Unatego Central School District Exit Survey 2017 Results for ALL VOTERS-Raw Numbers
School Budget
How did you vote on the 2017-2018 school budget? ___132___yes _54__no
Why did you vote as you did? (Please check THE most important.)
If you voted YES: If you voted NO:
44 The budget meets the needs of students. 13 The budget does NOT meet the needs of students.
51 The budget spending increase is reasonable. 17 The budget spending increase is NOT reasonable.
35 The school tax levy is reasonable. 24 The school tax levy is NOT reasonable.
91 I support education. 14 I support education but can’t afford the cost.
__Other (please specify):________________ __Other See end of survey for comments. _____________________________________ ___________________________________________
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What were your best sources of information about the budget? (Please rank order your choices.)
52 School Board meeting(s) 34 Local newspaper
111 District Newsletter 3 TV broadcasts
36 District Flyer 36 Social Media
23 District Website 44 Discussions with district employees
Regardless of how you voted, did you find that the district newsletter and website provided you with sound information on which to base your decision? 95 yes 23 no 51 somewhat
In the past, how did you typically vote on the budget?
120_I typically voted YES 15_I typically voted NO 47_No consistent pattern
About the School District
In general, how would you grade the quality of education provided by Unatego schools?
_20 A 79_B 45 C 19_D 10 F
How would you rate the value per dollar spent on education at Unatego?
21_Excellent 73_Good 26_Fair 25_Poor
How would you rate the leadership of the Unatego Board of Education?
26_Excellent 58_Good 49_Fair 47_Poor
How would you rate the quality of leadership of the Unatego administration?
26_Excellent 58_ Good 52_Fair 38_Poor
Demographics: Which Town do you live in?
102 Otego 69_Unadilla 6_Sidney 2_Franklin 0_Butternuts 2_Laurens 1_Oneonta
Thanks for voting and completing this survey.
Key Findings from the 2017 Exit Survey at the School Board Election and Budget Vote
32% completed all or part of the survey
Of those, 56% were from Otego, 38% were from Unadilla, and 6% from other townships.
Of those who voted YES on the budget, the number one reason was “I support Education” with 41% followed by “the budget spending increase is reasonable” at 23%.
For No voters, the number one reason was “The school tax levy is not reasonable” at 35% with
“the budget spending increase is not reasonable” second at 25%.
For those who answered the question “What were your best sources of information about the budget?” the raw numbers (because answers were ranked) were the best source was the District Newsletter at 111, followed by School Board meetings at 42, discussions with district employees at 44 followed by social media at 36.
OF the 169 people who answered the question “did you find the district newsletter and website provided you with sound information on which to base your decision?” 56% said yes, 30% responded “somewhat” while 14% said no.
Regarding voting history, 182 responded to the question “how did you typically vote on the budget in the past?” and the results there were 66% usually voted yes, 8% usually voted no, and 26% had no consistent pattern.
About the School District Questions were answered as follows:
Quality of Education:
57% gave the district an A or B, while 17% gave us a D or F.
The value per dollar:
65% rated the value as excellent or good, while 35% rated the value as fair or poor.
Leadership of the Board of Education:
47% rated the leadership as excellent or good; 53% rated it as fair or poor.
Leadership of the Administration:
48% rated the leadership as excellent or good, while 52% rated it as fair or poor.
Insight can also be gained by breaking down the data for those who voted NO on the budget and comparing their views to those who voted YES.
Location:
Of the 54 people who voted NO, 82% were from Otego and 18% from Unadilla.
Of the 132 who voted YES, 46% were residents of Unadilla, 45% resided in Otego, with 11% in one of the other towns.
Sources:
For NO voters, 57% obtained their information from the District Newsletter, followed by 33% who got their information from Board Meetings and 26% who were informed by Social Media.
For YES voters, 61% relied on the District Newsletter, 26% on Board Meetings, and 25% by discussions with District Employees.
Reasons why people voted as they did:
44% of NO voters cited the Tax Levy as being unreasonable followed by 31% who indicated the spending increase was not reasonable.
OF the YES voters, 69% chose “I support Education” as their rational for voting yes, followed by 39% who chose “the budget increase is reasonable” as their reason.
History of how people indicated they voted in the past:
Of the NO voters, 35% indicated they usually voted yes, 22% said they usually voted no, and 43% indicated no pattern to their voting in the past.
Of the YES voters, 77% stated they typically voted YES, only 2% said they usually voted no, with 11% indicating no pattern.
Quality of Education:
Only 22% of NO voters rated the quality of education at Unatego as an A or B; 35% said they thought it was a “C” while 43% rated education at Unatego a D or F.
72% of YES voters gave the quality of education an A or B, 22% a “C” and only 6% rated it a D or F.
Value for the Dollar:
NO voters overwhelmingly noted that they viewed education at Unatego as a poor value—only 13% rated the value as Excellent or Good, while 87% ranked it as Fair or Poor.
On the other hand, of those who voted YES, 74% saw the value as Excellent or Good, with only 26% rating it Fair or Poor.
Board Leadership:
Most No voters gave the Board of Education poor marks for Quality of Leadership, with 89% rating it as Fair or Poor, and only 11% ranking it as Excellent or Good.
YES voters showed that 62% rated Board leadership as Excellent or Good with only 38% rating it as Fair or Poor.
Administrative Leadership:
Results on the survey for administrative leadership mirrored those for Board Leadership. Of those voting NO on the budget, only 13% rated it as Excellent or Good; 87% ranked it as Fair or Poor.
YES voters viewed the administration more favorably, with 64% rating administration as Excellent or Good, and only 36% seeing it as Fair or Poor.