OHIO Education tops list of concerns in poll

Nine percent of those polled listed terrorism as the state's biggest concern.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- About one-third of Ohioans polled say education is the most important issue facing the state.
This is the 16th consecutive time, dating to fall 1996, that education has topped the list as the state's most serious concern in the Ohio Poll, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati.
Of those polled, 32 percent cited education as Ohio's most important problem, with 16 percent specifically mentioning education funding and 9 percent pointing to education quality.
The Ohio Poll questioned 826 adults by telephone from Oct. 24 to Nov. 8. That was after the Ohio Supreme Court made a decision in the state education funding case, but before it ordered mediation between the parties involved in the lawsuit. The margin of error is 3.4 percent.
Other issues: In second place among those polled was economic problems with 15 percent. Nine percent cited terrorist attacks or the concern about safety because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. This was the first Ohio Poll to ask if terrorism was the state's most important issue.
Race relations received 3 percent of the vote. Taxes, crime, the state budget deficit, environmental problems and road conditions each received 2 percent. Ten percent of those polled did not give an answer, and 21 percent listed other issues as the most important problems facing Ohio.
In Northeast Ohio, 36 percent cited education, 18 percent listed economic problems and 9 percent chose terrorism as the state's most important problem.
Correspondence: The poll showed that the more education and wealthier a person, the more likely they were to list education as the state's biggest problem.
Eleven percent of those polled who have a household income of under $20,000 listed education as the state's most important issue, compared to 43 percent of those with household incomes of $60,000 and over. Also, 19 percent of those without a high school diploma mentioned education compared to 45 percent of college graduates.
skolnick@vindy.com