AZ poll: Education is very important. Schools aren’t doing a very good job

by David Safier

Arizona Democratic candidates, take heed. According to an ASU Morrison Institute poll, education is right behind Immigration and Jobs/economy as something "the Legislature should be trying to do something about." (That immigration is still that high is both significant and depressing.)

Interestingly, Pre-K and kindergarten rank almost as high in importance as the rest of K-12 education.

When it comes to state spending decisions, K-12 education comes out number one with 91% of people putting it very high or high. Next is a virtual tie at just about 80-85% for health care for those below the poverty level, "programs designed to help children from families living under the poverty level" (Note the specification of children, not adults) and law enforcement/public safety.

But Arizonans don't think our schools are doing a very good job of it. We're not doing the job preparing students for college or the workforce. Our expectations of student performance are too low. We're not putting the right amount of emphasis on teaching math and science. (No questions were asked about reading and writing.)

It's clear, people want more from our schools. Republicans are trying mightily to convince people that money is irrelevant, but based on the support for the 1% sales tax hike for education, I don't think people are buying it. A serious investment in education, including in quality preschool and kindergarten, is a sound investment in our children and our future. Democrats agree. Republicans prefer to protect the rich and powerful, and give people money to attend private schools while letting our public schools crumble.