Poll: Californians skeptical politicians can improve schools
San Francisco Chronicle 4/26/07
Schwarzenegger's approval rating plummets from 53 to 36 percent when the issue turns to schools, finds a new statewide survey of Californians and education by the Public Policy Institute of California. The popularity of state lawmakers also drops regarding schools, from 38 to 29 percent.
"While education remains a critical issue for most Californians, they clearly see a lack of progress and appear to be questioning the return on all the investment and activity of recent years," said pollster Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute.
The survey found that Californians are largely fed up with Sacramento making education decisions they believe should be decided locally -- by teachers and school boards.
According to the survey, 78 percent of state residents want local educators to have the power to decide how to spend money to improve the schools. Of those, 34 percent say teachers should have the greatest say, while 31 percent think the school board should decide.
Just 14 percent say they want state officials to make those choices.
Such findings mirror those of an influential study of California education released last month by Stanford University, which found that most school finance decisions come from Sacramento and that local schools are crippled in their ability to spend money where they need it.
That study, called "Getting Down to Facts," prompted Schwarzenegger to say that education will become his top focus next year.
"The governor has declared 2008 the 'Year of Education Reform,' " Baldassare said. "The question is, does the public have the will - and the faith in state leaders - to tackle this complex and controversial issue?"
The new survey found that state residents are so frustrated with the current system they are reluctant to spend more money on schools without the assurance that the underlying system will also change.
For example, 64 percent of residents oppose raising state sales taxes for education.
At the same time, "if residents were assured that funds would be used efficiently, a full 75 percent say they would support increasing money for K-12 public education," the study found.
The survey also asked residents how they would spend education money if they could.
Each of the following educational improvements for poor communities received more than 70 percent support from those surveyed: upgrading schools, providing better on-the-job training to teachers who work there, giving more help to students who fail the exit exam; and hiring more school counselors to improve graduation rates.