ISSUE:

Pushing the Envelope, Inc. (PTE) was contracted to help the Hendry County School District communicate the need for more funding via the proposed half-cent sales tax referendum on the 2022 ballot. The District’s schools were old, outdated, and in some cases, in certain campus areas, non-functional. PTE was brought in to assist the District in educating the voting public to create awareness of the need and the referendum to appear on the November 2022 ballot. 

OBJECTIVES & STRATEGIES:

Getting the referendum passed was PTE’s primary objective and goal of the campaign. This drove all of PTE’s objectives and strategies throughout the campaign. 

To get the referendum passed, the following objectives were set.

1. Educate voters about the half-cent sales tax to obtain 50% of casted votes on the referendum to be “yes” on or before November 8, 2022.
2. Increase awareness of the half-cent sales tax with voters in Hendry County, as proven by publicity and digital traffic data. 

To accomplish these objectives, PTE determined the following strategies were the most effective.

1. Use Hendry County School District’s owned communication channels, including Facebook, website, and email lists (internal and external) to educate the target audiences of the referendum and the need in the District’s schools. 
2. Explore local speaking engagements for the Superintendent. These were used to help spread awareness of the need to local influencers, clubs, groups, and organizations. 
3. Obtain publicity and media coverage for both the need for funding and the referendum.
4. Facilitate grassroots efforts of printed material (banners, yard signs, and direct mailers). These materials were displayed at high volume areas throughout the county for voters to see leading up to Election Day. 

RESULTS:

The referendum passed in the November election with a 52.88% total casted vote in favor of the tax.

1. PTE successfully educated voters about the half-cent sales tax and exceeded our objective by having 52.88% of voters (4,064 of the 7,685 who voted) submit “yes” on the ballot to pass the referendum. 
2. PTE increased awareness of the half-cent sales tax with voters in Hendry County, as proven by an estimated media readership of 6,500 and more than 4,000 website visits to the HCSD half-cent sales tax campaign landing page between October and November.

The efforts made during this campaign resulted in a generational community impact. The passing of the referendum will positively change the District and its ability to continuously improve with the everchanging times. 

Now, moving forward, HCSD will potentially see an annual income in tax revenue of approximately $2,000,000. With the amount invested in 2022 to get the referendum passed, the amount returned annually generates an annual return on investment (ROI) of 2,598.93%.