BHS students collecting info on failed school bond

When Bigfork resident Chris Stubbins started a leadership program for high school juniors in 2007, she intended it to be a one-year program. The only problem was that once the year was up, the juniors didn't want to leave.

"She gave us the option of taking on a project to benefit the community," said BHS senior and program participant Jerry Gaiser. "Since it's important to us, we decided on the levy."

The "levy" being the $11.1 million high school bond issue that was put before voters — and rejected — twice in about six months in late 2007 and early 2008.

The first time the bond was put to a vote, it was accompanied by a $5.5 million request for the elementary and middle school that voters passed. Because the margin of defeat was only 84 votes for the high school bond, the school board went for it again, but voters sunk the request again last March, this time by almost 250 votes. Along with the school renovations and improvements, a plan for a vastly expanded library that would have served double duty for both the high school and the community was scuttled.

And since they're the ones spending their days in the building Bigfork decided wasn't worth renovating, Gaiser said the students wanted to find out why people checked "no" a year ago.

So the group of seven seniors devised a survey to gather some demographic information, gauge the level of knowledge about the bond and find out why someone voted yes or no.

"We're trying to figure out who we have to talk to next time," Gaiser said.

Survey questions include:

¥ Did having the community library as part of the levy make a difference in your vote?

¥ Do you feel like you were well informed about the high school's conditions?

¥ If you voted NO on the levy, what would have changed your vote to YES?

The questionnaire also asks if respondents have children in the school currently or who have attended in the past.

The survey went out to 1,000 voters in the Bigfork School District on March 13, with a request that they come back by April 20. To cover the mailing costs, the students plan to auction off a donated quilt sometime this spring.

In addition to the mailing, Gaiser said the survey will be available online in two separate locations. It will be posted on the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce site at http://www.bigfork.org and on the Bigfork High School site, at http://www.bigfork.k12.mt.us