Getting satisfied citizens to pass your budget. (Public Engagement).

Phi Delta Kappa's annual poll on education shows people generally are satisfied with their local schools. However, contentment sometimes results in apathy. Citizens who feel positive about the state of the schools do not often go to the polls with the urgency of those voters who want to register their dissatisfaction with the district by voting no on the proposed budget.

In the 1,400-student Brittonkill school system in Troy, N.Y., where I spent the past four years as superintendent, the annual challenge always was to encourage the generally satisfied citizens to come out to cast their votes for the district's spending plan. Over that time, I found some effective strategies for attracting positive votes on school issues. These strategies resulted in passage of budgets in 14 of my 16 years as a superintendent, including the last nine consecutive.

* Clearly describe the reasons for major budget initiatives.

Budget discussions always center on how to most effectively allocate scarce resources for competing priorities. By presenting new budget initiatives in a need/plan/cost format, they are easily understood by anyone who views a budget presentation or reads a newsletter.

Be sure you can answer the "so that" question. If support for the expense is the goal, then your presentation must cause someone listening to or reading your budget presentation to go through a thought process similar to this: The expense to fund X is necessary so that students will be able to do X, Y or Z. If you ask yourself the "so that" question and answer it clearly in your remarks, then understanding and support are likely to occur among the listeners.

Remember to garner staff support for the budget by doing in-house budget presentations.

* Establish a budget hotline.

The confidence of the public in the school district's budget will be increased if people believe the board and administrators are fiscally prudent and willingly provide honest information about it. In our budget newsletter, we list the direct phone line of the business administrator and call it the budget hotline. People are encouraged to call with questions. They rarely do but when someone does, he or she receives a straight answer, and we believe that understanding leads to support.

Attractive Events

* Provide time for people to ask budget questions after the workday.

In the information distributed about the budget presentations that will be held at various community organizations, I also schedule one day from 4 to 7 p.m. when I will be in my office to answer budget questions. People are encouraged to call or stop by. In 16 years of doing this, no one has ever called or stopped by. However, I believe the willingness to be available to answer budget questions communicates confidence in the budget and in the fiscal level-headedness of the district.

* Hold a major event on the night of the bud get vote.

What events would cause a lot of positive voters to walk by your polls on the evening of the budget vote? Schedule them. We would hold a band concert or choral performance involving 5th through 12"' graders because that involves many students whose parents are inclined to watch them. During the evening of a budget vote, elementary teachers would host a showcase of student work. The result: Many happy supporters of the schools arrive on campus in time to cast their ballot if they didn't do so earlier in the day.

* Enlist the help of organizations in your district.

What organizations can remind positive voters to come out to vote? Every year, I do a budget presentation to the Parent-Teacher-Student-Association. The association then sends brightly colored postcards to district residents several days before the vote, encouraging them to support the budget.

In some districts, the sports and music booster clubs call students and parents of athletes and musicians who graduated in the last five years to remind them to vote. The teachers' union calls or writes retired teachers living in the district and those who teach elsewhere but who live in the district.

* Conduct an exit survey and analyze the voters' comments.

Whether your budget is passed or defeated, an exit survey allows your district to address perceived deficiencies cited by the voters. That is particularly important if your budget is defeated at the polls. By analyzing an exit survey, you are operating from data rather than intuition. If you do not currently have an exit survey, you probably can borrow one from a neighboring district or ask me to send you one electronically.

Moving Voters

Preparing an educationally and fiscally sound budget may not be enough to get voters to vote favorably. As taxpayers feel a financial squeeze, they may be tempted to vote no because it is the lone opportunity they have to limit their tax liabilities.

Positive voters may be apathetic and think their vote doesn't matter. By using my suggested strategies, you and your board of education will help ensure a positive vote for the benefit of children and the community.

John Grotto is superintendent of the Ballston Spa Central School District, 70 Malta Ave., Ballston Spa, N.Y. 12020. E-mail: [e-mail]