| Summary: | The purpose of this case study was to explore the
perceptions of school district administrators and members
of the community about the influence of school-based
activities had on voter behavior. The case study focused
on a school district in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
Interviews were held with the school district
administrators and taxpayers in the community. The
surveyed taxpayers were prominent, influential and well
informed about the school district and the community.
Three questions were addressed to both the school
administrators and taxpayers. (1.) What are the
perceptions of the interviewee on the influence of school
site activities on voter behavior? (2.) What activities
would the interviewee perceive to be most effective in
gaining/keeping community support? (3.) Does the
interviewee perceive anything unusual about the community
in its participation in school site activities and/or
non-school activities?
It was found that attracting the people to the school
site can be a positive influence, provided that the
schoolsite is in good order. The activities most
effective in gaining/keeping community support were those
activities that pulled the widest range of community
members to the school site. The administrators perceived
the large attendance at school activities as support
for the school system rather than the family members
supporting the children. Administrators were also aware
of a large segment of the community without school-age
children, yet no active budgeted plans to reach them
had been made.
Furthermore, community members felt that the district
should live within their budget even though there was
large community support for school based activities.
The change in demographic characteristics, increased
enrollment, and increased property evaluations have caused
the community's perception of the school district to
become more fiscally conservative. Due to the lack of
trust by the taxpayers, the school district needs to
be sensitive to the community by furnishing timely
information about the how and why public monies are being
spent. === Graduation date: 1994
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