SR-R Survey: Tepid Support for New ECFE, Activities Facilities

SAUK RAPIDS (WJON News) -- The results of a community survey show slight support for two new potential facilities in the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District.

The School Board was presented with the survey results during its meeting on Tuesday night.

The company that conducted the survey, School Perceptions, says there is 55.2 percent projected support for a new ECFE building at an estimated cost of $37.9 million.

There is slightly less support at 53.3 percent for a new outdoor activities complex next to the high school which would include a multi-sport stadium and a separate track and field at an estimated cost of $19.8 million.

A combined referendum of $57.7 million to pay for both projects at the same time has a projected support of 45.3 percent.

The company got to those numbers using their data. They say there were 2,863 responses to the district-wide survey, which was a 26 percent response rate. They say a good response rate is 18 percent, so they called Sauk Rapids-Rice's response "tremendous".

Of the people who filled out the survey, 42 percent have children attending Sauk Rapids-Rice right now, while 58 percent do not. They also know that 30 percent of all eligible voters in the entire district are parents while 70 percent of eligible voters are nonparents in the district. So, they used a weighted formula to get to their numbers for projected support for both projects.

School Perceptions is an independent third-party research firm. They have helped over 1,000 districts with strategic planning.

Get our free mobile app

Superintendent Brad Bergstrom says the next step is to bring the survey results to the community for some informational sessions. He says he's already scheduled five community feedback sessions to get more input.

The survey is just the preliminary conversation, in any potential new facilities for the district.

READ RELATED ARTICLES

Beach Boys At The Ledge Amphitheater, 2024

The Beach Boys brought their Endless Summer Gold Tour to The Ledge Amphitheater in Waite Park in 2024 and brought John Stamos with them for the sold-out show. It was the 2nd time the group played at The Ledge. Check out these pictures of the concert.

Categories: From the WJON Newsroom, St. Cloud News