School Board reviews survey results

An internal and external survey system shed light on areas for the Manatee County School District to focus improvement efforts.

The Manatee County School Board heard the results of the surveys at its workshop yesterday for the first time. The board contracted with DeJONG-RICHTER, an Ohio-based education consulting firm, to help the board get a feeling for how the district stood in the eyes of the public and of the employees who work there — a climate survey.

Two surveys were completed in August, one consisting of 503 phone interviews with residents of Manatee County and an internal survey to which 60% of the district’s 6,000 employees responded.

The parallel between both surveys showed a general dissatisfaction with the district and the board, but an overall satisfaction with the schools and school administration at the local level.

In the internal survey, only 15% of respondents answered that they were completely confident in the board’s ability to fulfill the mission and vision of the District. District administration got a slightly higher rating, with 28% holding complete confidence, and 49% responded positively to the same question about school administration.

Community respondents gave a high rating to the teachers in the county, with 65% of parents saying they totally approved the work of the District's teachers.

“Teachers are rock stars to these parents,” said Paul Fallon, the President of Florida Opinion Research, a survey firm which worked with DeJONG-RICHTER to complete the external survey.

The survey team also noted an important area for the district to improve upon: reaching out to the senior residents of the county to get them more engaged and interested in the district.

“When you consider the fact that they are a disproportionately large sector of the electorate, that has some electoral consequences,” Fallon said. “That worries me.”

After the presentations, the board discussed the areas that showed room for improvement, and also the potential of conducting similar surveys more often.

“Although we have to work on improving some areas, there are areas where it is truly ‘my’ perception,” said Diane Greene, Superintendent. “It is very difficult to change, say, ‘I think hiring is fair in the district;’ when you apply for something and you don’t get it, you automatically think it’s not fair.”

Budget talks

The school board approved the final budget and millage rate for the 2015-2016 school year.

The final approved budget was $671,634,012. More than half of the district’s expenses, 54%, is allocated to salaries and benefits for the district’s 6,100 employees.

The district staff predicted a $14 million fund balance at the end of the year, which will be unassigned.

The board also approved the 2015-2016 fiscal year millage of 7.2670, which is a decrease from the 2014-2015 rate, which was 7.367. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. That means for every $100,000 of assessed value, homeowners could see a $1.60 increase on their property-tax bill.