MANSFIELD — A recent community survey found the public’s trust in Mansfield City Schools has risen in some areas since 2017.

Board members said they were generally pleased with the results of the survey. 

“We’ve made a lot of very difficult decisions and it’s nice to see some positive results,” said board president Renda Cline.

Paul Fallon of Fallon Research and Communications shared the results of the survey, which was conducted between Nov. 17 and 21, at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

“I think we’re on the right track,” board member Gary Feagin said. “I think we do need to dig into this a little further because we do have a couple levies coming up in the next few years.”

Fallon Research and Communications surveyed 300 randomly-selected registered voters in the district, with a deliberate oversampling of parents with students currently enrolled in the district.

Fifty percent of respondents said they would recommend enrolling a child in the district to a friend or relative moving into the area. This included 59 percent of parents and 45 percent of non-parents.

In 2017, just 49 percent of parents and 28 percent of non-parents said they would recommend the district.

The survey also found Blacks were much more likely to recommend the school district (72 percent said yes) than White residents (46 percent) or residents of other races (48 percent).

Public perception of the quality of education has also improved. Forty-four percent of respondents rated it as “excellent or good,” 26 percent rated it “fair,” 20 percent rated it “poor or very poor” and 10 percent were unsure.

Forty-eight percent of parents rated the quality of education as “excellent or good,” compared to 41 percent in 2017. Forty-two percent of non-parents said the same, compared to just 29 percent in 2017.

Forty-five percent of those surveyed felt that the district “is going in the right direction,” including 50 percent of parents and 43 percent of non-parents.

Perception of the district’s management of tax monies and budget scored lower. Thirty-six percent of the community rated the district’s fiscal management it as “excellent or good.” Thirty percent rated it “fair” and 16 percent rated it poor. The remaining respondents said they were unsure.

Nevertheless, the response from parents improved — this year, 41 percent of parents gave the district an “excellent or good rating,” as opposed to 28 percent in 2017. The rate for non-parents remained the same at 32 percent. 

The survey found that 42 percent of women and 28 percent of men rated the district’s financial spending as “excellent or good.”

Fallon said that while parents and voters are exhibiting more satisfaction with the school district and improvements made in management of district finances, the rate of trust is still below an ideal threshold and could impede future funding requests if not addressed.

“People also tend to be pretty conservative in their ratings (of finances) so it’s not unusual for this one to be a bit lower,” he added.

The survey also asked respondents their opinions on planning priorities outlined in the district’s strategic plan. 

The survey found that:

  • 76 percent of residents believed the district should put more emphasis on career and technical education for students who want to go directly into the workforce after high school.

  • 69 percent residents want more emphasis on seeking input from parents and the community.

  • 60 percent said the district should put more emphasis on curriculum that prepares students for college.

  • 60 percent want to see more social and emotional supports provided for students.

  • 59 percent believe the district should put more emphasis on early learning programs for preschool students.

  • 45 percent more emphasis on extracurricular programs like clubs athletic teams and student orgs.

“These were all tenets from the proposed strategic plan and all ranked highly, indicating that the strategic plan elements are closely aligned with the expectations and policy preferences of the community,” Fallon said.

There was also a high degree of support for more resources for academically gifted and at-risk students.

The survey also showed there was no conclusive opinion about external upgrades to school facilities, but the public favors (55 percent) modernizing building interiors and technology.