Groton – A survey done last month found 51.8 percent would support the proposed school construction plan if the vote were held tomorrow and the plan cost an additional $250 in annual property taxes, according to results provided to the Groton School Facilities Initiative Task Force.

The Center for Research and Public Policy surveyed 386 residents by phone from June 9-25 to gauge public support for the proposal, according to Jerry Lindsley, president of the firm. Results were released to the School Facilities Initiative Task Force last week. The group plans to issue a press release on the findings shortly.

Residents qualified for the survey if they confirmed they were at least 18 and registered to vote in Groton.

Surveyors found the biggest issue with the plan was taxes and cost. Initially, when residents were asked how they might vote on the plan if a referendum were “held today,” just over one-third, or 36.5 percent, said they would definitely or probably support it. Nearly 20 percent were unsure or didn’t know, and 44.6 percent said they would probably or definitely oppose it.

The two most common reasons given by those opposing the plan were that taxes are already too high or the cost was too much and new buildings were not needed.

But when residents were asked later in the survey, after discussing the plan, if they would support it based on a specific cost, the results changed.

Among those surveyed, 51.8 percent said they’d support the plan at a referendum “today” if it cost an additional $250 in property taxes on average. If the average cost were $200, 53.6 percent said they’d probably or definitely support the plan, and if the average additional cost were $150, 58.3 percent said they’d probably or definitely vote yes.

The proposal, called the Groton 2020 Plan, would build one new middle school adjacent to Robert E. Fitch High School to create a campus atmosphere for students in grades 6-12. The district would then build two elementary schools on the sites of Carl C. Cutler and West Side middle schools. Pleasant Valley, Claude Chester and S.B. Butler elementary schools would close.

The plan is intended to modernize the schools and provide a long-term solution to aging facilities by dealing with buildings that are more than 60 years old. The proposal is also meant to meet the state mandate for racial balance in the schools, avoid further redistricting and include magnet schools within the district.

The survey asked residents about their perceptions and interest in the schools, how closely they followed the work of the task force and whether they would support the school construction plan at referendum if the vote were held today. The firm used Census data to obtain a sampling of homes from each area of town.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim