Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Poll: 'No' to private school vouchers, public school cuts

A new NC Policy Watch poll finds N.C. voters favoring no cuts to public education funding, opposing private school vouchers and skeptical of legislative moves to exempt charter schools from oversight. The poll was released at a Crucial Conversation lunch hosted Wednesday by NC Policy Watch reveals. Among the findings from those polled:



  • Most (56 percent) oppose taxpayer-funded vouchers for parents to send their children to public schools (39 percent favored).


  • Most (66 percent) favored maintaining tax revenue at current levels to avoid cuts in public education.


  • Most (55 percent) supported maintain revenue for Smart Start and More at Four, the state's early child education programs.


  • Most (52 percent) said charter schools receiving public funding should be required to provide free and reduced price lunches like traditional public schools (38 percent opposesd).


  • Most (64 percent) said charter schools should be required to hire certified teachers (28 percent opposed).


  • The public was spit on requiring charter schools to provide transportation (48-45).


  • The poll was done from March 21 to 23, and surveyed nearly 700 registered voters throughout North Carolina regarding their attitudes on some of the high-profile issues currently before the General Assembly – including charter schools, the requirements placed upon them, and governance issues. The poll also gauged the opinions of voters on proposed cuts to education, preservation of current state taxes and the participation of non-public school students on public school athletic teams. Full results of the poll are available online at: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Poll-Results-March-2011.pdf

8 comments:

  1. This is a very skewed poll, and I have included the questions below.

    Note how they ask the second question to set up the tone of all the other questions. And note I use the word tone interchangeably to show the how the elite private schools have always seemed the domain of a certain group.

    However with voucher it would surprise people to find out how many students get financial aid at these private schools and could with vouchers.

    North Carolina Survey Results
    Q1 Do you have a generally favorable or
    unfavorable impression of charter schools?
    Favorable .............. 54%
    Unfavorable........... 25%
    Not sure ................ 21%

    Q2 Do you think it should or should not be a
    concern if evidence shows that charter schools
    tend to be more racially segregated than
    traditional public schools?
    Should be a concern....................................... 40%
    Should not....................................................... 50%
    Not sure .......................................................... 10%

    Q3 As public schools that receive public dollars, do
    you think that charters should or should not be
    required to provide free and reduced price
    lunches like traditional public schools?
    52%
    They should be required to provide free and
    reduced price lunches.....................................
    They should not be required to ....................... 38%
    Not sure .......................................................... 10%

    Q4 Do you think that charters should or should not
    be required to provide transportation to all
    students who need it like traditional public
    schools?
    48%
    They should be required to provide
    transportation to all students...........................
    They should not be required to ....................... 45%
    Not sure .......................................................... 7%

    Continued on next as it will only allow a certain amount.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Continued from above.

    Q5 Do you think that charters should or should not
    be required to hire only state certified teachers,
    principals and administrators like traditional
    public schools?
    64%
    They should be required to hire only state
    certified teachers, principals, and
    administrators .................................................
    They should not be required to ....................... 28%
    Not sure .......................................................... 9%

    Q6 Do you think North Carolina’s state-funded
    charters should be governed by the state
    Board of Education, like all other public
    schools, or by a separate board that only
    oversees charters?
    55%
    Charters should be governed by the state
    Board of Education .........................................
    40%
    They should be governed by a separate
    board that only oversees charters...................
    Not sure .......................................................... 6%

    Q7 Do you think that public schools should or
    should not be required to permit children who
    are home schooled or who attend private
    schools to participate on their interscholastic
    sports teams?
    39%
    Public schools should be required to permit
    home schooled or private school attending
    children to play on their sports teams .............
    They should not be required to ....................... 53%
    Not sure .......................................................... 9%

    Q8 Do you support or oppose the idea of providing
    taxpayer-funded vouchers or tax credits to
    parents who wish to send their children to
    private or religious schools?
    Support ........................................................... 39%
    Oppose ........................................................... 56%
    Not sure .......................................................... 5%

    Q9 Would you support or oppose keeping state
    taxes at current levels in order to avoid cuts to
    public education?
    Support ........................................................... 66%
    Oppose ........................................................... 22%
    Not sure .......................................................... 12%

    Where is the question, Do you think our current spending is efficient and we are getting the best for out tax dollars, yes or no.

    Oh how about do you think our current system is working?

    Strange how they use our tax money to leave out so much, just because they can and have done it so often.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "The public was spit on..."

    Did Gorman do the poll by any chance?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Q10 Would you support or oppose laying off some
    public school teachers and teacher assistants
    in order to help close the state budget
    shortfall?
    Support ........................................................... 32%
    Oppose ........................................................... 62%
    Not sure .......................................................... 5%

    Q11 Would you support or oppose keeping state
    taxes at current levels in order to avoid cuts to
    early childhood programs like Smart Start and
    More at Four?
    Support ........................................................... 55%
    Oppose ........................................................... 33%
    Not sure .......................................................... 12%

    Q12 If you are a woman, press 1, if a man, press 2.
    Woman ........................................................... 56%
    Man................................................................. 44%

    Q13 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If you are a
    Republican, press 2. If you are an independent
    or identify with another party, press 3.
    Democrat ........................................................ 45%
    Republican...................................................... 32%
    Independent/other........................................... 23%

    ReplyDelete
  5. Q14 If you are white, press 1. If African-American,
    press 2. If other, press 3.
    White .............................................................. 71%
    African-American ............................................ 23%
    Other............................................................... 6%

    Q15 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
    45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
    older than 65, press 4.
    18 to 29........................................................... 16%
    30 to 45........................................................... 29%
    46 to 65........................................................... 35%
    Older than 65.................................................. 20%
    Q16
    252.................................................................. 10%
    336.................................................................. 21%
    704.................................................................. 18%
    828.................................................................. 16%
    910.................................................................. 12%
    919.................................................................. 23%

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh and be sure to note how the question of Private and Religious schools was asked in one, not as two questions? How do you think that might have turned out?

    Sometimes it is in how you ask the questions.

    ReplyDelete
  7. "poll finds N.C. voters favoring no cuts"

    Now go back and poll tax PAYERS....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michael if you buy something for as little as ten cents you pay sales tax. How many people buy nothing in a year?

    ReplyDelete