Support for public schools strong
The bucks behind vouchers

There's good news for public education from the 2000 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. The poll, released in August, shows that approval of the public schools is near its all-time high, support for private school vouchers is down, and the public wants a greater investment in public education.

The annual poll measures public attitudes on such topics as local school quality, the top problems facing schools, and school choice (including vouchers). This year's poll "shows again what previous polls have shown: The notion that the public is dissatisfied with its public schools is based on myth instead of fact," say pollsters Lowell C. Rose and Alec M. Gallup. "Respondents continue to indicate a high level of satisfaction with their local schools, a level of satisfaction that this year approaches its all-time high among the parents whose children attend those schools."

The poll shows that 75 percent of Americans opted for "improving existing public schools," with only 22 percent favoring "providing vouchers." Last year's poll indicated that support for choice programs that include private schools might be starting to decline, say the pollsters.

"Politicians who have declared the public schools a 'disaster' are out of sync with the American people," notes AFT president Sandra Feldman. "This poll clearly shows, once again, the faith of the American people, particularly parents, in the public schools. Given a choice between strengthening public schools or providing vouchers, Americans see it as a no-brainer--they support the public schools."

Financial support top concern

Each year the poll asks Americans what they see as the most pressing education problem for their local public schools. In a significant change, this year the poll found that "lack of financial support" is the number one concern--with lack of discipline moving to second place. The public also overwhelmingly chose "a qualified, competent teacher in every classroom" (52 percent) as the best strategy for improving public schools, with a "free choice for parents among a number of private, church-related and public schools" a distant second (19 percent).

The poll also asked about charter schools, although nearly half of the respondents had not heard of such schools. When told that "charter schools operate under a charter or contract that frees them from many state regulations imposed on public schools and permits them to operate independently," a plurality (47 percent) of respondents oppose them, with 42 percent favoring them. The public strongly believes that charter schools must be accountable to the state in the same way other public schools are accountable.

"More than ever, Americans support investing in public education," Feldman says. "Educational fads are taking a back seat to reforms that work, like smaller class size, disciplined learning environments, well-qualified teachers, proven academic programs and extra help for students."

The public generally sees the Democratic Party (41 percent) as more interested than the GOP (29 percent) in improving public education, the poll shows.

The bucks behind vouchers

Public support for vouchers is weak and getting weaker. But the 2000 political season shows that you can still get voucher schemes before voters--if you have the bucks.

That's exactly what's happening in California and Michigan, two states where vouchers landed on the ballot this fall thanks largely to huge financial support by a handful of billionaires.

In California, the voucher campaign is being bankrolled by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper. Profiled under the headline "Pol Pot" last year by the online magazine Salon.com, Draper is a supporter not only of vouchers but also of legalized marijuana and other politics representative of "the fervent libertarianism that is fashionable in Silicon Valley."

He also is the major contributor to the campaign for Proposition 38, a ballot measure that would give residents $4,000 each year for private school tuition. Virtually no accountability would be attached to the proposed vouchers, which would also be available to families that home school children and families with students already in private schools. The proposition would guarantee no additional funding to education, and providing vouchers for the 700,000 students in private schools could trigger a drain of almost $3 billion.

AFT affiliates throughout the state are fighting Proposition 38 as part of a huge coalition of education, labor, community, civic and religious groups. The organizations are providing information to their members through direct mail and phone calls, circulating fliers against Proposition 38, and reaching out to community groups and school boards in the fight against vouchers. The California Federation of Teachers also is playing a pivotal role in labor's efforts to defeat Proposition 38 by making a presentation to every central labor council in the state on vouchers.

In Michigan, big money is coming from Amway Corporation president Dick DeVos. Neither DeVos nor his direct marketing company is a newcomer to politics. Three years ago, DeVos was ranked Number 165 in "The MoJo 400," a list of the top contributors in the 1995-96 elections compiled by Mother Jones magazine. In that period, "Amway gave more to the GOP than any other company, including an unprecedented $2.5 million in soft money," the magazine reported.

This year, DeVos is backing a Michigan ballot measure that would give $3,100 vouchers to children in school districts where at least two-thirds of entering students fail to graduate. The proposition also would allow a handful of voters in any community to put a voucher proposal on their local ballot and would eliminate the state constitutional prohibition against indirect aid to private and religious schools, opening the door to statewide legislation on vouchers and tax credits.

The Michigan Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel and other AFT affiliates have joined more than 190 groups across the state in an effort to defeat the ballot measure. Included in the coalition are most child advocacy, civil rights and education groups, as well as GOP Gov. John Engler.

Vouchers have never passed on a state ballot, and new polls reveal that their support appears to be waning even more dramatically this year (see story this page).

American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO - 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20001