Survey shows limited support for higher-cost Platteville operational referendum; Platteville Journal is top outreach channel

Rob Deise, research director at School Perceptions, told the Platteville School District board on Aug. 14 that the district's operational-referendum focus survey found limited voter support for higher-cost referendum options and important differences by constituency.

Deise said non-parents and non-staff — the largest subgroup measured — would support the least-cost option at roughly 37% on Election Day, while staff were the most supportive group (about two-thirds backing the most expensive option). Parents clustered between the options, nearing a 50% threshold for the mid-cost choice. "If the Platteville Board of Education were to put option three on the ballot a little over one in five members of the largest chunk of your community would support it," Deise said, summarizing subgroup turnout-adjusted estimates.

Why it matters: the board is weighing whether to place an operational referendum before voters; the survey shows both limited headroom among non-parents/non-staff and a sizable share of respondents who would not back any referendum (Deise reported about 49% of non-parents/non-staff oppose any referendum), a significant hurdle to passage.

The presentation included three referendum-price structures described by Deise (step increases roughly in $800,000'$1,000,000 increments) and a plain-language translation of mill-rate impacts into tax dollars for a $100,000 home. Deise also reported that, in aggregated satisfaction items, the district's lowest score was on "managing funds appropriately," at about 37% positive, which he identified as a key message challenge for any referendum campaign.

On communications, Deise advised the board to prioritize the Platteville Journal to reach non-parents/non-staff, followed by newsletters and the district website; social platforms such as Twitter and Instagram had minimal reach for that group. "The number one way [non-parents/non-staff] want to know what's going on in the school district is the Platteville Journal," he said.

Next steps: Deise offered follow-up support and invited board members to contact him for targeted outreach planning. The board was reminded that any decision on an operational referendum would move forward in the months before the district's annual end-of-October budget meeting, when budget-setting and referendum timing are finalized.

No formal motion or vote on a referendum was taken at the meeting.