their neighborhood, educational expenditures, and voter behavior. Some comparative conclusions were drawn based on responses of people outside the Kansas City, Missouri School District; data from this survey was also compared with a 1970…

This research addressed the contemporary problem of declining support for school funding requests. The study examined current factors and factors over time (1969-77) that underlie school tax balloting. Data were collected from four previously studied districts and statistically analyzed. Voters' attitudes toward school community relations,…

Observations concerning citizen attitudes toward public education which caused the defeat of two school tax levies in Canton, Ohio. (MF)

The past superintendent of the Toledo (Ohio) public schools explains how a community survey was used to set school priorities and develop curriculum in a way that significantly increased school support. (JM)

This study examines the responses of the residents of one suburban school district to a mail survey regarding the community's public schools in a period of rising school taxes and declining school enrollment. Specifically addressing the idea that school districts are better viewed as several communities rather than one, the study attempts to…

This paper presents a case study of a rural community exhibiting a dramatic turnaround in community support for a new school bond issue. Demographic change was partly responsible for the change in community attitudes, with two waves of immigration altering the long-term conservative orientation of this community. After a series of failed…

In this paper, the authors attempt to provide a basic outline of what is known about the determinants of success or failure in school financial elections. The research, conducted since 1960, comes from several academic disciplines, employs a wide variety of techniques and methods, and is geographically representative of the United States.…

Identified voter attitudes directly affecting voter behavior in fiscal elections, including attitudes about community involvement in policy-making, school community relations, school discipline and the teaching of democracy, present level of spending, and present level of taxes. Perceptions of school quality and social conditions have little…

FROM AN ANALYSIS OF OVER 2,000 RECONSTRUCTED CONVERSATIONS HELD BY 50 ADULTS IN EACH OF FIVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSE DATA WERE OBTAINED TO MEASURE FLOWS OF INFORMATION AND INFLUENCE FROM THE SCHOOL TO THE COMMUNITY FOR OBTAINING PUBLIC SUPPORT. THE STUDY ATTEMPTED TO DESCRIBE (1) PERSONS WHO TALK ABOUT SCHOOLS, (2) THE KINDS OF…

This report is a summary of the research conducted in Phase 1 of the Schools and Neighborhoods Research Study. The program's objectives, each of which represents a separate study, are to identify the perceptions and expectations of neighborhood residents and businesses with respect to the school, to identify the services provided by the…

Documents and data prepared by Lansing, Michigan, planners in order to influence decision-makers are highlighted in this discussion of a 5-month millage election project. Financial planners involved stated that data collected and disseminated for a budget decision must be understandable to a nontechnical audience, credible, timely, and accepted as…