Is the pendulum swinging back towards education?

From the Tampa Bay Times Gradebook, by Jeff solochek

The College Board, which runs such programs as Advanced Placement and SAT, has conducted a survey of nearly 1,900 voters from nine swing states including Florida. It suggests that the public wants to see more discussion about education even as the issue does not get much attention on the campaign trail.

“The message voters are sending to candidates is clear: 'Don't Forget Ed',” College Board president Gaston Caperton said in a release. “People in every region of this country and from all economic backgrounds feel that education is getting short shrift in this campaign. They want the candidates to give more time and attention to their plans for improving educational opportunities in America.”

The Florida results (attached below) suggest that people might be willing to pay more to improve the quality of their children's education. (There's a 6.9 percentage point margin of error, because the Florida portion included only 200 respondents.) Consider:


Asked "Do you think increased funding for education is necessary?", 49 percent said definitely, 32 percent said probably, 13 percent said probably not and 5 percent said definitely not.

The next question was, "Would you personally be willing to pay $200 per year in higher taxes in order to provide increased funding for education?" The response was 60 percent yes, 34 percent no, and 6 percent not sure.

What about you? Would you be willing to pay more taxes for schools?

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/poll-shows-support-increased-education-funding