Friedman/IVA Poll: Only 12% would choose public ed

Contact: Bryan Fischer (208) 841-2546

Executive Director, Idaho Values Alliance

www.idahovaluesalliance.com

bryan@idahovaluesalliance.com

FRIEDMAN FOUNDATION: ONLY 12% OF IDAHOANS WOULD CHOOSE REGULAR PUBLIC SCHOOL IF HAD A CHOICE

Boise – A poll commissioned by the prestigious Friedman Foundation and co-sponsored by the Idaho Values Alliance and Education Excellence Idaho found that only 12% of Idahoans would chose a “regular public school” if they had a full range of options.

Even more striking, this figure drops to just 4% among Idahoans age 36-55, who are the chief consumers of public education services in Idaho.

Said Bryan Fischer, Executive Director of the Idaho Values Alliance, “This is an astonishing number, because it tells us that the more Idaho’s parents use conventional public education, the less they like it. This is the most powerful argument possible for increasing school choice in the Gem State.”

The survey revealed that 25% of Idahoans would, however, choose charter schools, which are public schools free from much of the bureaucratic red tape that hampers education reform in conventional public schools.

The favorability rating of charter schools number jumps to over 70% among the 36-55 demographic.

“This tells us that we need to make it easier for charter schools to open in Idaho, and lift the cap on charter school expansion,” said Fischer, noting that state law restricts the number of new charter schools to just six per year.

The survey also reveals that 39% of Idahoans would choose private school options if that alternative was accessible to them. Fischer argues that this should prompt the legislature to consider education tax credits, which would allow Idaho’s parents a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for the money they spend on private school tuition.

“Education tax credits would make private school options more accessible to Idaho parents, and would cause genuine school choice to flourish,” said Fischer.

Paul DiPerna from the Friedman Foundation was in Boise yesterday, and, along with former Rep. Henry Kulczyk, led a roundtable discussion with a number of Idaho legislators over the poll results (Mr. DiPerna may be reached at 202-641-1858.)

DiPerna, director of the Friedman Foundation's polling projects, says, "Our findings show that Idaho voters want access to more school options.  The 36 to 55 year-old age group is a key one to observe because they are most likely to be emotionally and financially invested in schooling their children.  Given a choice to provide the best education for their child, only 4 percent from this group would choose a regular public school.  This number is eye-popping.  They prefer private schools [43 percent], charter schools [27 percent], and homeschooling [24 percent].  That is one of the most dramatic findings I've seen so far in our state surveys."

Summary of key findings from the poll:

The poll’s results display a high level of discontent with Idaho’s public education system, and large majorities think that spending more money is not the answer.

• A large block of likely voters, 47 percent, rate Idaho’s public school system as “poor” or “fair”.  Excluding the one out of five voters who are undecided, this proportion jumps to 59 percent.

• Only 4 percent of 36 to 55 year-olds would choose a regular public school when given the choice from a list of five types of schools.

• Two out of three likely voters (66 percent) say Idaho’s level of public school funding is “about right” or “too high.”

• Nearly the same percentage of respondents (63 percent) also believes the average Idaho public school teacher salary is “about right” or “too high.”

Voters clearly support broad reform measures that would give parents more choice and control over their children’s education.

• More than one out of three Idahoans (39 percent) indicate they would prefer to send their own child to a private school when given the choice from a list of five types of schools.  Only 12 percent say they would choose a regular public school, while 25 percent prefer a charter school and 21 percent say they would home school their children.

• Idahoans like school choice reforms – 67 percent express favorability to charter schools, and 60 percent say they are favorable to school vouchers.  Among 36 to 55 year-olds, favorability jumps for school vouchers (63 percent) and charter schools (72 percent).

• Nearly three out of five Idaho voters favor tax-credit scholarship systems – 59 percent favor a personal tax-credit funded system and 57 percent favor a corporate tax-credit funded system.

The scientifically representative poll of 1,000 likely Idaho voters was conducted January 18-20 by Strategic Vision, an Atlanta-based public affairs agency whose polls have been used by Newsweek, Time Magazine, BBC, ABC News, and USA Today among others. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The poll can be accessed here on the Idaho Values Alliance website, and the full report is also available on a pdf file attached to this press release.

A print version of the survey is available by contacting the Idaho Values Alliance.

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