By Alex Johnson
Correspondent
Whether the Burlington Area School District will proceed with a survey of district residents regarding options for a planned spring referendum remains in flux.
School Board President Jim Bousman on Monday said the School Board had a clear “agreement” on the message going into the discussion with consultant School Perceptions, but after hearing the proposed language of the survey, the consensus “changed.”
“What’s critical going forward is that whatever we vote on, the board has to reach consensus,” he said. “My hope is that we all find satisfactory language going forward. We can’t have a split decision when it comes to research.”
The issue of the School Perceptions survey came into question following a 3-3 vote that occurred on Sept. 18 and effectively put the survey in limbo. Board members gave Bill Foster of School Perceptions to option to revise the survey proposal and present it to the board in the future.
Board member Kevin Bird was not in attendance at the meeting on Sept. 18 or on Monday, so a new vote was not considered at this time.
The board must decide how to proceed in the wake of a defeat of three separate building referendum questions in last April’s election. The district’s architect, Plunkett Raysich, has again presented several building options that mainly revolve around the repair or replacement of Karcher Middle School.
The survey is seen as a preliminary step in attempting to gauge what the community is willing to support when it comes to crafting actual referendum questions.
Other matters
In other matters, the board:
- Voted to accept the donation of labor for construction of dugouts for softball field at Burlington High School, along with the acceptance of a resolution to build the dugouts for an amount not to exceed about $5,500.
- Moved forward with plans to survey and delineate wetland areas near the high school athletic fields to determine if it is feasible to create a separate soccer field. The work will be performed by Lynch and Associates.
• Heard from members of the Personnel Committee that no further action will needed at the present time regarding contract negotiations with the Burlington Education Association, following a meeting that took place Sept 25.
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