Endorsements and editorials are made solely by the ownership of this newspaper. As is the case at most newspapers across the nation, The Spokesman-Review newsroom and its editors are not a part of this endorsement process. (Learn more.)
Editorial: Online took lets Spokane school district tailor request ahead of vote
The Spokane School District has read your thoughts.
And it responded.
The district will not undertake an upgrading of Joe Albi Stadium because the 3,500 parents, employees and other residents who participated in a new crowdsourcing process said the $18 million project was not among the items they want included in a $145 million bond issue that will go to voters in February.
They want more classrooms and other education basics before Albi gets a facelift.
But what they wanted most of all was no change in a 2003 school construction levy set at $1.96 per $1,000 of assessed value. The level was established to repay $165.35 million in bonds to build three elementary schools, overhaul two high schools and address other district needs.
It remained in place after voters in 2009 approved a separate $288 million bond issue for still more construction. Although the district continues to pay off the 2009 issue, the existing levy will finish those bonds off, as well as those district residents will vote on next year.
The district knows a steady levy is a priority because of ThoughtExchange, a small British Columbia company filling a niche for crowdsourcing opinion, with a focus on public schools.
ThoughtExchange uses what it calls its “Thought Exchange Platform” to share all ideas, identify priorities and discover what is truly important.
Deer Park was the first school district in the area to try it, followed by Central Valley School District. In an interview on the company’s website, CV Superintendent Ben Small says the company’s technology allows residents to be more engaged with their schools. CV received more than 14,000 thoughts from 7,500 respondents that were summarized into 206 priorities.
“The value of the feedback really can’t be overstated,” Small says. CV would also maintain a $1.96 per $1,000 assessment if its $121.9 million bond issue is approved.
Veterans of the public meeting process know well that 100 is a big turnout. The most vocal are not often the source of the best ideas, and they may put off those hoping to hear more thoughtful comments. At smaller meetings, district staff may outnumber parents.
Often, ThoughtExchange results deflate preconceptions regarding priorities. The thumbs down on major spending at Albi is one example. Frequent complaints about the cost of school supplies had put that issue high on Spokane district priorities, but in another, bigger ThoughtExchange process last spring, it was way down the list of parental concerns.
Company President Dave MacLeod says potential clients who merely want their own priorities confirmed will be disappointed.
Maybe it should not be surprising that Washington residents drenched in technology and accustomed to voting by mail take so readily to a process that increases opportunities to participate in public dialogue from their couch. School officials certainly speak enthusiastically of a tool that enables them to reach more stakeholders.
February will tell whether they got the right message.