A successful $39,850,000 bond measure targets three projects designed to meet specific needs of Gladstone students.

Those projects are construction of a center for applied vocational, technology and science at Gladstone High; renovations of the aging high school building; and development of a new center for children and families, a kindergarten and early childhood center.

Community pays attention

A 45-member group of recruits and volunteers that included seniors, business and religious representatives, school staff, and elected officials thoroughly examined the district and its needs between November 2004 and the next February.

"They toured school facilities, considered our educational program, and listened to principals explain students' needs," said Superintendent Bob Stewart. "They worked with architects on costs and possible solutions and made a series of recommendations."

Those recommendations became a bond proposal presented to voters in May 2005. Although 62 percent of those who voted supported the district's proposal, the bond was rejected because of the double-majority voting requirement. Although the bond failed, Stewart said, 43 percent of Gladstone's registered voters turned out to vote - twice the county average.

School supporters in Gladstone didn't rest between the failure of the May 2005 bond and the board's resolution last fall to try again.

"Any time we could get in front of a group to talk, we took," Stewart said. Architectural display boards in schools and around the community graphically illustrated proposed renovations and projects. Open houses in the schools encouraged discussion with parents and community members.

Because Gladstone doesn't have a local newspaper, the district's community newsletter, the GladReport, highlighted issues ranging from overcrowding at the elementary school to the district's award-winning financial management.

Surveys boosts hopes

Moore Information conducted two surveys of Gladstone voters. The first survey in February 2005 targeted the May election. Voters were surveyed again the following February to find out if they would support a future bond measure in which the amount of the previous bond was increased by $10 million. Survey results showed a consistent level of support.

A board resolution in September to go to voters again with a bond measure kicked off additional efforts to communicate with the community and identify `yes' voters. More than 100 people served as volunteers and on a political action committee. Consultant Jeanne Magmer, who worked on the May campaign, assisted the district.

Stay the course. Don't try to fight all the small fires.
Bob Stewart, Superintendent, Gladstone School District

"We knew that 62 percent of the 43 percent who voted in the May election voted `yes' - we had 1,600 `yes' votes," Stewart said. "So we felt we just needed 2,100 `yes' votes to be successful the next time around."

The citizen advocacy group `Yes for Gladstone Kids' made phone calls, sent mailers, canvassed the neighborhood and reminded everyone to vote. The group, which used volunteer coordinators who were well-connected in the community, raised $10,000 to support the bond campaign.

"We sent notes to parents encouraging them to set an example to their kids by voting," Stewart said, "and we asked them to talk to their kids about the importance of voting."

Gladstone's efforts to pass a bond measure were educational to district staff, as well.

"We learned that the community must be heavily involved in early decision-making and must have regular communication about the needs of students well in advance of declaring to go for an election," Stewart said. "We also learned that you have to be `transparent. Be willing to share all information, make your facilities open and available to the community. Create lots of opportunities for the community to have contact with your school staff and elected school officials. Then listen and be responsive to the community."

A vocal anti-bond group in Gladstone could have been a distraction, Stewart said. "But we had determined our course of action in going for the bond, and we knew the best policy was to stay the course."

`Stay the course' applied whenever problems arose. As Stewart put it, "Don't try to fight all the small fires."

A hundred people on a series of teams will be involved with the planning, design and oversight of Gladstone's bond projects. They include members of the facilities review committee, school staff and new volunteers. Study groups will research some aspects of the project, then report back to the teams. Plans include having one study group visit high school applied-technology centers around the country, for example, to learn first-hand about their operations.