Presentation of Survey Results for Mendocino College

1
Presentation of Survey Results forMendocino
College

• Evans/McDonough Company, Inc.
• May 2006
• EMC 06-3482

2
Methodology

• Telephone survey
• Random selection of likely voters
• Mendocino Lake Community College District voters
• 400 Interviews
• Margin of Error 4.9
• Interviews conducted April 23-April 25, 2006
• Professional Interviewers

• As with any opinion research, the release of
  selected figures from this report without the
  analysis that explains their meaning would be
  damaging to EMC. Therefore, EMC reserves the
  right to correct any misleading release of this
  data in any medium through the release of correct
  data or analysis.

3
Voters in the Mendocino College area are split
between optimism and pessimism.
Do you feel that things in your area are
generally going in the right direction, or do you
feel that things are pretty seriously off on the
wrong track?
4
3 out of 4 voters, or their family members, have
taken a class at Mendocino College.
Have you, or has anyone in your immediate family
ever taken a class at Mendocino College?
5
Most voters rarely or never visit the Lake or
Willits Centers.
6
9 out of 10 voters have a favorable opinion of
Mendocino College.
7
A majority of voters are satisfied with the
quality of education and the job the College is
doing.
8
Quality of Education numbers compare favorably to
other Community College Districts.
rating Overall Quality of Education as
Excellent or Good
9
Many voters are unfamiliar with the job the Board
and the Foundation are doing.
10
A majority of voters believe the facilities at
the Main Campus are good or excellent.
11
Frequent visitors have a positive opinion of
campus facilities.
Among respondents who indicate they visit each
respective campus Frequently.
12
Ballot Language

• To improve education at Mendocino College by
• Improving and expanding academic facilities to
  help students prepare for jobs and transfer to
  4-year universities
• Upgrading computers and technology
• Building a new library/learning center
• Expanding facilities for nursing and other
  vocational programs,
• And by acquiring, constructing, equipping
  buildings, sites and classrooms, shall
  Mendocino-Lake Community College District issue
  50 million dollars in general obligation bonds,
  at legal interest rates, and appoint a Citizens
  Oversight Committee to monitor expenditures?

13
Initial support for the bond measure is strong.
Required to pass (55)
14
Initial support is higher for Mendocinos measure
than other colleges had in early polling.
voting Yes on initial ballot question
Measure on the ballot June 06
Measures were each approved when on the ballot
15
Initial support levels vary by Trustee District.
of Respondents
20
11
12
11
19
16
13
16
Initial support levels vary acrossLake and
Mendocino County.
of Respondents
9
11
20
17
20
10
15
17
Stronger support exists among Democrats than
Republicans.
Republicans Total Support 65
Democrats Total Support 84
Q18. Vote 1
of Respondents
44
35
18
The most likely voters are the least supportive
of the measure.
19
Support for the measure declines after mention of
costs still above 55 threshold needed to pass
the measure.
Q19. If the measure would cost homeowners 25
dollars per 100,000 dollars of assessed value
each year for the life of the bond, would you
vote yes to approve or no to reject the measure?
20
Trust of the College and awareness of financial
need are high among District voters.
21
District voters are not fundamentally opposed to
a tax increase.
22
The personal financial cost of the proposed bond
does not appear to be a significant negative.
23
Preparing students for 4-year universities,
providing local education, and job training are
top priorities for voters.
Using a scale of 1 to 7, please tell me how
important each role is for community colleges to
fulfill.
Mean
6.40
6.46
6.35
6.06
5.94
5.13
24
Helping students transfer/prepare for jobs and
expanding nursing/vocational job training
programs are important to voters.
Using a scale of 1 to 7, please tell me how
important each project is to you.
Mean
6.15
6.15
6.02
6.04
5.89
5.81
25
Expanding firefighter training and upgrading
technology infrastructure are also important to
many voters.
Using a scale of 1 to 7, please tell me how
important each project is to you.
Mean
5.67
5.61
5.46
5.36
5.11
4.98
26
Other projects are less important in the eyes of
the voters.
Using a scale of 1 to 7, please tell me how
important each project is to you.
Mean
4.94
4.86
4.70
4.50
4.37
3.74
27
Local projects are rated much higher by
local voters.
Among local voters District 6 (Lake)
District 1 (Willits)
Using a scale of 1 to 7, please tell me how
important each project is to you.
28
Support remains strong on second vote.
29
Expanding training programs for nurses and
securing matching funds are most effective
arguments in favor of measure.
30
Other arguments are also effective with some
voters.
31
Support for the proposed measure remains strong
in third vote.
32
Support declines after negative argument remains
above 55 threshold.
Q61 This just isnt the right time to raise
taxes. Mendocino College already has enough
money and they should just spend what they have
more wisely. In addition, Mendocino College does
not do a good job of educating its students, is
not very welcoming to the community and is poorly
managed internally. We cannot trust that more
money from taxpayers will improve the
college. Given what youve just heard, would you
vote Yes to approve or No to reject the bond
measure for Mendocino College?
33
Negative argument impacts support in nearly all
areas of the District.
of Respondents
20
11
12
11
19
16
13
34
Negative argument has large impact on Democrats
and less likely voters but they remain strongest
supporters.
35
Conclusions

• Voters have a favorable opinion of Mendocino
  College.
• Support for the proposed bond measure is strong.
• However, support varies by geography and
  demographics.
• Many voters are generally satisfied with the
  current facilities on the Main Campus.
• Preparing students to transfer to 4-year
  universities, and providing local, higher
  education for high school graduates and adults,
  are important roles for Mendocino College to
  fulfill.
• Expanding nursing and other vocational job
  training programs are important projects to
  voters.

36
Recommendations

• Move forward with plans to place bond measure on
  the November 2006 ballot.
• Continue to work hard to reach out to the
  community and secure broad public support,
  utilizing the positive image of Mendocino College
  utilize regional messages.
• Continue to communicate with voters about the
  need for funding to improve and expand facilities
  for popular job training, nursing, and other
  programs.
• Focus more on outcomes, not the process.