The purpose of this study is to bring together recent innovations in the research literature around school district capital facility finance, municipal bond elections, statistical models of conditional time-varying outcomes, and data mining algorithms for automated text mining of election ballot proposals to examine the factors that influence the…

Using logistic regression, this study sought to understand the relationship between district characteristics, district finances, levy characteristics, and campaign expenditures with new operating levy outcomes. We found that employee benefits as a percentage of the district's budget were negatively associated with levy outcomes, while salaries…

In the late 1600s, British physicist Sir Isaac Newton first demonstrated refraction and dispersion in a triangular prism. He discovered that a prism could decompose white light into a spectrum. Hold a prism up to the light at the correct angle and white light magically splits into vivid colors of the rainbow! So what do prisms and rainbows have to…

As noted in "School Referenda in Indiana", the contributing factors to school referenda outcomes are often subject to the individual communities; while a referendum with a high requested tax rate increase might fail in one community, the same referendum might pass in another. Despite this factor, there often are notable trends and…

The May primary election added seven school district referenda to the total number occurring in Indiana since 2008, three of which passed and four of which were rejected by voters. In the 2011 primary election, there were five General Fund referenda and two construction referenda. Of General Fund referenda, two passed (Crown Point Community School…

Many school districts are in need of a successful plan of action for school district referendums. The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the perceived effectiveness between factors and strategies surrounding referendums and the passage of those measures meant to improve school funding and facilities. The findings from Johnson and…

Ipswich, with about 2,200 students, is one of the many school districts in Massachusetts. Ipswich is governed by an open town meeting at which every registered voter may speak and vote. Budgets in Ipswich are highly detailed public documents in which every salary, classroom, and operating expenditure is identified. The budget book provides…

A multiple-issue ballot allows voters to vote on specific educational programs and their respective costs rather than forcing a yes/no choice for the entire program. (Author/IRT)

The theory of "voter crosspressure" focuses on the idea that voters have predispositions and try to avoid information (pressure) that would cause them to vote against their predisposition. If a voter is unsuccessful in avoiding that information, he or she will vote against his or her predisposition. (Author/IRT)

This report provides tables and charts on the results of Iowa's school bond issues from 1960-1970 inclusive. Although the report does not analyze the results of the school bond issues, it does observe that the time of year, the month, and the week in which school bond elections are held seem to have a substantial effect upon election results. (JF)

The vote-by-mail procedure is presently being tried in Oregon. Supporters claim it is good for democracy because it increases the number of persons involved in decision making. Opponents say it encourages participation by people who know little or nothing about issues on the ballot. (MLF)

Identifies the organizational and public contact strategies used successfully by school supporters in three school funding elections in the Clayton (Missouri) School District between 1975 and 1980. Notes the types of voters contacted by block workers prior to the 1980 election and analyzes their subsequent voting behavior. (PGD)

QUESTIONNAIRES WERE SENT TO A 10 PERCENT SAMPLE OF INCONSISTENT VOTERS IN TWO OREGON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO HAD NOT VOTED IN A PREVIOUS, UNSUCCESSFUL SCHOOL BUDGET ELECTION, BUT WHO HAD VOTED IN A SUBSEQUENT SUCCESSFUL ELECTION. DESPITE DEMOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DISTRICTS IN LEVEL OF SCHOOLING COMPLETED, OCCUPATION, INCOME, PERIOD…