Huntington Herald

Survey questioned by school board members

Written by Kate Czaplinski, Herald Editor
Friday, 03 February 2012 10:50

A survey, sent by mail to Shelton households, looking to gauge the public’s opinion of Shelton Public Schools, caused disagreement between Board of Education members last week.

The “Shelton Community Survey” was sent out in early January from the Shelton Board of Education’s central office. It included some information on the district’s new programs and accomplishments and asked 18 questions, prepared with the help of a consulting company, according to Superintendent Freeman Burr.

“We study trends to help prepare for the future and have seen standards are changing,” the survey reads. “That’s why we want to hear from you. We value the collective wisdom of the Shelton community residents and are surveying to discover the best ways to communicate and gather opinions on pending issues.”

Questions included asking how residents received information about the public schools and what areas of education residents think are most important and would invest in. Surveys had to be mailed back by Jan. 31.

But a few members of the board, including Kathy Yolish, John Francino-Quinn, and Jim Orazietti, argued that they never approved questions for a survey or it being sent out with their names on it.

“I was at the Republican caucus and several people asked me about it, wanting to know who made up the questions, how much it cost,” Yolish said at last week’s board meeting. “I felt embarrassed because I didn’t have any of the answers.”

“My name is on this survey and I was never informed,” Orazietti said. “My problem is with questions 1 through 18 — I think it’s ridiculous and of no use to the Board of Education.”

By last Wednesday, about 1,000 surveys had been mailed back, according to the superintendent.

“Already 1,000 residents thought it had value and it’s not Jan. 31 yet,” Burr said.

But according to other members of the board, including board Chairman Win Oppel and Timothy Walsh, the board voted last October to approve the superintendent’s communicating with the public on the district’s behalf, including in the form of a survey.

Oppel said the survey was part of the district’s goals for this year. It was part of a communications strategy — an effort to improve internal and external communications. It gave the superintendent approval to find the best way of communicating with the public and finding out what the community would like to see in terms of communication from the district and what it thinks of what is being provided now, Oppel said.

“I understand people may raise questions after the fact,” Oppel said this week. “But I have no recollection of anyone raising their hand at the time and saying they want to give input on the survey. It was something we adopted and asked the superintendent to do.”

Oppel said that while Orazietti was not an elected member of the board in October, the actions approved by the board, as a whole, move forward, even if members change.

“Unfortunately the board acts in a continuum and we don’t stop and start with each election,” Oppel said.

He also thought the questions on the survey were straightforward

During the meeting, Yolish said she found some of the questions to be offensive, including one that asked if residents had voted in the last local election, to which they could answer “yes,” “no” or “don’t remember.” Board member Arlene Liscinsky argued that it is a pertinent question since only 30% of the electorate voted in the last local election. Liscinsky noted that surveys have been sent out in the past, including before the building of Perry Hill School, to help get meaningful input from the community.

While Yolish objected to the way the survey was done, she suggested that district staff also be given the survey and that board members be allowed to take a close look at all responses sent back.

Cost

Orazietti questioned the cost to send out the survey. Burr said he would provide Orazietti a full accounting of the cost at a finance meeting.

“Being in politics a long time, my guess is $10,000 to $15,000 — that’s a wild guess,” Orazietti said. “I’d like to take this survey back, have my name take off of it and spend that $10,000 on the kids of this city.”

Orazietti asked why the board didn’t opt for a free survey through a website like SurveyMonkey.com.

Oppel said he didn’t yet have a total accounting of the cost of the survey because it was approved as part of an overall package.

“There is a whole population over 55 who may not have regular access to the Internet or use it,” Oppel said. “That leaves out 10, 15, 20 percent of our population.”

That’s also why central office didn’t send the survey home with students, Oppel said, because that would get opinions only from parents.

“We took a very holistic view, and the common denominator amongst all of us is U.S. mail,” Oppel said.

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