Thumbs Up for Schools, Thumbs Down for Roads

Almost all the residents who responded to a community survey about town services, governance, and infrastructure led by Dr. Kurt Schlichting of Fairfield University this spring said they were satisfied (39 percent) or very satisfied (54 percent) with life in New Canaan.

"That's pretty good," First Selectman Jeb Walker told Town Council Wednesday evening. He had given the Board of Selectmen a sneak peak at the results at their meeting Tuesday.

But the preliminary glance suggests there are still some things town government needs to work on.

Of the 513 respondents in the random sample and 1,115 who completed the questionnaire during the town-wide phase, 43 percent rated the roads as only fair or poor.

"That number around the roads keeps revealing itself all the time. It's sort of a scary number," said Walker.

In the open-ended portion of the questionnaire, respondents identified upgrades to roads and highways as a top priority for capital funding.

Another area that may need serious improvement: public awareness of town services. Fully two-thirds said they were unfamiliar with Human Services and 44 percent didn't know about Elderly Services; 41 percent claimed ignorance of the Public Health Department, 35 percent the town website, 27 percent the ambulance corps, and 17 the Emergency Preparedness Department.

Walker suggested the answer to the lack of familiarity with EMS was simple, "they didn't have to ride in it."

But he expressed great disappointment with the under-utilization of the town website, which was redesigned last year. Only 28 percent said they used the site as a source of information on local issues.

"My concern is that it's disinterest," Walker said.

The vast majority (96 percent) said instead they got their news from the "local newspaper" (New Canaan Patch was, sadly, not a survey option). As an additional source, 69 percent identified friends and neighbors, which Walker called, "the rumor mill"; he suggested the 21 percent getting information from e-mail might actually be engaging in more idle chatter. That only 13 percent listed elected officials as a source, said councilman Steve Karl, "doesn't bode well for us."

Furthermore, while 52 percent said they were satisfied, and 14 percent very satisfied with the responsiveness of elected officials, 12 percent were dissatisfied and 19 percent said they didn't know.

On the positive side, though high taxes, the cost of living, and balancing the town budget were listed as primary concerns in the open-ended portion, 45 percent indicated they wanted the town to maintain current services and keep taxes where they are.

And, unsurprisingly, about 90 percent of respondents with children in the public schools rated the overall quality of the schools as good or excellent (more than 50 percent). The Curriculum, facilities, and extra curricular activities got similar reviews.

But the ranking of educational priorities differed somewhat from what has been laid out by the Board of Education—70 percent picked expanding science and math offerings as most important over expanding languages, online courses, or performing arts programs.

"I've already had two conversations with [Board of Education Chairman] Nick Williams and [Superintendent David] Abbey about this."

Walker said he thought the takeaways would prove to be worth the $20,000 allocated for the study.

A complete analysis of the survey results is expected in about two weeks, and Walker will then present a full report on Channel 79.