The response of a public survey have decision makers in the Wright City R-II School District feeling optimistic about the potential of increased funding for teacher salaries and technology.The board held a special meeting May 12 to discuss a survey it conducted to gauge public feedback of placing a tax levy increase proposal on the November ballot.The results indicated favorable support for a tax increase, with the majority of those surveyed generally agreeing that increasing the salary structure in order to remain competitive with other school districts in the area and improving the technology available to students are good ideas.“Overall, we were very pleased with the results,” Superintendent David Buck said. “When I sat down with a group of high school students last fall, the No. 1 thing they said they would change is losing good teachers, which really showed the need here.”The research group Patron Insight contacted 400 randomly selected heads-of-household who are registered voters to take part in a 10-minute telephone survey addressing a variety of issues related to education in the district.The completed surveys were divided into six regions within the district’s boundaries in an effort to provide an even distribution and feedback.“Our main goal was to see what the appetite was for an increased levy,” Buck said. “We also wanted to take this opportunity to gain a better understanding of the voters’ thoughts about the district.”Respondents were asked to provide feedback on three potential tax increase levels, beginning with a 60-cent increase, of which 58 percent said they would be in favor.Two lower increase options were presented to those opposed or undecided. Support increased for the 52-cent increase, with 60 percent in favor, with that figure growing to 62 percent for a 44-cent increase.With the difference between the scores being less than 5 percent from top to bottom, the results are considered statistically identical.“Our folks understand that we’re not paying as much as neighboring districts and that there’s a need to be competitive in keeping quality teachers,” Buck said.In addition, patrons were asked to grade 19 different areas of the district on an A through F scale, awarding 13 of those areas a grade of B or better. Most regarded were the safety of the students, quality of the Wright City East Elementary School facility and quality of the Wright City Start Preschool facility.“We were especially excited to see that the No. 1 area people were pleased with is student’s safety because that is a top priority for us,” Buck said.Earning the lowest marks from respondents were efforts in the district to involve citizens in decision-making, the value received for tax dollars spent and efforts of the district to report its plan and progress to citizens.Buck said the district continues to make strides toward keeping the community informed through public appearances, forums and social media.“It’s definitely one of our goals to increase patron engagement,” he said. “This year the board and myself have made an effort to attend Chamber and organizational meetings. Our footprint has grown over the year through social media, especially with Facebook and our new website.”The board plans to discuss the survey and its impact on moving forward with a tax levy increase during its May monthly meeting on Thursday. Buck said the details of the tax levy will be decided by the July meeting to submit ballot language by August.R-II School District