A poll conducted by consultants hired by Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 found that a slim majority of voters lean toward supporting a proposed $98.36 million referendum the district is considering. The district would use the funds for repairs and renovations to its schools., conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, a consulting firm, asked 200 registered voters in Park Ridge whether they would support or reject a $98.36 million referendum.
The poll found that Democrats largely backed renovations to District 64’s schools, with 71% of Democrats saying they supported them and 16% saying they opposed them. Jim Hobart, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies, said whatever action the board takes, the district will benefit from asking voters to vote on a referendum during a presidential election, because voters will have a higher turnout compared to other elections.
The poll also asked voters open-ended questions on why or why not they supported the potential referendum. Hobart said he saw responses such as “this would increase safety,” “this is for the children,” “good for the community.” Hobart said people who rejected it said things like “taxes are already too high,” “the district should budget better,” and “the cost is too high.”
“A good example is LaSalle-Peru High School District,” Hobart said. “I think they started at $67 million. It was not polling well. I called the superintendent and said, ‘Okay, we should really test this Plan B of yours’… $36 million or something… and in the end indicated 50.4% support and at the ballot box we got 50.5% support.”