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:

Larry said...

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.

Larry said...

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.

Anonymous said...

"The public was spit on..."

Did Gorman do the poll by any chance?

Larry said...

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%

Larry said...

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%

Larry said...

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.

Michael said...

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

Now go back and poll tax PAYERS....

tarhoosier said...

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