Principles That Guide School Campaigns
In a recent interview with Funding Strategies Newsletter, Winning Mark founder and CEO Mark Wiener outlined his philosophies for running a successful school bond campaign. He outlined a number of critical principles that should guide a school campaign: Judging voter climate, understanding customers and stockholders, starting early, expanding communication, and denying failure as an option.
The most important key to running a successful campaign is to understand the political climate of the voting demographic. As Wiener describes, "If voters are not secure about their own future it is difficult to get them to consider spending more money, even for schools." However, Wiener is quick to point out that, "School districts are local rather than statewide elections. Voter mood is entirely dependent on where the district is located within each state, as well as people's perceptions of both the quality and the needs of their local school district."
Secondly, Wiener stresses the importance of running a viable and potentially winning campaign. When asked about the situation necessary for ensuring a successful campaign, Wiener responded, "We frequently talk with school boards who think it is a good idea to put something on the ballot, even knowing they will probably lose. The thought is that losing one election will set a district up for future success. In our experience, failure is not an effective strategy for success. If you are going out to voters, give yourself a decent shot at victory - otherwise you are digging an ever deeper hole that will make it difficult to win in the future."
The last element of Winning Mark's school strategy is to commit fully to a campaign that the community itself truly endorses. Wiener explains, "Don't bother even going to the voters unless you are willing to have a disciplined and funded campaign. Given the tough voter climate, it is nearly impossible to simply drop something on the ballot and expect it to pass. For a money measure for schools, make sure you have a campaign with sufficient district and community support to put together a sturdy, effective structure for ongoing grassroots communication and paid media." This also requires expanding communication within the district between community leaders, students, teachers and parents. As Wiener states, "Person-to-person contact is critical in a community-based campaign to raise taxes."
In order for the campaign to understand the voters in the district, and to effective tailor its message, the leaders must recognize the dynamic of the community. Wiener elaborates, "There are two groups you need to communicate with consistently - not only when your district is actively campaigning:
Customers are the parents who send kids to school every day and directly 'buy' your services.
Stockholders are people who pay your bills but don't currently have kids in school. Bear in mind that these groups have different sets of needs and priorities. You must have a product that customers will buy now and that stockholders will invest in far into the future."
March 27, 2006 | Filed Under: Public Financing | Permalink
