Districts puzzle over rejected school measures.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

In the big picture, Tuesday's election bodes well for Oregon schools.

Two statewide ballot measures that were expected to slash revenue for education and other services were trounced, and Democrats - generally viewed as more generous in doling out dollars than Republicans - took control of the state House of Representatives.

But there were big disappointments at the local level. Although a $42.7 million Springfield School District capital bond measure sailed through with 56 percent backing, voters soundly rejected operating levies for the Bethel School District and Lane Community College. A capital bond measure to replace Creswell Middle School also failed, albeit by just 36 votes.

Boosters of the defeated measures were left scratching their heads Wednesday. There was no organized opposition to any one of the three - in fact, supporters said they heard nary a peep of disfavor while campaigning.

"We want to look at it precinct by precinct, see how the vote went and if we were communicating clearly about the good things we're doing in the district," said Bethel Superintendent Colt Gill, who did some campaign work on his own time.

But his best-guess theory is one proffered by supporters of all three measures: There was too much competition for taxpayer dollars on Tuesday's ballot.

"Last time we were the only people with our hands out," Gill said, referring to the May election, when the five-year, $7 million measure captured 54 percent of the vote, only to be defeated because turnout fell short of the 50 percent "double majority" mandate. "This time, people looked at their ballots and had to say yes or no to the parks, yes or no to the library, yes or no to the county (income tax) before they got to Bethel. And money is tight - they only have so much money to spend."

LCC Board Chairman Jay Bozievich, who co-chaired the LCC levy campaign, said placement near the end of the ballot also may have hurt the chances of the five-year, $6.5 million college measure. Pummeled at the polls, it garnered just over 43 percent of the vote.

"I think it got to be a bit of voter fatigue on tax questions," Bozievich said.

But the theory didn't hold true in Springfield, where voters passed not only the school bond but also two city measures for public safety.

School boosters believe campaign tactics played a role. Early on, they turned for advice to Jeanne Magmer and Gay Campbell of C&M Communications, authors of a National School Public Relations Association publication called "Win at the Polls."

The campaign committee did no sign-waving, no yard signs, no random doorbelling, instead zeroing in on particular individuals whose voting patterns and demographics looked favorable.

"It's basically a very simple campaign - you identify your 'yes' voters, make a personal contact with those 'yes' voters and then get them to the polls to vote," said Magmer, whose firm consulted with seven Oregon school districts with measures on Tuesday's ballot, six of which were successful.

While the district sent out informational flyers to every district voter, the campaign committee placed phone calls to just 4,000 and sent personalized postcards to 13,000.

Springfield district spokesman Jeff DeFranco said he believes the district was smart about the content of the measure. For example, he said replacing Hamlin Middle School didn't make it onto the final project list, even though there was initial talk of including it. That way, with bonds from a 1994 measure about to be paid off, the tax rate for schools should remain flat.

Superintendent Gill said the Bethel campaign included more traditional tactics, but also targeted likely "yes" voters.

Creswell Superintendent Rick Stuber planned to talk with his board Wednesday night about the election results, and what to do next.

"One of our frustrations today is we're not sure why people voted no," he said. "If they had negative feelings, they weren't brought to the forefront during the campaign so we could address them."

The $13 million bond measure would have paid to replace the aging middle school - something that must happen soon, he said.

"The building cannot survive," he said. "It almost floated away yesterday."

Gill said Bethel also must find a way to buy the new computers and textbooks that would have been funded by the levy.

"I think what it means for us is a slower pace," he said.

LCC's Bozievich said he and other supporters probably will turn their attention to the state Legislature. LCC has made deep cuts in recent years, and was anticipating more, even with passage of the levy.

"I'm being wishful and hoping," he said. "I know that the board and the rest of the college community, from the students to the board chair, are going to be spending a lot of time up in Salem."