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NB District preps for 2009 referendum |
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By Patrick Tepoorten
A referendum for additional operating capital may not be a ballot question until November of 2009, but the North Branch School Board has already begun preparations. To that end, at a work session on May 15 the board gave its unofficial approval to hire the consulting firm of Decision Resources to guide it through the process.
Decision Resources is not a stranger to the district, having consulted for the district on previous levy attempts. The firm, run by husband and wife team Bill and Diane Morris, was chosen for a variety of reasons; it was the low bidder for providing data services to the district, it has previous experience working with the district, and will work free of charge with any parent/community committee that is formed to help pass a ballot question. Other firms had agreed to work with such a committee, but not without compensation.
One of Decision Resources primary goals will be to conduct extensive surveying later this year and early next year to help the district create a referendum that serves the district and is also palatable to district voters.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the district won’t actually get to sit down and develop a game plan with Decision Resources until July. Without that plan, it is difficult to project what the consulting services will cost, but it is believed it could run around $20,000 in total.
Look for more on this story in next week’s edition of the Post Review.
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