American voters express overwhelming support for education at a time when national security and lingering economic worries have dominated the headlines.
“Accountability for All: What Voters Want From Education Candidates” is available on the Web from the Public Education Network. (Requires Adobe’s Acrobat Reader.)
That sentiment comes through clearly in the second in a series of annual polls examining the public’s commitment to public education, released April 24 by the Public Education Network and Education Week. This week, Education Week runs the first of several close-up looks at the findings of that poll, “Accountability for All: What Voters Want From Education Candidates.”
Six in 10 of those polled said their states were likely to face budget deficits this year, with voters ages 50 to 64, white college-educated voters, older college-educated voters, and college-educated women the most likely to respond that way.
Still, 53 percent said education should be protected from state budget cuts. Even among voters age 65 or older, who as a group are less likely to have school-age children, 40 percent said education funding should be protected.
Poll respondents also expressed strong support for federal aid to schools: Seventy-three percent deemed it a “priority.”
The telephone poll of 800 registered voters was conducted in January. The margin of error is 3 percentage points. (“Poll: Public Sees Schools As a Priority,” April 24, 2002.)
—Mary-Ellen Phelps Deily
