March 25, 2021 3:20 a.m.

The South Umpqua School District Board of Directors is encouraging voters to participate in an upcoming independent survey that will help the board make decisions on the future of the district.

Superintendent Kate McLaughlin said the survey will be conducted by The Nelson Report, which has been hired to interview approximately 400 voters about various aspects of South Umpqua Schools. Registered voters in the district will be contacted at random for the ten-minute survey, whether they have children or grandchildren in the district, or not.

McLaughlin said they are very interested in what voters have to say about the job the district is doing and how they see the district growing in the future.

A release said SUSD is considering placing a bond levy in front of voters sometime in 2022. The board has not made any decisions around the details of a general obligation bond.

Board Chair Jeff Johnson said, “The results of this survey will help direct our next steps”. He said the board wants to know how members of the community prioritize possible improvements to schools.

The release said callers who are conducting the survey will be identified on caller ID as “South Umpqua School District”. They will identify themselves immediately and will not ask for any personal information other than age, gender and which community they live in.

Calls will begin on Monday. Results of the survey will be shared with the school board in a public meeting at a later date.