Statewide poll shows parents' mixed feelings

The survey shows people are critical of, but still loyal to, their public schools.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Nearly half of the parents of Ohio children in public schools say they would send their kids to a private school if money weren't an issue.
The number reflects the findings of a statewide poll examining the attitudes of Ohio residents toward their public schools.
The survey, conducted by the FDR Group, a national, nonpartisan research firm, was released Wednesday and showed that Ohioans are "quite worried about their schools," said Steve Farkas, FDR Group analyst.
The survey, dubbed "Halfway Out the Door: Ohioans Sound Off on Public Schooling," was a random sampling of 1,001 Ohio adults conducted in August.
Farkas said the number of parents willing to pull their children out of public schools crosses racial lines.
The survey showed 48 percent of white parents would choose to send their children to private schools, and 68 percent of the black parents surveyed felt the same way.
The survey has an error margin of plus or minus 3 percent.
Concerns
A majority (58 percent) of Ohioans don't believe they are getting their money's worth from their public schools. Among blacks only, the number jumps to 72 percent.
Some 32 percent of those surveyed say they believe their schools have gotten worse over the past two or three years.
"What's clear from the survey is that Ohioans are worried about the state of their public schools, from the value of a high school diploma, to social promotion, to whether money earmarked for the classroom ever makes it there," Farkas said.
Yet, despite that dissatisfaction, the public seems unwilling to see their own public schools close, even those that are failing, Farkas said, pointing out that 54 percent of the respondents oppose closing persistently failing public schools.
It shows there is a faith and loyalty in public schools that hasn't been lost, but part of it is a fear of what will happen to their children if a school closes, he said.
The public doesn't have the same opinion of charter schools that consistently fail, said Terry Ryan, vice president for Ohio Programs & amp; Policy for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, strong supporter of charter schools and sponsor of 10 charter schools in the Dayton area.
Fordham and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned the survey.
Nearly 75 percent of the respondents said charter schools that consistently fail should be closed.
Who's to blame?
Survey participants went easy on teachers and principals for what they perceive as a faltering public school system.
Only 23 percent said teachers could be doing a lot better and only 26 percent lumped principals in that same category. However, 41 percent said they think school administrators could be doing a lot better and 60 percent said parents should be doing a lot better as well.
The biggest perceived fault lies with state elected officials as 69 percent said that group could be doing a lot better.
Most (69 percent) don't believe that putting more state money into the pot would help because they feel it would get eaten up by the bureaucracy and administration before it gets to the classroom, Farkas said.
Most also favored the "carrot and stick" approach to dealing with teachers, saying that good teachers should be rewarded with higher pay (84 percent) and paid more if they work in tough neighborhoods with hard-to-reach pupils (77 percent).
Most (89 percent) favor giving public schools more freedom to fire poor-performing teachers.
A whopping 91 percent said schools should enforce strict discipline with regard to pupil behavior, dress and speech.
The survey shows that people generally have little knowledge of Ohio's most visible and dramatic attempts at education reform initiatives, namely charter schools and vouchers.
There is widespread uncertainty about what those programs are trying to achieve and how they work, Farkas said.
More findings
Other results:
U83 percent favor the new Ohio Graduation Test that must be passed before a diploma is awarded.
U42 percent believe that a local high school diploma is no guarantee that a pupil has learned the basics.
U51 percent believe that "social promotion" is the rule in Ohio. Only 27 percent believe pupils are promoted only when they learn what they're supposed to know.
U17 percent believe that a whole new educational system needs to be developed.
U75 percent favor giving local public schools more flexibility to design curriculum.
U42 percent favor giving state scholarships to pupils in failing schools so they can switch to private schools.
U55 percent favor Ohio's school voucher program, which proposes giving parents several thousand dollars to pay tuition at a private or church-related school.
U20 percent believe that charter schools should be stopped altogether.
U65 percent believe parents whose children are in failing schools should have some option to send their children to public schools in a neighboring district.
U47 percent feel that cyber-schools are a poor idea.
gwin@vindy.com