Public Relations Specialist Doug Gould:
Developing Messages for School Funding Reform

Thirty WAES members took advantage of a special opportunity on October 28, 2003, to meet with an expert in shaping public opinion on education issues. Doug Gould, President of Douglas Gould & Co., Inc., is a public relations consultant from New York who specializes in working on issue campaigns for progressive organizations around the country. Mr. Gould came to Wisconsin to work with WAES and a tax policy network to assist in developing messages to use in public outreach. His visit was made possible by a grant from the Joyce Foundation.

Prior to getting down to the nitty-gritty of WAES messaging, Gould presented the findings of his national focus group studies on how the public thinks of education. Here's what he found:

• Most people are critical of public schools, and negative opinion is growing. 63% feel the system requires major change. Only 38% have confidence in schools, but this opinion is driven by a national view; many are happy with their own local school.

• The majority (58%) say that education is a top priority for state funds, and 68% believe that education in their state has already been affected by state budget cuts.

• Most people support increased funding for schools—59% are willing to increase taxes for it, but most still feel that money isn't the main problem for schools.

• Americans have four different mindsets about education in America. Some blame "neglectful" parents or a "bad society" for problems in schools. Others believe in the "market accountability" model, where schools should be run like a business, complete with high standards, accountability measures and mechanisms for punishing schools that fail. Gould refers to the fourth mindset as the "nurturant community," or people who believe that everyone benefits when public education succeeds and that it's in our common interest to target more resources to help schools that are in jeopardy. The nurturant community is the only mindset that supports greater investment in public education and reforms that are not punitive.

Gould then offered some practical advice for advocates and others concerned about public school funding. Here are some of his suggestions:

• We need to reframe the public debate on education from the market accountability to the nurturant community mindset. We need to talk about school reform as a community responsibility. Testing should be used mainly to identify the areas that need help in schools—more resources and leadership to improve performance. Tests diagnose problems in schools; they do not fix them.

• Advocates should highlight solutions rather than problems. We know how to educate and what needs to be done. Negative framing—talking about what's wrong—should be avoided.

• When advocating for increased resources for schools be specific about what more money will pay for. Don't over-promise what money can do.

• A good message is one that is: true, believable, supported by facts, connects to people's core values, and has an action component. A strong message must be spoken by the right person, who can enhance or undercut the potency of the message. In the case of education reform, research shows that parents and teachers (when not referring to salaries) are the best, most believable messengers.

WAES members then spent time developing some key words and phrases to define the group's goals and the Adequacy campaign. Mr. Gould recorded those and has developed them into a set of key messages to be used in WAES outreach. Click here for Doug Gould's message points for reforming Wisconsin's school-finance system.

Top of page

Back to Recent Events