ROCKFORD, Mich. — Rockford Public Schools is seeking community input through a survey following the defeat of a $230 million bond proposal last November.
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The district launched the survey to understand why voters rejected the funding measure and determine what the community wants in future proposals.
"Our district is a community resource, and we want it to continue to be a community resource," said Dr. Steve Matthews, Rockford Public Schools Superintendent.
Matthews said the district was disappointed in the election outcome and hopes the survey and future ones will help evaluate why the proposal failed.
"It really talks about how you receive information from the district, what kinds of things in the bond they were interested in, or what kinds of things didn't appeal to them," Matthews said.
Robbie Augustine, vice chair of Transparency for RPS Taxpayers, welcomed the district's outreach efforts.
"I think it's a great first step in just talking to the community," Augustine said.
Augustine said the group was happy the district is conducting multiple surveys.
"When I thought this was the only survey, I was shocked at how limited it was in scope, but I'm glad that more than one survey is going to come out," Augustine said.
Matthews explained that since the majority of state funding does not cover school facilities, the district must seek community support for building improvements.
"We have to come to our community to support our facilities. So, we're trying to figure out how we can develop a plan that our community will support as they supported in the past, and once we do, we'll have those conversations, try to figure out how to move forward," Matthews added.
The superintendent stated that surveys will continue throughout the year, and a potential millage vote would not occur until 2027 at the earliest.
"Public schools are for the public, they're for our community, and so part of our responsibility is to listen," Matthews said.
The survey is open to all residents living within the Rockford Public School District. The deadline to complete the survey is Sunday, January 18th.
The survey can be picked up at the district office. To fill out the survey online, click here.
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