When we compare these outcomes to statewide research conducted in partnership with Piper Sandler, a clear pattern emerges. Voters are not turning away from public education. They are becoming more selective, more cost-conscious, and more focused on outcomes. 

For districts planning future measures, the lesson is to strengthen your year-round engagement strategies.  

The Research Trends Behind the Results

Our statewide survey of registered voters found: 

• 54 percent believe their local district needs more funding 

• 62 percent believe local property taxes are too high 

• Transparency and communication are the top drivers of trust 

This tension between funding need and tax sensitivity defined the February ballot. Voters are willing to invest, but they expect clarity in return. Bridging this gap requires an integrated strategy that connects research to messaging to channels and year-round engagement.  

February’s election results reflected S360’s research trends and findings almost exactly. The clearest takeaway is that voters continue to recognize the need for school investment, especially through levies, but growing tax sensitivity and higher expectations for accountability make the communications of the details of each proposal more important than ever. 

What the Approved Measures Had in Common 

The S360 team was proud to support 12 school districts and successful passage of 21 measures, securing nearly $4 billion for over 121,000 students. 

When we look at districts where bonds and levies were approved, the communications playbook is consistent and follows a “Need – Plan – Accountability” structure. Successful measures: 

• Clearly explain why local funding is necessary and how it fits into Washington’s broader school funding structure. They often emphasize renewal or replacement when that’s the case, which lowers the temperature around tax concerns. They spell out exactly what the dollars will pay for — specific schools, projects, upgrades — instead of relying on broad phrases. And they address cost head-on, usually in plain language that helps voters understand what it means for them. 

• Are all about clarity. Voters appear willing to support school funding when they understand the problem, see a defined solution, and feel confident the investment is responsible. In a tax-sensitive environment, communications that reduce uncertainty and build trust can make the difference between majority support and a supermajority win. 

• Don’t stop after the election. In fact, districts who regularly share updates about past funding and plans for future funding show increased trust among their communities. 

What This Means for District Leaders 

Successful measures are grounded in: 

• Messaging that reflects local priorities. Baseline opinion research to understand funding sentiment and tax sensitivity means your messaging will accurately reflect what your community thinks 

• Clear articulation of specific projects and outcomes 

• Year-round communication that reaches beyond families 

Looking Forward 

February confirmed that Washington communities are willing to invest when they understand the why, the how, and the impact. 

From baseline research and message testing to creative development, digital strategy, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing communications planning, our team partners with districts to build the systems that support successful measures. If you’re beginning to think about your next levy or bond, we’d welcome the conversation. Contact us at edteam@strategies360.com  

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At Strategies 360, we are collaborative strategists who solve big challenges. Few challenges are bigger than navigating a legislative session, especially now, when budgets are tight and timelines are short. Success requires deep knowledge of your legislative priorities, which can be bolstered with an integrated communications plan built to deliver clarity of message, action, and results. A winning legislative communications plan starts with clear goals, a strong message framework, platforms that authentically reach your audience, and a timeline tied to key session dates. That’s why we combine public and government affairs, research, communications, and creative services into one integrated approach. Our plans are: 

• Grounded in research: We analyze survey data, focus group insights, and interviews to provide clarity on what motivates your audience and how to move them to action.
  
  
• Aligned with a foundation: We develop a foundational plan from which all efforts are coordinated. Messages are developed, key decision makers identified, and platforms prepared.
  

• Strengthened through coalition building: We help partners align around shared goals, applying our foundations to all outreach activity across a diverse set of stakeholders to effectively reach and influence lawmakers. 

• Supported with advocacy tools: From social media graphics to fact sheets and videos, we equip supporters with the tools they need to succeed. 

Our strength is translating complex issues into clear stories detailing the consequences of legislation to real people. We not only develop the plan, but help with implementation by:  

• Motivating advocates and keeping them energized and engaged. 

• Managing deliverables so there are no surprises along the way. 

• Tracking metrics to measure success and adjust strategy when needed. 

We become your strategic partner every step of the way. 

Ready to turn your legislative priorities into measurable results? Let’s build a plan that wins. Email us at communications@strategies360.com to get started. 

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Every April, Autism Acceptance Month is recognized across the United States. S360 is proud to support the Autism Society with their communications and digital marketing goals for the month. Strategies 360 was first engaged by the Autism Society of America in 2021 to support national communications outreach for Autism Acceptance Month. Our task was to shift the public narrative away from using Autism Awareness Month to Acceptance. Not only was S360 successful in earning national media for our client, including Op-Eds placed in The Hill and the LA Times, our team was able to deliver significant regional media attention across the country for the shift in language.

In 2022, our goal was to amplify the newly launched brand identity and their campaign to #celebratedifferences within Autism Acceptance Month activities. We developed messaging, multiple press releases, social media content, blog content, sample letters to the editor, and a 16-series email drip campaign for AAM fundraising for all the Autism Society affiliates to use as needed to support on the ground, grassroots fundraising.

Beyond traditional communications services, our team has developed relationships with Autism Society’s corporate partners to amplify stories that feature some of the nation’s largest companies giving back their time and contributing financially to the organization. Our team developed a multi-pronged press outreach strategy that engaged health, business, entertainment, and non-profit industry media sharing multiple stories designed for each media focus area.

The 2022 Autism Acceptance Month media campaign landed unique earned stories in USA Today, Forbes, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among the many other regional and local media outlets sharing hometown stories by working with Autism Society affiliates. Interviews were arranged with sources for Yahoo Finance, Healthline, and multiple local radio and television stations around the country. Some reporters directly used content S360 developed and shared from 2021 and 2022, demonstrating the long-term impact of our communications work.

In total, our work helped secured nearly 5,000 mentions for the Autism Society across the country in March and April, and the media placed garnered over $49.5M in ad value equivalency!  Importantly for the goals of the Autism Society, their positive brand sentiment increased 75%.

A companion digital media advertising strategy was developed for Autism Acceptance Month as well. From the campaign’s Mid-March launch through the month of April, S360’s digital marketing team ran a lean budget and tailored the campaign to attract specific target demographics in ten media markets. The campaign performed above benchmark for paid search, Facebook, and display ads generating over 1.6 million impressions driving tens of thousands of new users to the Autism Society website.

BRAND ROLL OUT

Prior to Autism Acceptance Month in 2022, S360 also helped the Autism Society launch their new brand. S360’s communications team went into action developing the comprehensive supportive messaging for the brand, talking points and FAQs to address the major shift in not just the look and feel, but in the iconography traditionally associated with Autism. From that messaging, we developed press releases, blogs, a fundraising email drip campaign for Giving Tuesday, and social media content. Our work also included outreach to target media markets for placement of the Autism Society’s newly developed PSA.

Beyond earned media, S360’s Digital Marketing team pulled together a paid media campaign to run following the brand launch. The team leveraged the PSA to run as pre-roll, as well as managed static assets for social and display ads across target media markets. We also ran paid search, driving significant interest into the Autism Society’s helpline. In fact, since S360 started managing the organization’s digital marketing, calls or emails to the Autism Society’s helpline increased an average of 187%! With our review of the most effective search terms, S360’s communications and digital marketing team worked together to update creative and drive even more attention to the Autism Society, which helped immensely moving into Autism Acceptance Month.

“It has been a pleasure to work with the team at S360 over the past 18 months. Our working relationship has expanded as our needs and goals evolved; we have seen a direct return on our investment in the areas of brand awareness, donor acquisition and fundraising, and inbound inquiries through our National Helpline. We sincerely value S360’s strategic guidance and their commitment to the cause of our organization.” – Kristyn Roth, Chief Marketing Officer

We are incredibly proud of our partnership with the Autism Society of America and share their values of inclusivity, diversity, and acceptance. The Autism Society is the oldest grassroots Autism non-profit in the country. With 70 affiliates supporting over 600,000 people annually, the Autism Society’s impact on the lives of Autistic individuals and their loved ones is immense. To learn more, visit www.AutismSociety.org.

Get to know more about our Communications Practice here.

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Amy Ruiz brings the experience and leadership of a 15-year career in journalism, city policy, communications and campaign direction to her work for S360 clients, offering strong tactical and strategic counsel. In her tenure at Strategies 360, Amy has represented a diverse slate of clients on local transportation, technology, smart cities, housing and development issues.

Dave Hunt brings a wealth of knowledge about Oregon’s public and private sector to his work for S360 clients. Dave leads Strategies 360’s Oregon state government affairs team. Prior to joining S360, Dave represented Clackamas County in the Oregon House of Representatives for a decade, serving as Democratic Leader, Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House.

Erik Sten is a collaborative and strategic political leader, skilled manager and communicator who led Portland as it worked to build a vibrant city that meets the needs of all citizens. After leaving City Hall, he built a business that partners with government to address persistent problems using market mechanisms.

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Award-winning journalist and former Disney manager to lead communications practice in Los Angeles

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Former TechNet VP to lead S360’s office in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO – Strategies 360, recognized as the leading public affairs firm in the western United States, is thrilled to announce today the hiring of Andrea Deveau, who will lead the firm’s growing practice in Sacramento.

Andrea joins the Sacramento team as a well-known and highly effective advocacy veteran with deep expertise in energy and technology policy. Andrea most recently served as Vice President of State Policy and Politics for TechNet, where she led the group’s state lobbying efforts since 2016. Under Andrea’s leadership, TechNet’s 50-state advocacy program achieved numerous wins on advanced energy, privacy, security, future of work, and education. Last year alone, Andrea oversaw efforts on 490 bills in 47 state houses, achieving a 92 percent success rate.

“Andrea has truly transformed our state program and cemented TechNet’s standing as a lobbying and political powerhouse in state capitals across the country, especially in Sacramento, California,” said Linda Moore, President, and CEO of TechNet. “Without Andrea’s leadership, our state program would not be what it is today — the tech sector’s preeminent policy and advocacy group on the state level.”

Click here for more on Andrea’s background and biography.

Andrea’s addition to S360 builds on the firm’s rapidly expanding practice in Sacramento, which has coupled highly-skilled government affairs professionals with S360’s well-established public opinion and marketing services in California.

“Strategies 360 is built around providing our clients with the best and the brightest, and there isn’t a better person in the world to lead our growth in Sacramento,” said Strategies 360 Co-founder and CEO, Ron Dotzauer.“Andrea Deveau has a proven track record and an unmatched ability to secure advocacy wins in any environment. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her to the team.”

Andrea will be leading the S360 team in Sacramento, which includes Vice President Greg Hayes, Vice President of Policy and Communications David Richey, and Director of Government and Public Affairs Tatiana Stewart. The firm also expanded its practice in Los Angles in early 2018 with the hiring of Senior Vice President Larry Chung and Senior Director Nella McOsker.

With offices in 12 Western states and Washington, D.C., Strategies 360 is the leading public affairs, communications, research, and marketing firm in the west. With experts drawn from the worlds of government, politics, the news media, quantitative and qualitative research, advertising, marketing and creative design, S360 crafts and executes the strategies that help clients succeed.

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SACRAMENTO – Strategies 360 (S360), recognized as the top, leading-edge public affairs firm in the western United States, announced today the opening of its Sacramento office to join its offices in 12 western states, and the addition of a veteran strategist to lead its existing Los Angeles office.

Leading the Sacramento office is well-known legislative and public affairs consultant Justin Fanslau, joined by long-time communications consultant Greg Hayes and experienced legislative advocate Alicia Priego. S360 also announced that one of Southern California’s top public affairs advisors, Larry Chung, has joined the team to lead its Los Angeles office. S360 is the first public affairs and lobbying firm to offer a complete in-house digital and communications practice and will be combining that with its new team members’ experience to offer a first-of-its-kind public affairs resource for clients seeking to impact California policy and regulation.
Fanslau has carved a niche in the technology sector assisting many startups navigate the legislative and regulatory environment in Sacramento. He is the principal outside advocate for TechNet, which is the bipartisan network of technology CEOs that promotes growth in the innovation economy. Fanslau’s political experience includes work both inside and outside of the Capitol. He served as Legislative Director for Senate President pro Tempore-elect Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and as Campaign Manager for Assemblymember Adam Gray (D-Merced). His background also involves experience with housing and the environment, and consulting with California’s building and construction trades unions.

Joining Fanslau is Greg Hayes, who has a diverse business, public and governmental affairs background. Hayes has been lobbying in recent years for a variety of private sector clients in the entertainment, financial services, natural resources, and technology

sectors. Prior to that, he served as Communications Director for Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). Hayes also was an entrepreneur in the green technology and financial service spaces, helping to commercialize the nation’s first high-solid organic waste-to-energy system. Early in his career Hayes worked in the California Senate and most notably as Press Secretary to Senator Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) both in the Capitol and in Torres run for California Insurance Commissioner.

Rounding out the new Sacramento team is lobbyist Alicia Priego. Priego joins Strategies 360 with 15 years of state government affairs experience with expertise in energy and transportation policy. She most recently worked for Sempra Energy and previously served as Legislative Director for Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose). Priego also serves on the board of California Women in Energy.

Chung, who will be leading S360’s Los Angeles and Southern California offices, specializes in public affairs and government relations. Prior to joining the team, Chung spent several years consulting in technology, entertainment, and telecommunications to Fortune 10 companies. He also served as a senior aide to California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez providing strategic counsel and coordinating all communications between internal and external stakeholders for the administration. He currently serves as an appointee of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on the California State Bar Lawyer Assistance Oversight Committee and as an officer and board member for the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles.

S360’s expansion in California builds on the firm’s existing footprint in the Golden State, bringing highly-skilled government affairs capabilities to S360’s well-established public opinion research and marketing services in California. The four new hires will be joining the existing S360 team in California, including Senior Vice President of Research, Drew Lieberman, who leads the firm’s top-flight public opinion research practice out of San Diego, CA.

With offices in 12 Western states and Washington, D.C., Strategies 360 is the leading public affairs, communications, research, and marketing firm in the west. With experts drawn from the worlds of government, politics, the news media, quantitative and qualitative research, advertising, marketing and creative design, S360 crafts and executes the strategies that help clients succeed.

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