Resident survey doesn’t support funds needed to replace middle school
By Alex Johnson
Correspondent
A recently completed survey of Burlington Area School District residents indicates they would not likely support a referendum at a monetary level that would include the replacement of Karcher Middle School.
Bill Foster, a consultant from School Perceptions, delivered the community survey results to the School Board June 12, saying that district residents would most likely support a tax tolerance of about $30 million to $45 million in a potential November referendum.
This information comes from a total of 1,849 responses that were returned to the district, compared to 1,427 in 2016, totaling a participation rate of 18 percent of district residents.
The survey states the School Board identified school security, facility maintenance, and the future of Karcher Middle School as the “most pressing issues facing the district.”
In each category, community members said they would support a referendum for all three issues the district identified, with 59 percent in support of district-wide maintenance, 70 percent in support of improving school safety, and 41 percent in favor of updating the middle school while 37 percent said they would not support it and 22 percent were undecided.
However, Foster suggested the board, “Consider a two-question ballot” for the potential referendum. That’s because the tax tolerance the community identified as their limit – about $30 million to $45 million – would not cover the cost of a new middle school. The total cost for a new middle school, facility maintenance, and school security improvements comes to just shy of $70 million.
To read the full story and see other opinions revealed by the survey pick up a copy of the June 21 edtion of the Burlington Standard Press.
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