News
New polling results; strong support for education
from Susquehanna Polling and Research
Following are two general conclusions summarizing the poll results, with supporting documentation for each.
PA Voters Support Continued Investments in Education; Most Believe It Should be High Priority Even in Tough Budget Years
The survey results show that Pennsylvanians support continued investments in public education and believe state lawmakers in Harrisburg should continue to make funding reform for public education a top priority, even in tough economic times when lawmakers face pressure to restrain state spending on core programs.
For instance, in a forced-choice question seventy-six (76) percent of Pennsylvania voters agree, (including 55% who “strongly” agree) with the statement:
“We must continue to make progress on improving schools including reforming education funding and investing in programs proven to raise achievement, even in tough times. Although the economy is difficult, we must make this a priority in the state budget for both our children and Pennsylvania’s economic health. We need to do this as a state, not just leave it up to local communities.”
In comparison, only 17% of voters agree with the statement:
“Although it is a difficult choice, the state can’t make the public education system a priority in difficult times and we must substantially cut state support for education, even if it means cutting back on plans to improve educational quality and fix the funding system. It will be up to local communities to figure out how to meet the needs of schools.”
At a margin of 76/17, support for continued investments in public education is broad-based and includes a majority of voters in key demographic groups, including:
- 86% of Democrats, 65% of Republicans and 72% of Independents
- 75% of voters 60+ years old, 77% of 45-59 year olds and 82% of 18-44 year olds. [Since many senior
citizens live on fixed incomes, their strong support of this issue is significant particularly given the
negative impact the lack of adequate state funding can have on their school property tax bills]. - 81% of females and 71% of males
- Strong majorities in all geographic regions including Northwest (81%), Southwest (78%), Allegheny County (76%), Southeast (72%), Philadelphia (78%), the conservative “T”/Central region (73%), Northeast (81%) and South Central/Harrisburg (78%)
Most PA Voters Say Candidates’ Positions on Education Can Influence Their Vote Choice
The survey results show that strong majorities of voters say they would be more likely to support a candidate for governor and the state legislature who pledges to be an advocate for continued investments in public education, including reforming the state funding system.
For instance, in a forced-choice question seventy-two (72) percent of voters say they would be more likely, including 48% who say they would be “much more” likely to vote for a candidate who:
“Says that Pennsylvania must invest in public education to prepare children for the future, and that a good education system will help build our economy and that good public schools are important to communities. This candidate also says the state legislature should continue progress on reforming the state funding system to reduce the dependence of school districts on property taxes and provide enough funding for kids to meet state standards, and that improving education should be a top priority issue for officials in Harrisburg.”
In comparison, only 21% are more likely to vote for a candidate for governor and state legislature who:
“Says that although education is important, schools receive a lot of money already and additional money won’t make much difference to improving education. Furthermore, there are many other demands for state funding these days. This candidate also does not support continued efforts to reform the funding system or additional investments in education at this time and does not believe officials in Harrisburg should make addressing education a priority right now.”
In the above-mentioned question, support for a candidate who pledges to be a strong advocate for public education is broad-based and includes majorities of voters in all regions of the state and all major political parties. This suggests candidates who align themselves with this position can be in a better position to grow their bases of support at the polls. These results also mirror past results and show a slight improvement from a 66% margin of support in 2009.
Methodology: This poll was commissioned by Education Voters, PA, and conducted April 7-12 with 700 likely general election voters. Only voters with prior vote history in general elections 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 were contacted (as well as new registrants since January 2008), with a special emphasis on G07, G06 and G05 to reflect likely turnout in a non-presidential general election. Interviews are randomly selected and conducted via telephone from a statewide voter file using our professionally-trained survey research staff. Interviews are closely monitored to ensure a representative sample is achieved based on geography, party affiliation, gender, age and other demographics; results are sometimes statistically weighted. The margin of error for a sample size of 700 is +/-3.7% at the 95% confidence level, but higher for sub groups of respondents.
