27J campaign committee already looking ahead

    BRIGHTON — Voters this past November put a stop to the latest attempt at securing a mill levy override for the 27J School District – despite the efforts of people in the communities representing the district to push it through.

Chris Fiedler

    The biggest players in that game were the Parents and Community for 27J Students campaign group.
    Members met Dec. 12 for a debriefing on the election and its results. During their reunion, parents, 27J staff and faculty and community members discussed the past, present and future for a few hours.
    According to the group’s acting treasurer, Mandy Thomas, an ending balance of nearly $7,000 (due largely in thanks to a post-election $5,000 donation from LNR CPI High Point, the owner of the High Point Development at the far southeastern corner of the district), means there are definitely funds for the group to have a future.
     “The need hasn’t changed,” said incoming Superintendent Chris Fiedler. “Here we are a month after the election and we still have a revenue problem in terms of meeting all of our needs for our kids... Whether tonight is step one for a campaign in 2012 or step one for a campaign in 2013, or both, the need still exists.”
    Fiedler said a most important means to winning a mill levy override is educating the public on the issue.
    Rick Reiter, principal at Reiter & Associates who worked with Parents and Community for 27J as a political consulting firm, discussed human behavior with 27J Chief Operations Officer Terry Lucero.
    Lucero relayed Reiter’s reminder that when it comes to voting, “People tend to do what they normally tend to do.”
     “I overestimated our ability to change people’s behaviors,” Lucero said. “We knew how many parents were out there. We knew that if we had 9,000 parents registered to vote, if we would have got half of them out to vote, we would have won this election even if no one else had voted. The fact of the matter is that half of the parents never vote.”
    Despite their loss at the polls, Lucero said there were around 30 percent more ballots cast than expected.
    After reviewing the election results and looking at a breakdown of voter turnout, attendants talked about the economy’s role in the election, about the other school districts whose mill levy overrides or bond issues failed, and about the state-wide initiatives that were rejected, such as Proposition 103.
    One discussion was to create an ambassador program with volunteers who would make a commitment to contact people, to listen and to re-establish a relationship with the public while also educating them on pertinent school district information (finances, academics, human resources, budgets, transportation, etc.).
    Concerns revolved mostly around the public’s perception of the school district and its financial situation, such as mixed messages about lack of funding while building a new elementary school, absent voters who perhaps didn’t know what a mill levy override was and worries over how media coverage slanted people’s opinions.
    By the end of the meeting, the group had a checklist to work on including community education, relationship with media, listen to the polls (rethinking moving forward if they don’t have the margin), building unity within the school district, the ambassadors piece and monthly meetings to continue educating people about this issue.
     “We need to never stop,” was a resounding exclamation by participants in the closing comments.
    In an effort to keep the ball rolling, Parents and Community for 27J hosted “School Finance 101,” a learning opportunity to help attendees understand public school finance in Colorado, specifically within the 27J School District, Jan. 9 at Prairie View High School. Residents also received information related to opportunities to provide input into the district’s fiscal year 2012-2013 budget.