Ensuring Access to Quality Public Education is Core Value for Voters
Nationwide Poll Results Recently Released
Wendy D. Puriefoy
President and Executive Director
Public Education Network
Although there was a diffuse issue agenda competing for voters’ attention this past November, voters demonstrated a
continuing commitment to the nation’s youth and
public education. The message was clear: public
education is a core value for American voters, and voters overwhelmingly want good public
schools for all children.
These conclusions came from a 2001 poll commissioned by the Public Education Network (PEN)
and conducted by Lake, Snell and Associates, a
Washington, D.C.-based polling firm. The poll is the
second in a series of polls that PEN is conducting to
measure and monitor the public’s engagement and its
increasing involvement in pushing for policies that lead
to quality schools for all students, including
those students who are attending low performing schools.
The poll, to a large extent, explains the
waning support for private school voucher plans,
evidenced by the stunning defeats of state voucher plans in California and Michigan this fall
together with exit polling data showing that only
16 percent of respondents believed that vouchers would fix bad schools.
For a growing number of voters, public education is not just an issue for parents of
school-age children, but is an issue that the larger
electorate as a whole is recognizing as critical to the
survival of vibrant communities and producing moral,
law-abiding citizens. As a result, the larger
electorate is turning away from private school
vouchers toward policies that will have far broader
impact on public schools.
In addition, the public is getting smarter
about the importance of collective action, and is realizing that working together for public
schools will have more of an impact than funneling monies to private schools through
individual voucher programs.
Asked to name the most important public institution in their community, a plurality
named public schools. In fact, they volunteered
schools five times more than any other public
institution in their community as most important. This
was true of every demographic and political
subgroup polled. Furthermore, the poll shows that
the electorate is moving into a new phase: from one
of overall general support of public education, to
one of "intense" support of quality education for
all children, not just those close to home or in
their own community. Nine out of 10 voters said that
it is personally important to them to ensure good schools both locally and nationwide.
While voters are committed to public education, they realize public schools have a
significant way to go before realizing their goal of
providing every child with a quality education. At the
top of their list of priorities is raising teacher
quality, equalized funding between rich and poor
schools, raising standards for all students,
strengthening community involvement, and linking schools
with other community services. Half of all voters
say they would like to be more involved in
education issues, but are frustrated by their lack of
time, information, and knowledge about what to do.
The Public Education Network (PEN), a national
association comprised of 58 local education funds,
works to improve public school quality in low-income
communities nationwide. For more information about
PEN, to sign up for their weekly email newsletter, or download a
copy of their recent poll, go to www.publiceducation.org.
For more information, read CPA briefings on Education Reform with SAGE and Vouchers.
