Wilmot UHS board to hire Donovan Group for community survey if timeline can be accelerated

The Wilmot UHS School District discussed hiring an outside firm to run a community survey aimed at prioritizing projects funded by the district referendum. Administration presented a Donovan Group package that would design, distribute and analyze the survey for a proposed fee of $7,000, and recommended the full-service option over a self-administered survey to ensure neutral wording and broader community reach.

Board members said the survey is intended to give the district evidence about what residents prioritize — for example, whether to emphasize a daycare (which could require levying Fund 80 and was described in the meeting as adding roughly a 14-cent estimate to the mill rate) or to prioritize roofing and other capital alternates. Trustees raised two central concerns: cost and speed. Donovan's initial schedule projected results in September; several trustees said that would be too late and urged a turnaround in July or by the first two weeks of August so the board could discuss findings at its August working session.

Administrators explained Donovan's scope: drafting the questions, distributing materials (mail, postcard, electronic methods), collecting responses and producing a report. The district had considered a lower-cost path — using internal staff and SurveyMonkey or a limited mailer — but trustees said an outside firm could provide impartial wording and more robust response-gathering. One trustee urged urgency: "I don't care what it costs. It needs to be quick," reflecting the board's concern that inflation is driving up project costs while the district waits.

Trustees also discussed outreach trade-offs: mailing a full sample to all households was described as potentially costing $3,000–$4,000 for a postcard effort, and mailing increases turn-around time; digital-only approaches risk missing older or less-connected residents. Board members stressed the need to reach a representative sample rather than every resident and discussed supplementing a survey with public sessions and school-based outreach.

No formal, recorded motion to award the contract to Donovan was taken during the meeting. Instead, the board told administration to negotiate with Donovan to shorten the timeline and to return with a firm schedule and deliverables; if Donovan can commit to an earlier delivery (the board discussed aiming for results by the beginning of August), administration was authorized to proceed within its existing procurement authority. Administration was also asked to press Nexus (the district's contractor on the referendum work) for updated cost estimates on alternates so the survey can present realistic trade-offs to the public.

Next steps: administration will negotiate a tightened timeline and report back with a definitive schedule and cost breakdown; the board expects to review survey results and Nexus cost updates at its August working session.