Bonds and Levies

Beaverton Public School District
Grove Insight has played a pivotal role in helping the Beaverton Public School District (Lisa Grove’s childhood school district) chart a path through the statewide education funding crisis and economic malaise over the past five years. Beginning in 2003, Grove Insight helped the Beaverton School District pass a $75 million operating levy that preserved 217 teaching positions in the district. After passing this pivotal levy, Grove Insight was involved in advising the district to make a controversial yet pivotal decision to return a portion of the revenue to the taxpayers after more money was raised than anticipated in 2004. Our research and advice provided the district with a clear directive to make this difficult move, as it was critical to their future ability to pass additional bonds. This advice bore out in 2006, when the district passed a general obligation bond to build more classroom space to accommodate population growth. Grove Insight provided the research on this winning effort as well.

Multnomah County Income Tax
Grove Insight conducted polling and provided strategic advice for the Multnomah County Income Tax campaign that succeeded in instituting Oregon’s first county-wide temporary income tax, needed to bridge funding gaps for schools and social services. With Grove Insight’s help, the campaign successfully imposed a brand new tax at a time when voters were feeling squeezed by a troubled economy, and the state posted the highest unemployment rate in the country. We also worked on the campaign to prevent the income tax from being repealed after an anti-tax group attempted to eliminate it the following year. This required specific targeted messages to a contingent of cranky, suburban voters, and Grove Insight was able to deliver the messages that worked.

San Francisco Unified School District
In a low turnout, off-year election, Grove Insight helped pass a $50 million school bond for the San Francisco Unified School District with 69% percent of the vote. Given California’s super-majority requirement to pass bond and tax measures, and the challenge of meeting this threshold in a low-interest off-year election with no top-ticket turnout drivers, this victory is particularly noteworthy.

Columbia Gorge Community College
In 2004, Grove Insight conducted research to pass a capital construction bond measure in a small, conservative community. This project was especially difficult given the district’s constrained budget and the relatively low number of valid phone numbers available in the area. Despite these significant challenges, the result was a successful bond levy, passing with 59% of the vote. Since this date, no other community college has succeeded in passing a bond levy in Oregon.

Some of Our Clients Include…
Yes on Measure B, San Francisco, CA, 1998
Yes on Measure D, San Francisco, CA, 1998
Yes on Minneapolis school bond, MN 2000
Yes on Portland Children’s Investment Fund (26-33), OR 2002 and 2008 levy renewal
Yes on Multnomah County Library Levy (26-32), OR 2002
Yes on Beaverton School District levy (34-67), OR 2003
Yes on Columbia Gorge Community College construction bond, Wasco &
   Hood River Counties, OR 2004
Yes on Multnomah County Income Tax (26-48), OR 2003
No on Multnomah County Income Tax Repeal (26-64), OR 2004
Yes on Fort Vancouver Regional Library bond levy (Prop. 2), WA 2005
Yes on Beaverton School District capital improvements bond levy (34-139), OR 2006
Yes on Clackamas County Public Safety Levy (3-246), OR 2006
Yes on Portland Community College Levy (26-95), OR 2008
Yes on Clackamas County Library Levy (3-310, OR 2008
Yes on Minneapolis Public Schools Levy (Ballot Question 1), MN 2008