Schools

School Board Launches Special Referendum Website

School officials say the site is "part of our goal to communicate all information regarding the bond referendum vote" taking place on Jan. 24, 2012

The launched a special website Monday as part of its goal of communicating information to the public about its $30.2 million school bond referendum on Jan. 24.

The site, which is linked to the school district’s website, includes a letter from the board detailing the plan and the rationale behind it, downloadable voting forms, downloadable plans, images of each of the schools, a questions and comments section, a tax calculator so voters can see exactly how much of a tax impact they would see if the referendum passes, and more.

At Monday’s Board of Education meeting, Acting Superintendent of Schools Steven Engravalle called the website a “one-stop shop for the community” and “a place where they can find all of the applications, all of the planning [and] images of the issues in our schools.”

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He said there’s an email newsletter sign up on the site as well, and that the district will be sending out “frequent emails regarding updates to the project and reminders to vote Jan. 24.”

“It will also include a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document, which we hope answers most of the questions about the referendum,” Engravalle said. “That’ll become a living document. We’d like to answer questions, but we’d like to answer them for everyone.”

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He said the website is another step in ramping up community engagement in advance of the referendum in late January.

The BOE has already held several public walking tours and a community forum, with more to come prior to Jan. 24.

“You will be starting to receive some phone call reminders; you will be starting to see mailers come home, and we do anticipate a rather aggressive email campaign, as we’d like to constantly keep you updated of any new findings,” Engravalle said. “And the fastest and cheapest way for us to do that is via email.”

The BOE also established a direct email address for correspondence relating to the referendum: Referendum@fortlee-boe.net. But that can also be done directly through the website.

The district is working with Social Media Monsters, a social media marketing company based in Philadelphia, PA, to design the website and promote its content.

"Working with Social Media Monsters has been a true pleasure thus far," Engravalle said. "Their professional, courteous and responsive design team has helped us create a content-rich and interactive site that we feel will help us provide everything Fort Lee taxpayers need to make a sound decision regarding the Bond Referendum vote on January, 24, 2012."

Remaining public walking tours, which meet at the Fort Lee Board of Education Office at 255 Whiteman St., are Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.

There are also still two community forums as well at the on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. and Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.

Check back for more on Monday's BOE meeting.


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