No On 3 members review efforts to defeat amendment

Two members of No On 3, the local not-for-profit formed to help defeat the controversial public school education-related Amendment 3, reviewed voters' rejection of the measure Monday night at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

In a PowerPoint presentation, NOT treasurer David Larson detailed how the group helped get the word out to beat the proposed constitutional amendment, which would have tied teacher evaluations to student performance and limited future teaching contracts to three years.

Statewide, 1,098,023 votes were cast against the amendment, with 338,298 voting for it, according to unofficial results from the Missouri Secretary of State's website.

He said it was thwarted in every county in Missouri, although NOT concentrated on Cape Girardeau, Scott and Perry counties.

In Cape Girardeau County, 13,694 voted against the amendment and 3,487 supported it, Larson's PowerPoint showed.

Perry County logged 4,050 votes against it to 896 for it while Scott County voters cast 6,021 no votes and 1,668 yes ballots.

NOT started off using public affairs and social media to raise awareness, followed by random canvassing or leafleting. Volunteers distributed business cards at churches, Cape Girardeau and Jackson football games and in Perryville the Sunday before the Nov. 4 election.

About 500 cards were distributed during the Southeast Missouri State University Homecoming Parade.

A phone bank was conducted in cooperation with Protect Our Local Schools, a coalition of parents, teachers, principals, superintendents and school boards. Six volunteers made about 100 phone calls over a period of about two and a half hours, Larson said.

About 100 yard signs were obtained and 50 passed out. Larson said he was contacted by individuals in St. Louis and Sullivan counties about getting signs.

"There was quite an interest in defeating this amendment. Amendment 3 crossed the broad spectrum of political philosophies," Larson said.

Larson also was invited to speak to the Southeast Missouri Pachyderm Club and Cape Girardeau County Democrats.

The group was going to conduct targeted canvassing with door hangers, but did not have the money and ran out of time, Larson said.

NOT member Esther Bohnert volunteered to lead the public affairs effort, arranging for a radio interview, three letters to the editor and six Speak Out comments in the Southeast Missourian.

Susie Coomer set up the group's Facebook page, which 50 people "liked," the presentation showed. The page received 468 hits the week of the election and 482 the week before the election, Larson said.

NOT formed Aug. 18 and had 15 to 20 participants from the Cape Girardeau area, but as the election drew closer, volunteers fell away.

With the campaign complete, the group will file a financial report with the Missouri Ethics Commission by Nov. 29 and disband, Larson said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

711 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.