By Patrick Tepoorten

Although the North Branch Area School District will not pursue an additional operating levy this fall, despite an estimated $2 million in cuts, it wants to use results from the North Branch Area School Community Survey, conducted earlier this year by Springsted Inc., to help improve communication between the district and residents.

ìWe need to hear from the community,î said board vice chairman Donna Setter, adding ìgetting input is tough.î

Superintendent Rodney Reisnouer, who initiated the discussion and who hopes to pursue ways to increase the engagement level of the community, pointed out attendance at board meetings as a harbinger of community relations. ìLook here,î he said, indicating the room, ìall the people here are here because they have to be.î

Reisnouer was quick to point out that he is not referring to a lack of volunteers in the district or suggesting that parents arenít taking an active role in their childís education, but rather it is a larger issue of communicating expectations and ideas.

With that in mind, Reisnouer suggested consulting Springsted with an eye towards interpreting the survey results to create a plan for increased participation by the community.

ìWe truly want more involvement,î concluded Reisnouer.

The district believes that the survey will provide clues as to how to improve communication between citizens and district. And, there can be little doubt that lack of communication is a factor.

When asked over the summer how the district could change a levy proposal to make it more palatable, 26.9 percent of respondents noted that the district needs to provide more information. The only category higher was those answers deemed ìmiscellaneous.î To put the 26.9 percent in perspective, only 13.6 percent of respondents answered the same question by suggesting the district lower the cost.

Likewise, the board indicated it doesnít feel it is getting much input into district issues from the community.

With budget cuts expected starting in the 2007 - 08 budget and continuing for the foreseeable future without state increases and a positive swing in enrollment, the district will almost certainly have to consider asking local taxpayers for additional operating capital in coming years.

Reisnouer hopes that, by improving the engagement level between district and community, the district will better understand how to proceed in that area, and what expectations the community has for the district.