Statement by Sandra Feldman,
President, American Federation of Teachers
on the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll

An increase in support for vouchers doesn’t make these schemes any more accountable to the public or more credible. We’re pleased by the strong show of support for public education demonstrated in today’s poll, and we’re confident that the percentage of Americans who support school vouchers will dwindle when they learn how vouchers undermine accountability and divert money from public schools.

The poll shows that Americans think highly of their local schools, with 71 percent of public school parents giving a grade of A or B to the school attended by their oldest child. The AFT hopes to create even greater confidence in public education by continuing our work to raise standards for student achievement and place a well-qualified teacher in every classroom.

It is incongruous that the public would strongly support school funding and greater school accountability (as three-quarters of respondents do), yet also support vouchers. Vouchers send public funds to private schools that are not held to the same standards of accountability. We believe that when Americans understand how vouchers really work, they will reject them resoundingly – as they did by a 2-to-1 margin when asked specifically about vouchers in this poll and as they have done each time vouchers have been on the ballot.