Community survey shows favorable ratings and trust in the district
(04/09/2021) Residents say trust in the Anoka-Hennepin School District is high in a recent community survey. The majority of people surveyed also gave the district a favorable rating. The results were presented to the School Board by Peter Leatherman, CEO of the nationally recognized research firm, Morris Leatherman Company.
The scientifically valid community survey involved 500 randomly selected residents throughout the district who were contacted by phone in February 2021. As Leatherman presented the results, he shared that Anoka-Hennepin performed above-average in many cases.
When asked to rate the school district, a combined 87% gave an “excellent” or “good” rating. Anoka-Hennepin’s excellence rating of 21% remains well above the state average of 15%. Residents also show strong support for Anoka-Hennepin teachers; 81% voiced favorable ratings of teachers’ job performance.
Respondents also shared favorable perceptions of the district’s performance during the pandemic; 74% said they trust the district, 76% believed Anoka-Hennepin does a good job of involving the community. Satisfaction is even higher among parents of school-aged children specifically; 79% of that group rated the handling of the pandemic “excellent” or “good.”
“Why this is so strong is that, during the pandemic, the norm has dropped down to about 65%. You’re about 10 points higher than the norm,” Leatherman told the board during his presentation. “Whatever’s been done over the course of the year, the district residents do feel that they have the ability to be involved.”
Meanwhile, 69% said the district spends taxpayer’s money effectively and efficiently, and indicated a willingness to provide financial support for schools to help students overcome challenges created by the pandemic. Leatherman suggested residents are open to discussing taxes and referendum decisions.
“Would residents in this district support a property tax increase to provide academic support for students that fell behind during the pandemic? 86% said yes, 68% said ‘strongly support,’” Leatherman explained. “That’s the highest in 27 years of me doing this of strong support for a property tax increase for a specific purpose.”
The Anoka-Hennepin School Board values community feedback and uses data from scientific community surveys to monitor and adjust operations as necessary. Morris Leatherman says the results of the 2021 community survey are projectible within plus or minus 4.5% in 95 out of 100 cases. The survey provides the district with data regarding quality perception, parent/guardian satisfaction with services, property tax tolerance and other items for School Board and district consideration. The district commits to an annual survey as one tool in a system of continuous improvement for school district operations.