Factors influencing the successful passage of a school bond referendum as identified by selected voters in the Navasota Independent School District in Texas

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the successful passage of a school bond referendum as identified by selected voters in the Navasota Independent School District in Texas. The secondary purpose of the study was to examine pre- and post-strategies of the failed September 11, 2004, referendum and identify those factors that influenced the positive referendum on December 11, 2004. Surveys were sent to 260 registered voters who participated in both the September 11, 2004, and December 11, 2004, school bond referenda in the Navasota Independent School District. Frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, and Chi- Square tests were performed on the data to determine if there were any significant findings through the surveys. The results of the investigation were fairly clear. As stated in the research by Surratt (1987), trust in the administration and follow-through in previous bond referenda played a significant role in determining the negative outcome of the September 11, 2004, Navasota ISD school bond referendum. In the December 11, 2004, bond referendum, detailed information on bond plans, individual campus activities promoting needs for the passage of the bond referendum, opportunity to vote on more than one proposition, and information on the cost of the tax increase for the average home in NISD were instrumental in the positive outcome of that referendum. In regards to demographics of the voting population, the factor “currently having children in the district” played a significant role in determining the outcome of the referenda. This agreed with earlier research by Theobold & Meier (2002).