Shakopee Public Schools connects their parents.

In 2020, Minnesota’s Shakopee Public Schools anticipated that a significant number of their constituents would turn up to vote in their tax election. Because a previous bond was dropping off, the net tax impact would be minimal—and without the 2020 operating levy, Shakopee would be faced with significant budget cuts. But unfortunately, the levy referendum didn’t pass.

When Dr. Mike Redmond arrived at Shakopee two years earlier, he was the district’s sixth superintendent in 18 months. The first of those six had ended up in federal prison for fraud and embezzlement of school funds. In a period of just four years, the community had seen the district’s unassigned funds balance go from roughly $16 million to nearly zero. Trust in the district was at an all-time low.

But Redmond understood. “That hurt, anger, and resentment was because they love their schools,” he says. “They care deeply about their community, and somebody had robbed them of that and destroyed their trust.” After the 2020 operating levy failed, Redmond made space for the community to ask questions and heal. Then, he and other community leaders went back to the drawing board, developing an ultimately successful strategy for their 2021 levy campaign.

Build trust through clear and consistent messaging.

Shakopee’s first step after the failed campaign was to help their community sort out the facts and voice their concerns. “We went as far as we possibly could to answer every question the community wanted to ask,” Redmond tells us. It was clear that voters would be unwilling to assist the district financially until they understood what had gone wrong in the past. “They still had a lot of pain and anger,” Redmond says, “and I understood that. People wanted to know: How are you going to manage the money now? The district blew it before .”

Soon after the 2020 campaign, the district was asked to make budget cuts—so they did. They wanted to be totally transparent with the community about their finances to help rebuild trust. At the same time, they were honest about the future: Without a new revenue source, budget cuts would not be a one-time thing. That became their campaign message for the upcoming 2021 vote. “Our message was clear: This is a binary choice,” Redmond says. Would the community choose to provide additional operating revenue, or would the district need to make significant budget cuts every two to three years?

Being direct and honest about the district’s financial situation was only half the battle. The other half was ensuring that the messaging surrounding the levy remained clear, consistent, and focused. District leaders made themselves constantly available for questions from community members and from staff. “During a referendum campaign, you’ve got to respond to every email before you turn your computer off at night,” Redmond says. They also involved and engaged their teachers: sharing info at welcome back events, explaining the do’s and don’ts for staff members, and showing them where to access reliable resources.

Don’t underestimate parents and families.

But maybe the most important thing the district did was support the local Vote Yes committee. “We helped them get established and made sure they had access to first-rate resources,” Redmond explains. The committee, started by three volunteer co-chairs, followed a simple but effective strategy: Connect parents who support the school’s bond with other parents in the community.

The way the committee saw it, parents and families have the most to gain from a school bond, so they’d be more willing to act as volunteers. What’s more, parents are best situated to advocate to other parents. Even if their political views are different, they have one very important thing in common: their kids’ education. “They used a spreadsheet from past voter records,” Redmond explains, “and the parents recruited by the three co-chairs actually picked who they’d be responsible for talking to—maybe other parents they knew or who lived by them.”

Before long, nearly all of the district’s parents had been personally encouraged to vote “Yes” by someone they knew and trusted. “And then, all of a sudden, I saw people who weren’t even originally part of the formal organization doing the same kind of advocacy,” Redmond says. “They were posting on social media or discussing the bond at soccer games.” When one parent talked to 10 parents, then each of those parents talked to 10 more, the result was hundreds of new advocates promoting the levy.

And as more and more people felt empowered to advocate on behalf of the district, a wave of positivity washed over the community. “The message was clear, incredibly important, and coming from fellow parents,” Redmond says. After the turmoil of the previous several years, the community united behind their chance to invest in their kids, collectively deciding to put their faith back in the district. “The parents knew they were making a positive impact,” he says. “They would talk about how important the operating levy was—not just for the schools, but for the entire community.”

Their hard work paid off—the referendum passed at an astonishing two-to-one margin. And the families who were so central to that victory felt even more invested in the work of their schools; after all, they’d been a crucial part of the district’s success.