| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the successful
passage of a school bond referendum as identified by selected voters in the Navasota
Independent School District in Texas. The secondary purpose of the study was to
examine pre- and post-strategies of the failed September 11, 2004, referendum and
identify those factors that influenced the positive referendum on December 11, 2004.
Surveys were sent to 260 registered voters who participated in both the September
11, 2004, and December 11, 2004, school bond referenda in the Navasota
Independent School District. Frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, and Chi-
Square tests were performed on the data to determine if there were any significant
findings through the surveys.
The results of the investigation were fairly clear. As stated in the research by
Surratt (1987), trust in the administration and follow-through in previous bond
referenda played a significant role in determining the negative outcome of the September 11, 2004, Navasota ISD school bond referendum. In the December 11,
2004, bond referendum, detailed information on bond plans, individual campus
activities promoting needs for the passage of the bond referendum, opportunity to
vote on more than one proposition, and information on the cost of the tax increase for
the average home in NISD were instrumental in the positive outcome of that
referendum. In regards to demographics of the voting population, the factor
Âcurrently having children in the district played a significant role in determining the
outcome of the referenda. This agreed with earlier research by Theobold & Meier
(2002).
|
|---|
