The results are in.

According to school officials, the district received a high return rate on the parent surveys this year and Superintendent Dr. Sallie Brewer went over the top issues parents selected during the board meeting Thursday night.

The surveys are usually handed out every other year, but were given for the second year in a row during the start of the 2008 school year. The surveys are designed by the Parent Advisory Council, which is made up of 18 members, or two from each school, chosen by each of the school councils throughout the district.

"The Parent Advisory Council was not pleased that we didn’t get many surveys back last year," Brewer said. "So we were trying to come up with a way to get more responses this year."

The council’s idea was to hand out surveys during open house events and every parent who turned in a survey received a free homework pass for their child to use this year.

"I thought their idea was a wonderful one and total, we received a 61 percent return rate," Brewer said, noting in previous years the return rate has generally been around 25 percent.

The return rate of the surveys is based on how many students are in the district.

The survey was split into two sections – for students in K-5 and 6-12 – and the results of the top five things parents wanted to see for each group are published on page 5.

Brewer said some of the priorities will require funding. The budget for the 2009-2010 school year, which the district will start planning in February, will make room for any additions necessary to implement what parents felt was most important.

But some can be implemented sooner.

Read more of this story in Saturday's Bryan County News.